[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, February 13, 2023
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
The narrator of “Fire and Ice” by Anya Markov meets a fellow student in art school who has the ability to produce flame, much like a dragon. Years later, during a protest against a repressive government, the full extent of this power reveals itself. The narrator turns out to possess a different magical skill.
Although not named, the text and the author’s biographical note make it clear that the dictator in the story is Vladimir Putin. The work can be read, on one level, as a fantasy of retribution against his oppressive regime.
On another, it may be interpreted as friends who have drifted apart coming together in a common cause. It also deals with the struggles of gay, transgender, and nonbinary individuals under Russian law. (The transformation of the narrator’s friend at the climax of the story can be seen as a symbol of the situation of a transgendered person.) However one may read the story, its realistic aspects are more effective than its fantastic elements.
Victoria Silverwolf is working three extra days this week.