[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, May 30, 2022

“Mycelysis” by G.G. Diniz

“The Harp” by E. A. Petricone

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

A special issue dedicated to art offers illustrations, articles, poetry, comics, and a pair of original stories. Both of the latter draw their inspiration from works of art reprinted from other sources.

Well under eight hundred words in length, “Mycelysis” by G.G. Diniz is a mood piece about humans worshipping ancient deities that resemble fungi. The author creates an effectively eerie, otherworldly mood, reminiscent of H. P. Lovecraft’s tales of ancient gods. Given the story’s brief length, it is perhaps inevitable that it is almost all description, and hardly any plot.

In “The Harp” by E. A. Petricone, a girl in her early teens has to deal with taking care of her baby sister and elderly grandparents while her mother earns a living. Her grandmother insists that she take particular care of a harp. The grandmother believes that she must play the instrument once a month, or evil spirits will carry away the grandfather. Dismissing this as a delusion of senility, the girl fails to change the harp strings when necessary, leading to a crisis.

There are no real surprises in the plot, and the reader is likely to predict the story’s ending from the beginning. Otherwise, the piece is written well and has an imperfect protagonist with whom one can easily identify. Less than fifteen hundred words long, it offers a pleasant, if minor, experience.

Victoria Silverwolf likes the illustrations that inspired these stories.