Aurealis #169, April 2024“Finding the Words” by Avril Mulligan
“The Boy and the Girl and the Friend Who Watched Them” by Charlie Milne
“The Divide” by Daniel Burnbridge
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
Three fantasies with dark moods, one with a touch of science fiction, appear in this issue.
“Finding the Words” by Avril Mulligan features a woman who used to lead an ordinary life, but now dwells in a tree. She clings to words from her past, but sometimes they literally fall to the ground and vanish from her mind. A sprout grows from her foot, leading to her fate.
The intended symbolism of this surreal tale is difficult to see. Perhaps the message is that language makes us human. In any case, it is a gently sad story, with a final scene of transformation that will reminds readers of a familiar myth.
In “The Boy and the Girl and the Friend Who Watched Them” by Charlie Milne, a child communicates with an unseen being, who tells her of impending disaster. Her younger brother is terrified by what she tells him, but is powerless to prevent the tragedy.
This description of the story’s simple plot fails to capture the author’s intense, introspective mood. The reader is drawn into the boy’s mind. The apocalyptic ending may appeal to fans of horror fiction, but others may find it extreme.
“The Divide” by Daniel Burnbridge takes place across a vast amount of time and space. The protagonists are a shaman in prehistoric times; a Dutch colonist in South Africa in the 17th century; and a human mind inside an artificial body in a starship in the far future. The shaman’s magical powers allow her to journey to these latter times, changing the lives of the other two characters.
This is an overly simplified description of a complex plot. The story requires careful reading, as it is often opaque. In part, it is obviously an attack on colonialism, but there is more to it than that. Those with the patience to read it more than once will best appreciate it.
Victoria Silverwolf went to three used bookstores in Huntsville, Alabama recently.