Strange Horizons, August 18, 2014

“Cold as the Moon” by Sunny Moraine

Reviewed by Louis West

“Cold as the Moon,” by Sunny Moraine, is a dark tale about a girl struggling to come to terms with her mother’s suicide, her father’s abandonment of her and her little sister then her sister’s death by cold and starvation. After her mother’s death, she sees her father turn into a bear and escape into the artic wilderness. Later, she hunts her bear–father down, feeds him her sister’s corpse then rides him from the dark back towards the light of civilization.

There is no clear line between the story’s allegory and the girl’s own reality, although given the depth of her grief, I would expect that. It’s a harsh tale, and I recognize that such grief is all-consuming. However, I found the story to be a bit indulgent, since it only focuses on this aspect of the girl’s life. No doubt, that is the story’s purpose, just not one I found compelling.