Strange Horizons, April 15, 2019

“Water Through Our Hands” by Ross Showalter

(Not) Reviewed by Tara Grímravn

April 2019’s third installment of Strange Horizons features a short story by Ross Showalter titled “Water Through Our Hands.” Showalter’s story is not at all what I would expect to find in a speculative fiction magazine like Strange Horizons because there are no demonstrable elements of the genre within this tale.

The only link to any form of fantastiska whatsoever is the protagonist’s sudden-yet-vaguely-implied telepathy and even that is tenuous at best. The reader isn’t given any indication that this is a genuine psychic phenomenon and not just an illusory symptom brought on by mental stress due to the death of her mother. In fact, the concept remained unexplored and unconfirmed throughout. In short, speculative fiction it is not and we won’t be reviewing the story as we normally would.