[On May 10, 2021 Strange Horizons officially expressed its political support for Palestinian solidarity. The views of Tangent Online reviewers are not necessarily those of Strange Horizons. Fiction critiqued at Tangent Online is, as much as is humanly possible, without prejudice and based solely on artistic merit.]

Strange Horizons, April 4, 2022

“The Elysian Job” by Margaret Ronald

Reviewed by Seraph

I didn’t expect to be impressed by this story, at first. I even have a passion for mythologically based stories, and most everything that goes along with them. The story follows Beth, who just died back in what had to have been the early 1900s, from the abundant references to Tommy guns and various aspects of outlaw life, although exactly where is never quite mentioned and not overly crucial. It’s a bit of a shock to her, but she adapts quickly, and befriends Corrie, the mistress of Haides. If I’m being honest, it felt a lot like the author took a certain other famous couple of outlaws whose names started with B and C, and just jammed them up with some Greek myth while barely changing up the names. I am happy to say, the whole thing is far more tongue in cheek than that and I unashamedly rather enjoyed it. The story really is just fun to read, and a lot of care was put into the personality and placement of the characters. You could easily mistake this, and dismiss it, as a barely disguised retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice with an ever so slight twist, but you’d be missing out. Give this one a read, with compliments to the author. It’s not easy to overcome an initial impression that isn’t favorable, but the author did just that and more.