Beneath Ceaseless Skies #348, January 27, 2022
“Clay” by Isabel J. Kim
“Godmaker” by J. A. Prentice
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
The 348th issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies has two excellent short stories.
“Clay” by Isabel J. Kim
Emmanuel 7.18 is one of three clay batch-siblings in this short fantasy. They were born from the kiln, where only one in twenty clay figures will come alive. Yet many clay people have defects caused by other figures exploding in the kiln. The makers mass-produce the clay figures to make up for the low efficacy, exacerbating the issues. 7.18 was meant to be a court servant, but his disfigurement dooms him to life as a state messenger instead.
When he delivers a message to someone who dabbles with making figures from lifeless clay, 7.18 stays to help. For weeks he watches the artisan build a lifelike figure that should never be able to come alive in a kiln.
This character-centric story was well-constructed and entertaining.
“Godmaker” by J. A. Prentice
In this short fantasy, a godmaker is an artisan who creates God idols for anyone who wants one. Some people come to the old godmaker for help. He makes one for a shepherd who keeps losing her flock, another for a woman who can’t get pregnant, and the last one for a soldier about to go to war. Each person complains the idol is too plain or misshapen. Yet they return later with stories of how the model miraculously solved their problems.
Eventually, the news reaches the king, who demands the godmaker create a new idol to protect the city from the fast-approaching hordes of Sea Raiders. However, the king isn’t pleased with the misshapen effigy the godmaker creates and refuses to pay him or take the clay model. Instead, the king commissions a famous godmaker to create a golden idol to place at the city gates. Soon the Sea Raiders arrive and lay siege to the city.
The author’s narrative had an inviting style like an old fairy tale.
You can follow Kevin P Hallett’s writing on www.kevinphallett.com