Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, March 2017
“The Fo’dekai Artifact” by J. D. Moyer
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
There are two first publication stories in the March issue of Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores.
“The Fo’dekai Artifact” by J. D. Moyer
While digging up Hopi artifacts, Darren comes across an alien object in this SF short. At first, he keeps it for himself, only allowing a roommate to touch it. But when they both start to have the same strange dreams he gives it to the sponsor of the archaeological dig.
Soon there are four people, the sponsor’s assistant touches it too, experiencing dreams that transport them to a strange planet. Two of the victims find a way to reject the dreams. Darren and the assistant decide to give in to these bizarre dreams, which leads to an even weirder outcome for them both.
The prose was slow through the middle. But it was easy to read and the mystery kept the story’s pull from the opening until the unexpected end. A nice story.
“The River’s Daughter and the Gunslinger God” by Mathew Claxton
Sigrun lives in an isolated valley in this short fantasy. The river running through the valley is her father, and the giant that created the valley is her grandsire. After living alone for many years, a dwarf comes in the spring looking for gold dust in the river. Tentative at first, she and the dwarf, Brokkr, become friends and then lovers by the end of the summer.
News spreads about the gold, and the next summer prospectors fill the valley and build a town. But Sigrun and Brokkr remain together. Until a beautiful goddess wafts into town, followed soon after by an enigmatic gunslinger god who tries to win the goddess’ heart. When Brokkr too falls for the goddess, the gunslinger must eliminate the competition. The river’s daughter has her own powers, but are they enough to save her erstwhile lover?
After an engaging start, Claxton’s tale slowed in the middle. The influx of prospectors and the development of the town came over as a long description, making it hard to remain engaged in the story. By the end, the middle section had drained the story of its initial charm.