Grimdark “The Tomb of the Flesh Dealer” by Kameron Hurley
“The Spoiler” by Christopher Buelhman
“An Eye for an Eye” by K.S. Villoso
“The Sword of Seven Tears” by Sebastien de Castell
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
In addition to a quartet of new stories, this issue of the magazine of gritty, violent fiction also offers reviews, articles, and interviews.
The protagonist of “The Tomb of the Flesh Dealer” by Kameron Hurley is blackmailed into searching for the deadly undead creature in the title. The person who hires her is quickly shown to be something other than human when another client arrives, seeking to destroy the monster. With the aid of her comrades, the main character survives, but the mission is hardly a success.
Full of untrustworthy characters, the bloody adventures of the team definitely fit the theme of the magazine. There are imaginative touches, like magic by flocks of insects. Although everything else about the story suggests the typical medieval setting of fantasy stories, the presence of locomotives and firearms, particularly for characters who also wield swords, is out of place.
In “The Spoiler” by Christopher Buelhman, a veteran of war relates her narrow escape from a hideous being to a scholar. She killed a man in battle who wore a jewel that released the demonic creature upon his death. The curse of the jewel is said to make the monster pursue the killer anywhere until she is slain.
Because the veteran is obviously not dead, it comes as no surprise that the warrior survived the curse. Some readers may believe that the way in which this happened violates the premise of the story. There is a moderately clever twist in the plot, and the story is short enough not to wear out its welcome.
The narrator of “An Eye for an Eye” by K.S. Villoso struggles to survive, and to protect his sister, in a particularly dangerous part of the city. He is forced to rob a racetrack by a gang of thugs, and does so in an unexpected way, while also defeating the thugs and remaining only a thief, and not a killer.
Best thought of as low fantasy, this streetwise tale contains no supernatural elements. Only the city and the names of characters and places are imaginary. There is a subplot about a baker and his daughter that reveals the narrator’s best side, but it has little to do with the rest of the story.
The weapon mentioned in the title of “The Sword of Seven Tears” by Sebastien de Castell is purchased by a former prisoner, now acting as the agent of a young king, from a suspicious merchant. What happens to the sword, and for what reason, is the heart of the story.
As this synopsis may suggest, the plot is quite simple and might have been better suited as flash fiction than a full-length short story. The magical nature of the sword is interesting, but irrelevant to the outcome.
Victoria Silverwolf had a new door put into her house today, while trying to sleep to the sound of extremely loud power tools. The process also left several lights out of order. The situation was both grim and dark.