Aurealis “Grief Aside, I Hate It Here” by Emma-Grace Clarke
“The Boy With No Heart” by Thoraiya Dyer
“Machinations” by Ross Heard
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
The three stories in this issue use speculative elements to portray emotional conflicts between characters, as well as within them.
“Grief Aside, I Hate It Here” by Emma-Grace Clarke takes place in a future Australia of sentient houses. After the loss of their home, a married couple and their young child take refuge in a low-tech commune. Increasing tension between husband and wife leads to acts of violence on their part, both inside and outside the commune.
This brief synopsis is both incomplete and misleading. There are many more science fiction concepts than I have indicated. Although the premise of sentient houses, according to the author’s afterword, was the inspiration for the story, it actually plays very little part in the plot. The narrative is full of unusual metaphors, many of which are unclear. In essence, this is an account of a failing marriage, with a dense and difficult science fiction background.
The narrator of “The Boy With No Heart” by Thoraiya Dyer is the child of a human father and a djinn disguised as a human woman. The narrator yearns for a sibling, so he can have someone to love, but he eventually learns another way to earn a heart.
As this description may indicate, this is a simple fable, reminiscent of the quest of the Tin Woodman in L. Frank Baum’s 1900 classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The author adds interest to the story through the use of multiple fantasy concepts, many drawn from Middle Eastern folklore. The resulting tale is enjoyable, if rather episodic.
In “Machinations” by Ross Heard, a mysterious device causes a man to experience many sensations and memories, often of the bad things he did during his life. The ending hints at a strange fate for the man.
Much of the text consists of the man’s experiences, alternating with random Bible verses. The author may be suggesting that the machine acts as a sort of conscience as the man relives his sins. Be that as it may, the story is intriguing but obscure, the nature of the device remaining a mystery.
Victoria Silverwolf ate two different kinds of pasta tonight.