Beneath Ceaseless Skies #311, August 27, 2020
“The Past, Like a River in Flood” by Marissa Lingen
“Doorway, Smile, Kiss, Fox” by Jeremy Packert Burke
Reviewed by Tara Grímravn
This 311th issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies brings two stories of magic gone unchecked, wreaking havoc on the lives of those who live with or around it.
“The Past, Like a River in Flood” by Marissa Lingen
Twenty years ago, then-geomancy student Ellis had helped her university’s professors fight against a river flood that had nearly destroyed the Vault of Potions. It had, of course, left the academic building permanently cursed by the mix of magics from all those spilled potions and thus uninhabitable. Recently, however, two students have turned up dead. Now a fully qualified geomancer, Ellis has been asked to return to campus to find out just what happened and if there’s any way to stop it from happening again.
Lingen’s story has a distinct Harry Potter feel to it and, for the most part, it’s okay. Admittedly, though, I had a bit of an issue getting past the opening line. It doesn’t fit with the rest of the story. If the protagonist is walking past the old building, why would the new one make her twitch? Of course, I realize this isn’t what the author meant to convey here, but that’s how it comes across. Once past that, the story clips along at a lively and engaging pace, but then sort of falls apart again at the end. What potions does she grab from Cazzie and Jeremiah? I had to go back and re-read the entire scene and couldn’t find any references to them holding potions. And the ending doesn’t feel like an ending at all. It’s as if the story stops in the middle of the task Ellis was there to do. Again, the story was just okay, nothing spectacular.
“Doorway, Smile, Kiss, Fox” by Jeremy Packert Burke
Long ago, the people chose to cease recording their histories in books. Instead, they created the Mnemosynes, a group of people who ingest the donated blood of others in order to retain the donor’s memories; that knowledge is then used to solve whatever problems might arise for the good of the community. When a Mnemosyne is no longer considered useful, when the memories they possess no longer provide answers, they are exsanguinated and their blood divided up amongst other Mnemosynes. Themis is one such memory keeper living in a city whose buildings began to magically grow like weeds on their own some time ago, threatening the safety of every citizen—even the king. Unfortunately, no answers to this threat can be found in the memories he has, try as he might to find a solution to the city’s overgrowth. Called to the castle one more time, Themis fully expects his life to end today if he can’t find a solution to the city’s continued growth.
I thoroughly enjoyed Burke’s story. True, it leaves us peering over the edge of a dark cliff as we ponder Themis’s fate, but there’s hope in the shadows that lie below. The tale isn’t so much about what happens to him as much as it is about allowing the stories of those often considered insignificant by those in power to live on. While the king’s memories are full of lust and extravagant excess, the truly valuable memories (as far as Themis is concerned) are found among the washerwomen and other common folk. Really a great read, this one!