Fantasy“The Unseen” by Allahrakhi Memon
“Slow Communication” by Dominique Dickey
“After Naxos, Ariadne” by Julia August
“Cousins Season” by S. Fambul
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
There are four original short stories in this 76th issue, including one flash fiction.
“The Unseen” by Allahrakhi Memon
In this very short fantasy, a desert wanderer searches for something, eschewing any cities they see as they drift from oasis to oasis. Then at one watering hole, they see someone wrapped in black cloth. But they are not made of flesh.
The story reads like a snippet from something else, with no beginning, no end, and little purpose.
“Slow Communication” by Dominique Dickey
A teenager named Darla is the next daughter to meet the leviathan in this short fantasy. For generations spread over centuries, the eldest daughter has met the leviathan, a galactic traveler, to ask one question.
The next generation will hear the answer. And so it goes since the eighteenth century when the leviathan met a slave girl. But Darla isn’t sure she wants to meet the leviathan, and certainly not as a girl.
“Slow Communication” was a curious and well-crafted story that held the reader’s attention until the end.
“After Naxos, Ariadne” by Julia August
Ariande’s story continues in this flash fantasy. After Theseus dumps her on the shores of Nexus, she goes in search of new labyrinths and finds new business monsters hiding in mazes of corporate documents, seeking oil or gas holdings.
If this was a story, it went nowhere and felt more like poetry than prose.
“Cousins Season” by S. Fambul
Every year the cousins descend on the cottages for a family cookout in this short fantasy. The Cousins Season, as it’s called, has existed for as long as Grandmomma Jojo can remember. It weighs heavily on her, just as it did all the grandmommas before her.
But now, she is determined to end the cycle of work that the cousins hardly appreciate. So, when the fifty or more cousins come, she plans to use special Cousins Seasoning to ensure they don’t return next season.
The author had a simple story but then tied it up in confusing prose to create a mystery.