Beneath Ceaseless Skies #328, April 22, 2021

“A Stranger Goes Ashore” by Adam R. Shannon

“Traces” by A.E. Decker

Reviewed by Seraph

“A Stranger Goes Ashore” by Adam R. Shannon

Eldritch magicks and creatures are rarely flashy or prone to showing off. As much as more contemporary depictions of magic-wielders tend toward the grandiose displays of power, eldritch beings more often are power, and have plenty of versions in which the being is a place, or an environment more than a body. The scale is part of the mystery, and the fear. Such is the case in this exploratory tale of Alain, a sailor and spy aboard a ship sent searching for a new home. It is mostly a fantasy conceptualization of space colonization, but does have a few really interesting angles. As the land of his birth fails his people, dying beneath their feet, in desperation they strip the land bare and send as many ships as they can build out to find a new place that can sustain them. He finds what he is searching for, but not in the form that he expects. The setting is what I would best describe as a fantasy version of colonial Europe with an eldritch horror twist. The horror elements are very subtle, and the patience with which they are delivered pays off. Altogether enjoyable and thought provoking, and a welcome new twist on an old trope.

“Traces” by A.E. Decker

There are a few rare stories that, when you open yourself up to them, really affect you on a powerful level that just defies any words you try to put to it. “Chaser” is a poor sod of a soul, more animal than person, and with the seeming memory of a goldfish. His Master is an eldritch being of immense yet self-limited power, having no imagination or creativity of its own. It exists by stealing memories from the unfortunate souls who make bargains with it, in exchange for a wish that rarely plays out as intended by the mortal, and then fills its realm with imitations and re-creations of those memories. There’s a deeper reality to the story than the label “fantasy” is capable of conveying in and of itself, and is every bit as much horror as it is fantasy to the point that it could easily be either… or both. It is hauntingly, achingly, and punishingly beautiful. I highly recommend it, with every compliment to the author.