[On May 10, 2021 Strange Horizons officially expressed its political support for Palestinian solidarity. The views of Tangent Online reviewers are not necessarily those of Strange Horizons. Fiction critiqued at Tangent Online is, as much as is humanly possible, without prejudice and based solely on artistic merit.]

Strange Horizons, June 23, 2025

“Sceach Gheal” by Katie McIvor

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

The narrator of “Sceach Gheal” by Katie McIvor has a hawthorn tree in her garden. Her boyfriend notices a hole at the bottom of its trunk. As a sort of joke, he builds a tiny door for it. Bad luck follows him for having offended the fairies that live there.

There’s not much else to this fairly brief story. The boyfriend’s mishaps begin in the first paragraph, and continue to the end. The author’s plain style makes for smooth reading, but the result is a very minor piece.

Victoria Silverwolf would like to point out that the title of this story is Irish Gaelic for hawthorn.