Beneath Ceaseless Skies #454, April 2, 2026
“How Gods Feel” by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor
“Under White Air” by Jonathan Olfert
Reviewed by Seraph
“How Gods Feel” by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor
Time passes on, whether quickly or painfully slowly, for all. All except Naomi and her village, trapped in a perpetual time loop that she cannot free them from, no matter what she suffers or tries. Her village, her brother, have slain a god of the forest, and none of them can escape the consequences.
This is a powerful story of a mortal striving against the ancient rules, the ancient gods, and the very laws of reality… that are all far beyond their ability to control or change. Yet some of these laws bend though they cannot be broken, and the god Naomi faces is not without compassion. Like some of my favorite tellings of Death, it seems almost as if to be there to guide her to eventual acceptance of what must be. But the real story is her journey, from the moment she realizes something is wrong, through all the things she struggles to change and fight, all the way to the inevitable end. The story has a way of getting in your very soul as you read it, and despite some less comfortable implications within the story, it is well crafted and engaging.
“Under White Air” by Jonathan Olfert
Twistfinger lives in a world devoid of humanity. To be sure, there are people, but the world has turned against them all, and survival is the only law. Flint arrows, obsidian blades, and sorcery cast by the teeth of sheep rolling upon the skins of slain men… this is the greatest strength these survivors can summon.
Much of the story is dedicated to imparting just how absolutely brutal the environment around them is, and what is left spends its time demonstrating how savage they have all become in the shadow of that brutality. There aren’t really any big twists or grand questions being asked here, but rather a dedication to presenting a specific world and really driving home the realities of it. I’m not sure it is as well suited to being a shorter story as it would be the introduction to a much longer novel, but with that said, I would read the hell out of that novel. There is a great deal of thought and care that has gone into the preliminary world-building aspects, and I’d love to see more.