Galaxy’s Edge
#44, May/June 2020
“In Blood, In Feathers, In Moonlight” by Deborah L. Davitt
“On the Mountain” by Eric Miller
“Wishr” by Ron Toland
“Four Short Novels” by Joe Haldeman (reprint, not reviewed)
“A Darker World” by Eric S. Fomley
“Come All Ye Faithful” by Robert J. Sawyer (reprint, not reviewed)
“Tooth Theology” by Larry Hodges
“One Hand and the Fiddler” by William Meikle
“Watching the Music Dance” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (reprint, not reviewed)
“In a Pig’s Eye” by Robert N. Stephenson
“Across the Transom” by J. Scott Coatsworth
“For I Have Touched the Sky” by Mike Resnick (reprint, not reviewed)
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
A sense of melancholy hangs over this issue of the magazine founded by the late Mike Resnick. Not only does it feature the last stories purchased for publication by its creator, it also includes the last of work of fiction by an author who passed away soon after it was accepted. In addition, a note from the publisher announces the sad fact that the new editor, Lezli Robyn, is battling the Covid-19 virus. I wish her all the best for a quick and complete recovery.
“In Blood, In Feathers, In Moonlight” by Deborah L. Davitt tells of a young man, adopted as an infant after the strange disappearance of his father. He works as a guide, leading tourists through the Smoky Mountains. After a bizarre attack on the tourists, he encounters a being from ancient myth, learns of his past, and begins an endless cycle of death and rebirth.
Many writers would have ended such a story with this revelation, but the author goes on, creating a more complex and meaningful tale in a short space. She also manages to make use of multiple points of view, a difficult technique that works perfectly here. In addition to the story’s imaginative use of fantasy, it also depicts the Smoky Mountains and the people who live there in a moving and realistic way.
The narrator of “On the Mountain” by Eric Miller relates his simple, ordinary life, living alone in a small cabin with a pair of cats. Our first hint of the fantastic is the fact that, although he has to cut his own wood, it arrives at the cabin without the need to carry it there. By the end of this brief story, we understand the narrator’s strange situation. Although the story has no real plot, it leaves the reader with a warm feeling of contentment.
The title of “Wishr” by Ron Toland is the name of a company that uses virtual reality technology to allow clients to experience the lives they desire. A man samples three possible lives, finally realizing what he really wants.
Despite the science fiction trappings, the author’s first professional publication is really just a variation on the premise of three wishes. Although the theme is familiar, the climax of the story has strong emotional appeal.
“A Darker World” by Eric S. Fomley is a love story, starting with the couple’s first date and building to their wedding day. The only disturbing element in episodic scenes of their relationship is a warning of severe weather and power outages. These come from a radio at first, in the normal fashion, but later arrive from seemingly impossible sources, such as a restaurant menu. The final scene explains the reason for these surreal messages.
The premise is intriguing, and the explanation for the story’s mysteries carries a powerful impact. Unfortunately, the narration continues a bit too long after the reader knows what’s happening, making the ending anticlimactic.
In “Tooth Theology” by Larry Hodges, Christianity has almost completely disappeared, replaced by worship of the Tooth Fairy. A lone Christian interrupts a sermon by a minster of this new religion, only to have his own faith questioned. The author seems to be saying something about organized religion, but his point is not entirely clear, and the premise is too silly to take anything he might intend seriously.
“One Hand and the Fiddler” by William Meikle combines elements of the science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, and Weird West genres. A peculiar carnival and two mysterious visitors arrive in a desert town. The carnival displays technology that is futuristic to the inhabitants of the Old West, such as washing machines and refrigerators, and even to the reader, such as a robot gunfighter. A battle of both magic and gunplay breaks out between the strange manager of the carnival and the two strangers, witnessed by a local resident of the town.
The author displays great creativity and the story is certainly original. The origin and purpose of the master of the carnival, and that of his opponents, remain unexplained, leaving the reader with many unanswered questions.
“In a Pig’s Eye” is the last story from the pen of the recently deceased Robert N. Stephenson. Set in a future where animals supply organs for transplantation into human bodies, it features a man who develops technology that allows a pig to speak to him, revealing that it is at least as intelligent as a human child. This creates a moral dilemma for the man, which he solves by making an unusual bequest.
Knowledge of the author’s demise adds a tragic and ironic poignancy to the story, which deals largely with death. Although the mood is serious, the presence of a talking pig adds an incongruously comic touch, which may not be intentional.
In “Across the Transom” by J. Scott Coatsworth, an alien being possesses the body of a human in order to fight an evil entity intent on killing the only person on Earth who can save the planet from destruction. After a frenzied race and a desperate battle, both the alien and the human learn something about this wide-ranging battle.
The author writes effectively from the alien’s point of view. The plot moves quickly, in scenes full of action and suspense. Why each world where the alien’s soul enters a local body has one inhabitant whom the evil entity must kill in order to destroy the world remains murky and confusing.
Victoria Silverwolf lives fairly close to the place where one of these stories is set.