Cirsova“Black Eyes” by David Breitenbeck
“Bones” by Aaron Onyon
“The Red Hat” by Ken Lizzi
“Son of Sinbad and the Roc of Ages” by Owen G. Tabard
“What of the Mountains?” by Joseph Bernstein
“Webs” by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt
“Fixing the Turtle” by Tais Teng
“An Unexpected Voyage” by Joyce Frohn
“Swords in the Tomb” by Harold R. Thompson
“Tokens of Moonlight and Mist” by Stanley Wheeler
“The Work of Other Wolves” by Frederick Gero Heimbach
“The Rune of Blodeuwedd” by Matthew Knight
“A Game with the Gods” by Rodica Bretin
Reviewed by Mina
The “notes” at the end of this issue let us know that Cirsova is slowly winding down, probably finishing with a bang with its 10th anniversary issue in 2026. Cirsova Publishing will continue, however, with other projects.
In “Black Eyes” by David Breitenbeck, a knight and a thief form an unlikely alliance against a demon-possessed brigand. The story is predictable and the old-fashioned style heavy-handed, but it’s an easy read.
In “Bones” by Aaron Onyon, an emaciated man approaches an occupied city and is buried alive. As two sides battle for control of the city, including through the use of forbidden necromancy, a small gift may turn the tide of the fight. Spaghetti western meets medieval fantasy tropes.
“Webs” by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt clearly draws on our atavistic fear of arachnids and mixes it with a form of vampirism. A man and a woman are trapped in a forest; they keep forgetting who they are and what their quest is. The tale does describe how they escape the evil wanting to consume them but the reader is frustrated by the fact that that it is not truly a stand-alone tale.
In “Fixing the Turtle” by Tais Teng, Ottocar the turtle trainer makes two wishes. We follow his ascension to crime lord as a result, but only at the end does he get his deepest desire from Lamagesh the Unseen. In the end, it is such a simple desire. An intriguing tale.
“An Unexpected Voyage” by Joyce Frohn follows a vampire and a pirate with a demon on his shoulder. The vampire urgently needs passage on the pirate’s ship to leave Jamaica. He plans to also take control of the demon, but learns a dire lesson: never try to cross a double-crosser.
In “The Red Hat” by Ken Lizzi, a hired sword finds himself working for two opposing sides in a political contest. Then he is hired to double-cross both in a world blending Roman, Shakespeare and demon tropes.
“Swords in the Tomb” by Harold R. Thompson is set in a village where stories count as currency. Captain Brown is sent to explore a burial mound by his Major, a great sceptic. He finds himself accepting the Spinner’s challenge to fight the wights haunting the mound. The tale is a simple enough one of a courageous man facing a challenge but it is well written, with a lightness of touch belying the skill.
In “Tokens of Moonlight and Mist” by Stanley Wheeler, Sky Runner sets out to steal a magical stone, the Heart of the Moon, to win Star Woman’s hand. Star Woman refuses to stay behind and joins him in his quest. They face a dragonling, ghosts, stone cats and treachery from within their own tribe on the quest. But is the Heart what it was thought to be?
“The Work of Other Wolves” by Frederick Gero Heimbach follows Vlad as he first meets the monster with which his village has an uneasy truce. But the truce is failing and Vlad begins to train with bow and arrow in fear for his family. Despite the monster that the reader feels no sympathy for, at the heart of the tale we find man’s greed for more land and lack of respect for the wolves that inhabit it. A tale that is not quite as black and white as it seems.
In “Son of Sinbad and the Roc of Ages” by Owen G. Tabard, the son of Sinbad, Basheer, must save Baghdad and its princess from an evil sorcerer and his beast. As he makes a plan, he remembers how he squandered his father’s fortune and went in search of treasure beyond the sea of Zanj, a giant egg from the Roc of Ages. If you want to know how Basheer uses the egg to trick the sorcerer, you’ll have to read this tale.
In “The Rune of Blodeuwedd” by Matthew Knight, the vampires are foul creatures. A knight with magic armour and a lad turned into the Master of the Hunt by the Green Woman join forces to defeat the black wizard with an undead falcon familiar. The style was a bit too ornate for me, with a flourish of gore.
“What of the Mountains?” by Joseph Bernstein is by far the best tale in this issue. On the surface, a burned-out musician is set the task of helping a hydra to hatch from its egg. Underneath, it’s a tale of friendship, betrayal and understanding what truly matters: music is not about talent, possession or fame; it is about connection.
In “A Game with the Gods” by Rodica Bretin, Kayla’s psychic powers are suddenly no big deal when she is surrounded by others with even more impressive powers and who delight in testing her. I don’t like stories that start in the middle and then don’t end like this one. A frustrating read.