“Drown Melancholy” by Stanley Wheeler
“Labyrinth” by C.P. Webster
“Ghosts in the Green” by Mike Robinson
“Rossoya” by Bob Johnston
“She Who Was the Sea” by J. Thomas Howard
“The Whole Wide World” by Tais Teng
“Ghost in the Garden” by Jim Breyfogle
“Heart of the Goddess” by Harold R. Thompson
“What’s He Building in There” by N.R. LaPoint
“Satisfaction” by Vincent Valkier
“The Merchants of Maaaw” by Mark Pellegrini
“Do You Wear a Bulletproof Vest, Lieutenant?” by Rodica Bretin
“Flight from Reckoning” by Michael Tierney (Part 3 of 4 of a serial, not reviewed)
Reviewed by Seraph
“Drown Melancholy” by Stanley Wheeler
It is unclear whether this is a case of inspiration being found anywhere, or the result of a dare, but if you challenged someone to write a story purely on the basis of several recently popular sea shanties, it might look something like this. Don’t let that sound like criticism, it came out fantastic, and I confess to greatly enjoying the aforementioned songs. The speaker is a cabin boy on Captain Edwards ship at the height of the transatlantic era of exploration, and heard some things he wasn’t meant to. Like any good pirate tale, superstition and the supernatural abound, bordering cleanly upon madness, and even an accursed treasure is too difficult to resist. The concept that sins committed above the waves are punished beneath them is classic, but the author does a great job of cleverly weaving the shanties in throughout the story in a meaningful way.
“Labyrinth” by C.P. Webster
The word eldritch evokes a lot of different thoughts and emotions, but if caution is not one of those, you may not be especially familiar with it. It may be best said as “some things are better left alone.” Gareth Evans and his son Evan can number themselves amongst those who did not exercise enough of it. Their new home was built and owned by a mysterious man who disappeared under equally mysterious circumstances some time previous, and tragedy awaits them when they stumble upon a strangely carved stone monolith not far from the home. Ancient things in modern times are often the vehicle for misfortune, and when the son takes an ill-advised motorcycle ride it all comes full circle. The story is a slow burn, which almost feels even more pronounced since it so short, but it doesn’t disappoint when it arrives.
“Ghosts in the Green” by Mike Robinson
When someone nears the end of their life, no matter how long or short that journey might have been, there is a natural curiosity about what lies beyond. For the man named Combs, a professed seer, this is quite literally his niche. For Dr. Edwin Baker, who had spent his life digging into the past via those records left buried, the other side was suddenly of utmost import. He travels across the entire world on one last adventure to brave the deep mysteries in search of answers, but when he finally gets there he very nearly bites off more than he bargained for. The story speaks deeply about the mind of those facing down the last of their days, but takes some truly interesting detours into the supernatural along the way.
“Rossoya” by Bob Johnston
What is the true spirit of the explorer, and what separates such a person from the others that do not venture out into the unknown? I am sure that many answers have been offered, but my own is that they have a certain lack of quiet within them that cannot be satisfied or quelled, a noise of sorts that drives them ever forward. Some have described it as wanderlust, others as a restless soul. Robert Walton, captain of the Prometheus, was such a man, and his particular drive was fueled by the letters he had received from his late brother, whose path he now traced. There is a fantastical twist to the story that makes it all the more wistful and soul-searching, and I think the author’s answer to the question is clear: it is the one who can most claim the title of explorer that, when all seems lost, heads directly into the darkness and whatever the end be, finds satisfaction at last in the knowledge that no soul has ever tread this path before.
“She Who Was the Sea” by J. Thomas Howard
Far from civilization and a long ride by ship lies a near-forgotten island of ruins. The beautiful and merciless marauder Ell Mara was marooned with her loyalists on the island for attempting to overthrow her vicious and cruel former captain. Lith Luc was brought from the gladiatorial arena to the island away from the prying eyes of the populace to indulge the worst impulses of the vicious and cruel nobles. Both of their paths collide as he navigates the vices and villainy of his captors, and with her help he wreaks utter havoc upon those who have wronged and enslaved him. It is, as is only fitting of all tales told in a tavern, full of proud boasts and mighty deeds. There is something almost campy about the quips and claims the former gladiator makes, but I never found it so much so that it was anything other than an endearing story reminiscent of many I loved growing up.
“The Whole Wide World” by Tais Teng
If you had three wishes, what would you wish for? Yaila doesn’t even hesitate, and like every character who ever answers that question, chooses whatever they think will give them that special advantage in life. Achmed then goes on to greatness and glory, and despite being warned by the jinn that this game would end poorly never falters. Alongside the ravishingly beautiful princess Semiramis who of course immediately falls for him, no obstacle or foe stands a chance, and the other wishes aren’t needed until he tires of his adventures. The second wish is used, the great pirate Sem adventures on through the years as he has many great tales and wives, while Yaila returns home and cleverly cheats the Jinn of his prize with the last and final wish. The story is a disjointed mess of a power fantasy, with abrupt plot shifts and clichés mixed in with blatant messaging that is as clever as it is subtle. It does no service at all to a very rich mythos that could have been represented so much better.
“Ghost in the Garden” by Jim Breyfogle
This was probably the standout story in this entire fall issue. While it was longer than most of the others and so had more time to do so, it did a really great job of building the story and giving the reader a reason to care about the inherent struggles and characters. Péire is a soldier returning home after being forced to wage war abroad in the name of a murderous tyrant responsible for making his home a desolate cursed land. There are almost no good people in this supernatural tale, but Péire wants to be. Aelis is a ghost of one of the girls who long ago lived in the land, a sorceress somehow preserved across the years. I don’t know that it’s exactly a romantic story in the truest sense, and in a number of ways is almost anti-romantic, but I do think it is a story of love. There is heart in how the soldier wants to right the wrongs of the past, and heart in the choices both of them make when so many others made heartless ones. And in the midst of so much pain and genuine evil being expressed in the story, there is heart in how they eventually come to trust each other.
“Heart of the Goddess” by Harold R. Thompson
Major Brown is a retired soldier of the former Corps of Exploration, and now the kind of man whom one goes to when you wish to find someone who has gone missing in hostile territory. Miss Anna Strang is the aforementioned missing person, having hired an expedition to document one of the tribes in the hills of a recently conquered country seemingly untouched by time. There is a touch of the supernatural present in the latter half of the story, but it is never heavy handed. There is a strong steampunk vibe from the story, and the timeframe and technological level reflect that. If I had any complaint, it’s only that I wish it was longer. The writing is solid and well-paced, and it is an interesting premise that I would not mind seeing explored more.
“What’s He Building in There” by N.R. LaPoint
The title of this story asks a question that simply would be better off not answered, lest the shadows see you too. The idyllic modern neighborhood is constantly being disrupted by the loud industrial noises and bright lights flashing from the property of one Jebediah Graber, but horror awaits those neighbors who draw the attention of the strange shadows that seem to haunt the windows of the house. Whatever eldritch horror conjured such a thing transcends space and time, and as the strange happenings rapidly accelerate into terrifying ones it becomes a matter of life or something far worse than death. The pacing can be a little erratic, but that only lends itself to the premise, and it was intriguing from the word go.
“Satisfaction” by Vincent Valkier
Most people probably would joke that trying to deal with customer service hotlines is its own form of horror, but in this case it really just isn’t a joke. You see, Ohama knives just really cares about customer satisfaction. Gerome Washington has had it with the routine, listening to painfully slow menu options and unbearable “music” for hours on hold. He even goes in person to get a refund, but leaves even more shaken than he was beforehand. Bad reviews are of course the only option when all other avenues have failed, but the company really takes those so seriously. The… twist at the end is quite devastating. Yes, that is a terrible pun, but sometimes the only way to fight such horror is with humor.
“The Merchants of Maaaw” by Mark Pellegrini
I know everyone hates going to the dentist, but a phobia-inducing body horror was not on my bingo card for “worst dentist story.” This story combined all of the best (or is it worst) things that make people fearful or uneasy involving dentists, churches, and childhood and somehow produced a gripping narrative. Billy and his friend Peter just really hate going to the dentist, and unsurprisingly dentists really aren’t fans of being bitten by their patients. When those dentists are bodysnatching missionaries of a terrifying alien being, things get dark very, very quickly. The horror is not really of the suspense variety, as almost everything is pretty heavily telegraphed in advance, but the slow inevitability of the eventual resolution is really what gets to you. Overall, if the measure of horror is that it makes you shiver and question your childhood, I’d say this was a resounding success.
“Do You Wear a Bulletproof Vest, Lieutenant?” by Rodica Bretin
This story was maddeningly short, which is unfortunate because I am such a fan of temporal powers and abilities in fiction. It is a personal fascination with the concepts of fate, destiny, and whether such powers could overcome them or merely bend them. The themes are all here, as Kayla Blackmoon struggles to save the last surviving member of her team from the mysterious attackers in full tactical gear. The setting is undeniably current and modern, but with the extreme shortness of the story there aren’t a lot of other details to latch onto. I really just wanted more, it seems so very intriguing.