[On May 10, 2021 Strange Horizons officially expressed its political support for Palestinian solidarity. The views of Tangent Online reviewers are not necessarily those of Strange Horizons. Fiction critiqued at Tangent Online is, as much as is humanly possible, without prejudice and based solely on artistic merit.]
Strange Horizons, April 28, 2025
“To Helen” by Bella Han (reprint, not reviewed)
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
“Zephyr” by Sofia Rhei is translated from Spanish by Marian Womack. A woman receives great magical power from a stone salamander, but at the cost of becoming a cruel witch. She creates a child in order to torture him, but eventually accepts and returns his love. The boy undergoes a quest to find a way to defeat the salamander.
This overly simplified synopsis fails to capture the sense of enchantment that fills the story. Wondrous events occur throughout, giving the work the feeling of both fairy tale and magic realism. Multiple fantastic happenings, such as the boy’s tears turning into butterflies, are both poetic and relevant to the plot. The story has a powerful emotional effect without excessive sentimentality.
Victoria Silverwolf reviewed the reprinted story when it appeared in Clarkesworld:
https://tangentonline.com/e-market-monthly/clarkesworld-201-june-2023/