Beneath Ceaseless Skies #295, January 16, 2020
“Every Tiny Tooth and Claw (or: Letters from the First Month of the New Directorate)” by Marissa Lingen
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
The 295th issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies has two good original stories.
“Every Tiny Tooth and Claw (or: Letters from the First Month of the New Directorate)” by Marissa Lingen
A new Directorate is interfering with Aranth’s magic research in this short fantasy. While working on spells involving water flows, he converses with his lover, Pippa, who left the country to do research on venomous animals.
The letters between the couple hint at the evolving loss of freedom under Aranth’s new rulers. Meanwhile, Aranth, and his star student catch several velvet shrews with unusual venomous bites. As things get worse, Aranth keeps the letters to his lover as upbeat as he can, after all, he can’t be sure if someone intercepts them.
This was an alternative way to present a story, though in the end it wasn’t difficult to anticipate the end.
“The Candle Queen” by Ephiny Gale
The Candle Queen has trained for nine years to hold and keep the candles upright on her head in this short fantasy. Her people believe the world will end if all three candles ever go out and so it’s her sacred duty to keep her head straight for the next fifty years.
When she develops a friendship with a maid who is especially gentle with her, the queen learns more about the world outside the few chambers she can occupy. It’s a world of wonder, but she has a duty, doesn’t she?
This easy-paced yarn was engaging from the very start. A pleasant way to pass thirty minutes with an interesting twist at the end.