Beneath Ceaseless Skies #393, October 19, 2023

“Five Encounters with the Color God” by KJ Kabza

“The Four Gifts of Empress Lessa” by Myna Chang

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

Despite having similar titles, the stories in this issue have different narrative techniques and are otherwise dissimilar.

Narrated in second person, “Five Encounters with the Color God” by KJ Kabza relates how “you” accompany a friend who has a missing leg to the place where a deity is reputed to grant wishes. The god does not always receive petitioners, and one must wish for oneself, and not for the benefit of another. The outcome of the quest causes “you” to ponder the importance of self.

Although the technique of second person narration adds little, it can be seen as emphasizing the theme that each person is the center of his or her life story. Stated this explicitly, the point is obvious. Although hardly profound, the theme is expressed in a reasonably engaging manner.

The narrator of “The Four Gifts of Empress Lessa” by Myna Chang is the ghost of an empress poisoned by the emperor for failing to give him a male heir. In her spectral state, she is able to protect the life of her daughter and that of the tyrant’s next wife as well.

This is a fairly brief, simple tale, more notable for elegance of style rather than for plot. It is no surprise that the emperor will pay for his crimes, but the exact manner in which this happens adds some originality.

Victoria Silverwolf wonders if another story in this issue would have a title including the word “three.”