Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #62, November 2024

“Asu and the Demon Wolf” by Daniel Gedge

“Suffer the Witch” by Joe Kelly

“Bells Beyond the Shore” by Phil Emery

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

The hero of “Asu and the Demon Wolf” by Daniel Gedge battles a spirit that possesses the bodies of wolves. The spirit is impossible to kill, reincarnating itself into another wolf once its current body is slain. The hero must wound the possessed wolf, track it to its lair, and capture the spirit before it can inhabit a new body.

The hero is despised by his family for being lame and unattractive. His mother was thrown out by his father, but she is able to aid him in his quest. These details make the character a little more interesting than the usual protagonist of a sword-and-sorcery yarn, although much of the story follows a familiar pattern. The most intriguing part of this tale is a vision the hero has of a possible future, leading to an ambiguous ending.

The main character in “Suffer the Witch” by Joe Kelly kills his brother after the older sibling attacks him. He escapes his vengeful family and finds shelter with a woman living alone in the wilderness. After an encounter with bandits, they go on the run again. The woman turns out to be something other than what she claimed to be.

This is a violent story with a very high body count. The climax is particularly gruesome, featuring supernatural monsters of a disturbing kind. Readers who enjoy plenty of bloody action in their adventure fiction will best appreciate it.

In “Bells Beyond the Shore” by Phil Emery, a wandering magician hears bells tolling from beneath the sea. This leads to a transformation and a journey to the realm of ancient gods.

Written in the lilting style of a folk tale, this is an evocative story with striking imagery and a touch of the poet. The premise that certain places have been dedicated to multiple gods over time is an interesting one, as is the protagonist’s ability to detect them.

Victoria Silverwolf ran a lot of errands yesterday.