Beneath Ceaseless Skies #379, April 6, 2023

“An Inheritance of Scars” by Martin Cahill

“The Lone Drummer” by A. G. Lamar

Reviewed by David Wesley Hill

In the world of “An Inheritance of Scars” by Martin Cahill, the first offering in this issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies, scars are not only created through physical injury, they are inscribed on the flesh through emotional damage, etched on the body by the hand of the “Painter Unseen.” Temi, just rejected by his crush, Kiro, is about to undergo a rite of passage, “the trial,” in order to become an adult. Summoned to reveal his scars before a tribunal of elders, Temi learns that the trial might not actually be about him at all … but about his father, and about the similarity of the scars they bear… An ambitious tale taking on the problem of generational trauma. I’m undecided as to how well it succeeds. Read the story and make your own judgment.

The next story, “The Lone Drummer” by A. G. Lamar, is an equally ambitious endeavor. For one thing, it’s set in a magical African universe, which is a welcome change from the European milieu in which the majority of fantasies are based. The plot is also appealing—a novice drummer, Kamu, not only plays a “mysterious rhythm” and saves the tribal alliance of Reshan from invaders but instigates a regime change from monarchy to something perhaps more democratic. However, this reviewer spent more time Googling unfamiliar terms than actually reading the story. Necessary background could have been provided through footnotes or through additional exposition, but it wasn’t… Honestly, I can’t say if the time I spent researching the tale was worth the time I spent reading it. Again, make your own decision.