Grimdark #32, October 2022
“Snow White, Green Mantle” by Jude Reid
“Sticks and Stones” by Daniel Polansky
“Baby Teeth” by Lina Rather
“Pop Squad” by Paolo Bacigalupi (reprint, not reviewed)
“A Place Where Stars Should Not Be” by David Dalglish
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
The 32nd issue of Grimdark has four original stories plus another previously published piece.
“Snow White, Green Mantle” by Jude Reid
This short horror story has Fionn taking the chieftain’s pregnant daughter, Jennet, out into the woods to kill her. Fionn doesn’t care what the reason is, it’s just a job, and the chieftain promised to reward her well. She’ll have to kill Jennet quickly; being caught at night in the woods outside the village meant death at the hands of the Othermen.
As Fionn leads the way along a forest path, Jennet reveals she is pregnant. Fionn wonders if this is the reason for Jennet’s death warrant. But, in the end, it doesn’t matter. When a stag distracts Fionn, Jennet runs into the woods, forcing Fionn to chase her toward the place where Othermen wait in hiding.
The story was an interesting read, though it brought few new ideas to the genre.
“Sticks and Stones” by Daniel Polansky
A gang war is quickly brewing in this horror story set in the docklands shortly after the Great War. For a decade, Stel’s family has prospered under a symbiotic relationship with Alasdair’s Dead Rat Mob. But that begins to fall apart when Stel’s nephews permanently end Alasdair’s best enforcer.
The two principles try to patch things up, but even the negotiations are sprinkled with veiled threats. So, it isn’t long before a minor infraction leads to a bigger revenge, which triggers an all-out war.
This dark story was fun to read, though it carried very few speculative horror elements.
“Baby Teeth” by Lina Rather
This short horror tale finds young Laura and her mother moving from place to place to keep ahead of a monster searching for them. She is nine when her baby teeth finally begin falling out. However, her adult molars come in as pointed teeth, good for ripping flesh. Laura senses other changes as her mother sprinkles salt around their rented mobile home.
Then her sixth sense warns her, it is near. Or should she say ‘he’? After all, he is her father. In the middle of a storm, Laura’s mother makes one last desperate run for it.
The story grabbed and held the reader’s attention from the first paragraph.
“A Place Where Stars Should Not Be” by David Dalglish
Arn is a paragon for his god in this short piece. He and his brother are part of an army sent to subjugate and convert a heathen kingdom. But when Arn and his brother enter a cave to flush out two heathen high priests, they encounter a man and woman dedicated to a powerful god of the stars.
The priests test Arn’s strength as a paragon when the woman self-sacrifices to pull down their god’s star-like power. But even after killing the priests, Arn feels compelled to go back to bury them. It is then that he discovers the lingering power of the god.
This story felt flat, with little development of the characters or a sense of doubt about the outcome.
You can follow Kevin P Hallett’s writing on www.kevinphallett.com. There are links to join his mailing list for a weekly newsletter on the recent release of his debut novel, the Defender of Vosj.