DreamForge Anvil #17, Fall 2024
“Guidelines For Leading Tours of Supernatural Grottoes, Shrines and Assorted Holy Places” by Teresa Milbrodt
“We Play In Meadows, We Hop Over Dreams” by Melissa Ren
“The Neighborly Thing To Do” by Scott Edelman
“What the Dormouse Said” by Bruce McAllister
“Little Things Nobody Remembers” by Matt McHugh
Reviewed by Mina
This issue has the subtitle “Unseen Ties and Invisible Reflections” and looks at empathy and humanity, even in unlikely places.
“Guidelines For Leading Tours of Supernatural Grottoes, Shrines and Assorted Holy Places” by Teresa Milbrodt has a shrine tour guide who is blind in one eye and defends her right for herself and others like her not to ask for healing because “we don’t think of our bodies as problems but ways of being.” She comments ruefully: “The spirits are best at granting the patience to adapt, but no one wants to hear that when they’re mourning their old bodies.” Her partner Hayle suffers from migraines and she often discusses with the spirits about their non-intervention in cases of chronic pain. The “guidelines” are a good discussion about whether we should be expecting the Lourdes (placebo) effect on our lives, whilst giving us a glimpse into the guide’s own life. A touching tale if you truly listen to its message.
“We Play In Meadows, We Hop Over Dreams” by Melissa Ren is a lovely take about growing up. Lixin and Hua must learn to accept their roles and responsibilities in life but perhaps there is still room for beauty and dreams? One thing that clashed was something that often bugs me in such tales, when the author kills the timeless feel of a story by sprinkling it with things like “holy shit” and “crap.” It feels sloppy and murders the magic.
“The Neighborly Thing To Do” by Scott Edelman is a gentle, very human story. The narrator is letting go of grief and guilt, so he understands his neighbour’s struggle with a tough decision when it becomes apparent that she can’t look after her father Joe, who is suffering from dementia. But is Joe really crazy or does the narrator witness a miracle? The quiet style and the fantastic blending with the ordinary reminds me of the style of Nevil Shute.
“What the Dormouse Said” by Bruce McAllister is weird. In the swinging sixties full of psychedelic drugs, the world is invaded by aliens that have engineered themselves to look like giant rabbits. They give off potent pheromones and soon the world is full of half-rabbit, half-human babies. I found it difficult to suspend disbelief enough here but whatever floats your boat?
“Little Things Nobody Remembers” by Matt McHugh is a story about the power of remembering the little things in life. The narrator is part of a group trying to save an old theatre from being demolished. In an impossible basement, she meets an old ghost. A sweet story about an unlikely friendship; nostalgia for old theatre venues; and, did you know Fred Astaire started in vaudeville?