Aurealis “She Who Played for the Morrocks” by Carol Ryles
“The List” by John Higgins
“The Corner of Seventh and Marino” by Clark Lewis
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
Three stories of characters facing ambiguous dangers appear in the latest issue of this Australian publication.
The beings mentioned in the title of “She Who Played for the Morrocks” by Carol Ryles are humanoid sea creatures. They devour human beings, using venom that makes their victims enjoy their destruction. A pair of morrocks are held prisoner by a monarch, who extracts their venom, which also serves as a potent medicine. The narrator is a musician who is sent to play for the prisoners, in the hope that her tunes will allow them to mate and produce more of their kind to provide venom. She becomes involved with the morrocks in unexpected ways, both promising and hazardous.
This somber fantasy creates a darkly poetic mood, mixing beauty with horror in creative ways. The power of music is effectively portrayed, as are the seductive enticements of the morrocks. The author’s afterword makes it clear that these creatures are intended to be neither entirely good nor completely evil, but readers are likely to find that the story’s conclusion leans too strongly in one particular direction.
In “The List” by John Higgins, people are told they have been added to the group of names mentioned in the story’s title. Their lives go on as before, but at some random time, either very soon or many years later, they are taken away, never to be seen again. The plot follows one man’s daily life after he receives his notification.
Scenes told from the point of view of another character lead to something of a twist ending.
Although the fate of those placed on the list is never explained, it seems inevitable that the reader will read the work as an allegory of the unpredictability of death. (The author’s afterword confirms this.) The text explicitly states that the vanished persons are not thought of as dead, which weakens the metaphor. The story’s conclusion is arbitrary, which may be the point.
The title of “The Corner of Seventh and Marino” by Clark Lewis refers to the location of a market run by a woman who also uses her knowledge of magic to protect people from the fairy-like Others. She uses her skills to lessen the possibility that children will wander off with the Others. With the help of a young man whose sister was lost to them, she ventures into the land of the Others to win back an infant who was taken away in a manner that violates the rules of magic. Their quest requires an act of great sacrifice.
This urban fantasy is narrated in a realistic style that makes its supernatural content seem as real as the mundane affairs of everyday life. The Others remain an intriguing mystery, never fully understood. Some readers may find the conclusion predictable, and the story goes on a bit too long after its climax.
Victoria Silverwolf is having a new door put into her house.