Beneath Ceaseless Skies #352, March 24, 2022
“Merry in Time” by Kathleen Jennings
“Venturing” by Jonathan Louis Duckworth
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
The 352nd issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies has two short stories, one of which is a novelette.
“Merry in Time” by Kathleen Jennings
A lord’s easily enchanted son goes in search of a maiden in this fantasy novelette. Before, when the son first met the girl, she was spinning nettles into thread inside the enchanted forest. They had each sung a song of demands to each other. But her three aunts bewitched him and hid her away.
Now, the lordling searches for her in vain, but his mother advises him to try the more arduous path after constant disappointment. He must fulfill the conditions she sang in her song if he wishes to find her.
In time he becomes the lord but continues to chase the dream that he would not let die. As years pass, he becomes a more responsible lord. How will he find time to pursue his hopeless dream while fulfilling his duty to the people living on his land?
This novelette wandered at times, and the plot felt padded. Though the story was nice, it was also slow.
“Venturing” by Jonathan Louis Duckworth
In this short fantasy, Zelda is a big girl from a community stead who loves to go venturing. She inherited the urge from her dad, though her momma disapproves. Still, she would slip away into the Wilderthere to go venturing any time she could.
One day, while venturing, she gets washed away by a flood and wakes up far from the stead. What’s worse, the Skinnyman is tracking her to eat her. It’s a long way home and a strange land where she is. Still, she can only try her best to get back from this great venture.
The author beguiled the reader with his imaginative language and spun an engaging and original fairy tale that was not to be missed.
You can follow Kevin P Hallett’s writing on www.kevinphallett.com