Beneath Ceaseless Skies

Short Fiction Review: Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue 456

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“The Sparrow Tree” by Alma Alexander [3308 words]

The Padishah Emperor is a lover of life and nature, and wants his successor, the Young Emperor, to follow in his footsteps. The Young Emperor is obsessed with how things function, rather than appreciating the beauty of life as his father does. When the Young Emperor is elevated to Padishah, he begins fashioning mechanical replacements for various flora and fauna. In particular, his predecessor’s beloved Sparrow Tree is embedded with glistening jewels and populated with mechanical sparrows instead of real ones.

This story is written in “fairy tale” or “fable” mode and is related in broad strokes rather than concentrated actions and intimate moments. I was never really engaged with the Young Emperor’s personal journey, since the narrative seems to skip over whatever events or introspections occurred in his life that inform his change in perspective at the end. I think the author assumed the reader would see his transformation as self-evident and fill in the blanks. The use of the term Padishah suggests a Persian or Ottoman connection, but the detail has little bearing on the proceedings.

“Song, Skin, Sea” by Tamara Vardomskaya [6394 words]

Beneath Ceaseless Skies editor Scott H. Andrews likes to pair stories thematically in each issue, and “Song, Skin, Sea” is a selkie story, so it also has the comportment of a fairy tale. Unlike “The Sparrow Tree” though, it offers a more complete disclosure of the life of its protagonist. As a child, Margalita is stolen from the sea (and her mother) and taken to the court of Count Henrikov, who has her trained as an opera singer and eventually marries her (not that she had a choice in the matter). While touring the world, she takes her harpist Bellis as her lover and abandons her husband – and children – for good. The story is told in flashbacks while she and Bellis, much older and badly injured, are barely surviving on a rowboat at sea after a shipwreck.

Like a lot of modern day selkie stories, the author both subverts and fulfills the conventions of the genre. The character details are conveyed honestly and earnestly, distinguishing it from others of its kind I have read in recent years. This is mostly an enjoyable story, if unevenly paced.

Short Fiction Review: Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issues 454 & 455

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#454

“How Gods Feed” by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor [10623 words] ***Recommended***

The author uses the familiar “Groundhog Day” conceit effectively to build an ever-increasing sense of dread and despair. The unlucky lady doomed to repeat the same day over and over is Naomi, who must relive the day her brother’s hunting party returns to the village with an unusual kill and is faced with an impossible choice when she learns the price for ending her curse.

Naomi is a foreigner assumed into a new culture, and much of the story’s dramatic tension is an extension of this backstory. When the village faces a long drought, it is her husband and son who are chosen as a sacrifice. When this fails to end the deluge, resentment continues to linger between herself and the village chief. This, among other things, colors how the others in the village (including her brother, who craves acceptance) respond to her when she tries to convince them that their first successful hunt in a long while is not the boon they think it is.

As Naomi’s mental health deteriorates, the prose becomes terser and more suffocating, as if the curse inflicting her is strangling her mind. The pacing and tone are pitch perfect; it is a story that reads faster than its word count. Excellent work.

“Under White Air” by Jonathan Olfert [7664 words]

The anti-hero of this tale is the wonderfully named Twistfinger, who returns to the village of her rival (and ex-friend) Shavag – whom she killed in a duel – just as it is being threatened with a cataclysm. She reluctantly agrees to help, but Shavag’s son, who at first plays along, clearly has other designs.

The catalyst for the story is the late Shavag communicating with Twistfinger through the bow and belt she made from his skin (!!!). Yes, you could describe this as grimdark fantasy and you would not be wrong. The story has nice momentum, some good twists, and a suspenseful climax. Pretty solid character building, too, but for me the story doesn’t quite find the emotional catharsis to match its epic ambitions.

#455

“In the Blood” by Alex Irvine [8953 words] ***Recommended***

This is one of those stories that is hard to talk about without spoiling. And spoiling it would be a tragedy.

The protagonist is from a culture that wades through dragon shit looking for devoured treasures, and accordingly are not well thought of by people who are constantly being victimized by dragon attacks. He recounts his upbringing and the lessons he learned from his late, beloved uncle Ongret. One day, he finds an unusual gem in a pile of dragon shit and sets off a chain of events that changes the course of his and his people’s lives.

The early part of the story contains a lot of asides and digressions and at first it is unclear how important these passages are in the grand scheme of things. I assure you, everything is important. I’m just going to say that this story does not go the way you think it will go and leave it at that. Read it.

“The Long Weeping Arms of the Parasitic Horde” by Bee Hyland [6924 words]

The knight-of-Syl Jain Balsam travels about the land doing good deeds, hoping to one day reach her potential. In the village of Fellbank, the local apothecary asks Jain to dispose of an unusual creature that has taken over his cellar, and of course Jain is willing to take up the task.

The “beast” in the cellar is a very cool, icky creation, described as “viscous, ink-black, and dripping with itself; like branches if branches were venous and covered in blinking all-white eyes. It is a mass of crawling veins and arteries, and it is beautiful,” and Jain’s encounter with it takes a nicely unexpected turn. Structurally, the story is constantly interrupted by humor-minded addendums and sub-addendums meant to add color and flavor to its setting and protagonist. The overall tone of these meta-fictional asides (satirical, maybe?) didn’t vibe with me, but that may just be a matter of personal taste. The ending does stick the landing well enough, and Jain’s inherent goodwill and joyful disposition are affecting.