[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, March 3, 2025

“The Luring Lantern” by Laura Cranehill

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

The narrator of “The Luring Lantern” by Laura Cranehill uses a light to attract men, whom she takes as her so-called husbands, literally absorbing them into her body. She also possesses multiple bodies, which she can change like clothing. A man living near her steals her favorite body after she rejects him as a husband, leading to their final confrontation.

The story can be read as an allegory of the complexity of romantic and sexual relationships, particularly their darker side. The mood is one of body horror and eerie eroticism. The author manages to deal tastefully with what might have been gruesome subject matter through a languid, sensuous narrative style.

Victoria Silverwolf is currently reading Children of Dune.