Aurealis #146, November 2021

“The Tannfé” by Verity Borthwick

“The House That Hungers” by Maria Lewis

“Those Who Remain” by Caitlin Rozakis

Reviewed by Chuck Rothman

The latest issue of Aurealis devotes itself to horror, to good effect.

“The Tannfé” by Verity Borthwick starts out things with a story that is very disturbing. Shawn has lost a tooth in a hockey game. And then another tooth is knocked out and lost while he’s sleeping, with a strange coin left in its place, bringing to mind a horrific version of the Tooth Fairy. And Shawn’s life starts spiraling downward from there until he’s forced to use the only solution. This is a strong bit of horror, and definitely not for anyone who fears the dentist.

Polixenia moves into “The House That Hungers,” her old family house that is haunted and hungers to feast on its residents. She doesn’t believe it, but soon discovers that the name for the house is correct, and that it hungers for her. Maria Lewis presents the problem well and watching Polixenia come to a solution—one that is quite dark on its own—makes for some great reading.

“Those Who Remain” by Caitlin Rozakis is set in Nightown, a place of eternal night. Li An makes a living capturing souls of the dead from the water that borders the town, and souls are getting harder and harder to find. She joins a group that hopes to find the souls needed. I found the entire story quite murky and it was unclear as to what Li An was trying to accomplish other than finding a soul.

Chuck Rothman’s novels Staroamer’s Fate and Syron’s Fate were recently republished by Fantastic Books.