Aurealis #147, February 2022

“The Meeting of Two Riders” by James Rowland

“The Body” by Greg Foyster

“The Allocution of Bob Hayward” by Floris M Kleijne

Reviewed by Chuck Rothman

“The Meeting of Two Riders” starts out the current issue of Aurealis with an unusual fantasy story. Marka is the wife of Huso, and her job is to fight the sentient storms that ravage the land where she lives. Huso is unhappy that she had to leave. Marka goes again, finding a coastal storm named Molufua. James Rowland‘s story becomes a battle between the two, with a twist at the end. It was too much of a battle for my tastes and I don’t think the ending is a surprise, though the coda at the end does help redeem it.

Max in “The Body” by Greg Foyster hates his body and has neglected it over the years, except for his legs. When he gets a sore on them, the doctor tells him it’s a type of flesh-eating bacteria. This is good news: the bacteria produces a toxin that can stop inflammation and Max is set up so that it can be harvested—and be paid for it. It’s fairly routine body horror.

“The Allocution of Bob Hayward” by Floris M Kleijne has Bob giving a talk—something like a legal deposition—about his friend and literal partner in crime, Shane. When breaking into a house, they discover an ivory tusk and take it home. Bob is a whittler, and starts to whittle a design into the tusk, something he just feels is right for it. Meanwhile, Shane, who hates horses, is incensed by their landlord Peters, who is a horse owner and, once the carving is finished, entices Bob to go to out to the place where the horses are kept. Things turn very dark, influenced by the tusk that Bob has carved. The story would be at home in the old EC comics, but I do find that sort of shocking and gross ironic justice trope uninteresting.

The stories here are all accomplished and well-written, with interesting ideas, but don’t do enough with them.

Chuck Rothman’s novels Staroamer’s Fate and Syron’s Fate are available form Fantastic Books.