Beneath Ceaseless Skies #418, October 17, 2024

“Three Drops in the River” by Marissa Lingen

“Street Theater” by Jon Hansen

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

This issue offers two brief stories.

An unlikely trio of characters appears in “Three Drops in the River” by Marissa Lingen. A scholar, a teenage girl, and a lion try to interpret a mysterious message that, once its enigmatic instructions are followed, will allow the naiads who normally inhabit a river to return.

The tone of the story is that of light comedy. The situation is artificial (one has to wonder why only these three characters worry about the naiads) and is similar to the premise of a joke, but the result is witty.

Even shorter is “Street Theater” by Jon Hansen. A representative of a dictator delivers a speech to a crowd, accompanied by gargoyles who are there to carry away protesters. An actress, hired to praise the dictator, witnesses the beginning of a riot and has to decide how to react.

There are few surprises in the simple plot of this tiny tale. The theme of resistance to tyranny is a worthy one, if hardly original.

Victoria Silverwolf is about to start reading The Businessman by Thomas M. Disch.