“Tatterdemalion” by Michael Cisco [7515 words] ***Recommended***

Temedy, an archetypal ne’er-do-well in Alak folklore, is tricked into stealing a dangerous “Deed”, leading to a downward spiral into despair and tragedy.

The tale begins with an introduction that relates aspects of Alak culture that are vital to understanding the setting as well as the Temedy archetype’s place in the Alak literary canon. It sets the tone for the story – which could be described as “whimsical cynicism” – and offers some clues as to the direction the story will go.

Most importantly, the reader is warned that Temedy is a good-for-nothing person of no repute, and the story goes on to demonstrate this with caustic hilarity. Temedy has an inexhaustible gift for making terrible choices for the most heinous reasons, and is irreversibly inclined to think the worst of everyone but herself. Where she ends up is both surprising and inevitable, if that makes sense. I think if there is a lesson to be gleaned from this satirical folktale, it’s that we all end up wearing our soul on the outside, for better or worse.

“Let’s Go to The Zoo” by Louis Evans [1665 words]

{SPOILER ALERT! IF YOU WANT TO READ THIS STORY, CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE AND READ IT FIRST OR I WILL LITERALLY SPOIL THE ENTIRE THING!!} The uncomplicated premise of this very short story is a couple who goes to the zoo to see “the one totally sane human being”.

And that’s it. That’s the whole story.

Ok, well first {SPOILERS AHEAD!!!} they make some sandwiches and the author does a good job of presenting sandwich-making as some kind of weird, neurotic impulse. Riding the bus seems a bit off, too, but it’s just riding the bus. When they get to the zoo, they haggle a little over whether or not to see the polar bear first, which they do, and the polar bear seems perfectly sane despite being, you know, in a zoo. They peruse all the other animals before finally settling in front of the “one totally sane human being” enclosure, where {MASSIVE SPOILER!!!!} the one totally sane human being makes a sandwich and then stares into the one-way glass for a minute.

This is a perfectly good story. Reactor describes the genre as Absurdism, and that is pretty accurate. As you can see from the word count it is a quick read, and I’ve read through it twice and I can’t find a single thing wrong with it. For some reason I don’t love it, either. It’s possible I’m not crazy enough (or sane enough?) to tune into this frequency, but I can almost, almost recommend it. Almost.

“The Day-Blind Stars” by Christopher Rowe [5293 words]

Sierra leaves the gravity well in her “go suit” and meets a “poppet deity”, with whom (after a lengthy conversation about the nature of the self and other matters) she decides to travel “up and out” (outer space).

A story mostly made up of cute banter. Will appeal to lovers of cozy science fantasy.