Strange Horizons, July 2, 2012

“Comes the Huntsman” by Rachael Acks

Reviewed by Chuck Rothman

I’ll admit I was perplexed by Rachel Acks’ “Comes the Huntsman,” which kicks off Strange Horizons for July.  It’s a series of short vignettes, with some hints of fairy stories, that ultimately deals with the loss of the narrator’s virginity in some way.  I had a very hard time figuring out what was meant by it all, other than “love is complicated.”  The introduction says that this was meant to be a story of no substance that failed in the writing.  I tend to feel that Acks succeeded — there is no actual substance here, just hints and references that really don’t add up to much.  The images stand out, but the story is hard to find.

Chuck Rothman’s most recent story was “The Princess’s Kiss” in the May issue of Penumbra Online.  He blogs at http://greatbutforgotten.blogspot.com.