[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, September 2, 9, &16, 2024
“Eyeteeth” by Emma Johnson-Rivard (9/2)
“Dead Ringer” by Ali Householder (9/9)
“Whale Fall” by J.L. Akagi (9/16)
Reviewed by Michelle Ristuccia
“Eyeteeth” by Emma Johnson-Rivard follows two shipmates taking an unusually drug-and-sex laden leave on a space station, where one pays a futuristic graverobber to find the eyeteeth of his missing sister. The concepts of “Eyeteeth” are promising, but due to a lackluster ending, the gross amounts of rated R detail feel disappointing, as if they were for shock value only. Plotwise, several edgy details could have been done away with entirely, while other details did keep me reading—details such as why he is looking for his sister, and the science fiction feel of the setting. As someone who grew up reading antiheroes, I suspect if the ending had developed the main character more, then the “adult” side of this story may have seemed more justified, for certainly there are real people out there who use drugs and buy rough sex. The text mentions resurrection but never makes it clear if this is metaphorical only or something more, which in a speculative fiction story, must be clearly defined, and its lack of definition impacts the effectiveness of the ending. Readers who do not like antiheroes may as well skip this story. This story did not land for me.
In “Dead Ringer” by Ali Householder, Lott returns home after running away as a teen, but of all the things she expected to face, a doppelganger of herself climbing out of her old bedroom window was not one of them. Perhaps she’s imagined it, driven to distraction by guilt? From word one, Householder deftly juxtaposes the need for self-actualization with familial responsibilities in this riveting horror short. Where lesser writers may have been tempted towards the overly dramatic, Householder presents a family and town drama that’s relatable to your average reader, even if the reader has never faced exclusion based on their sexual orientation. Many of us can sympathize with Lott’s guilt over leaving her younger sister and her single-parent mother in the lurch, and the text presents both choices fairly, leaving room for Lott and the reader to struggle internally. On the technical side, Householder feeds information to the reader in a natural, well-structured first-person narrative that immerses us in Lott’s world. My one complaint about this story was an age gap presented in the run-away-teen scenario, which I felt was unnecessary because it was not addressed in any way nor did it affect the story, except maybe to paint a picture of a parent’s nightmare. I am a parent of teens myself. Others may not find that quite as cringe, as both characters are of consensual age, and it did not impact the overall story. “Deadringer” is certainly a story for adults and includes spicy details with Lott’s current and former girlfriends. The doppelganger cannot be fully explained, which works well for psychological horror, for the true horror lies in the fact that many of us must make these unfair choices, these catch-22s.
“Whale Fall” by J.L. Akagi follows an impoverished couple as they chase down and harvest organs from a fallen sky-creature in the streets of Brooklyn. Akagi presents his fascinating world well, from the delightfully off-putting details of the whale itself, to the subtle and not-so-subtle aspects of poverty and how it affects the two characters living through it. In a way, “Whale Fall” is hopeful, for the trials of the story strengthen the couple’s relationship, and show how they must have been tested before, and overcome. Yet a pervasive eco-socio-terror suffuses any story where two-months’ rent is a celebration, and where an argument about quitting smoking becomes less important than avoiding cops ready to arrest you for doing nothing (morally) wrong. I initially felt that the ending could say more or that the characters could say more to each other, but on rereading, there is still plenty to enjoy and decipher from the story and it does wrap up every physical and emotional plot point, with a bit of springboarding from the characters to humanity at large. Akagi skillfully crafts a wild near-future that yet feels here-and-now-real, inhabited by equally complex characters.