Strange Horizons, February 16, 2015

“Limestone, Lye, and the Buzzing of Flies” by Kate Heartfield

Reviewed by Stevie Barry

Kate Heartfield‘s “Limestone, Lye, and the Buzzing of Flies” is a story with suggestions of both reincarnation and possession. Daphne and Tom, two children from unhappy homes, spend much of their time at a historical re-enactment center in an old local fort. To them it’s as amusing as it is interesting, and is far more pleasant than their families.

When they grow older, both get jobs working at the fort: Tom as a blacksmith, Daphne as his wife. Each is based on a real person from history, and as time goes on, the two find themselves subtly slipping into their (rather dangerous) roles somewhat more than is comfortable. Daphne begins to realize she’s having thoughts and memories not her own, and her phantom persona fears what Tom-as-blacksmith might do to her. While it’s mildly creepy, it’s mostly melancholy, and just long enough to be effective without going overboard. It would be very easy for a story like this to slip into cliché territory, but this stays understated enough that it’s mournful without being trite.