Weirdbook “Dreaming Kandresphar” by Darrell Schweitzer
“Eye of Wisdom, Eye of Pain” by John R. Fultz
“The Thing That Isn’t His Mother” by Lorenzo Crescentini
“Zoltán” by Cynthia Ward
“Charmed, I’m Sure” by Franklyn Searight
“Pandemonium” by Thomas Vaughn
“A Witness of the Last Days of En-Fanulk” by Adrian Simmons
“The Acquisition of Lady Bracknell” by R. C. Mulhare
“Whitsun” by Simon Bestwick
“A Comedy of Terrors” by Adrian Cole
“Wildfire” by Sharon Cullars
“Recorded Delivery” by Alexander Hay
“The Divine Floutist” by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
“The Ghosts of Old Samhain” by Frank Coffman
“Sessa’s Song” by David C. Smith
“A Streak of Gray” by Mark McLaughlin
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
This issue offers a generous helping of dark fantasy, horror, and sword-and-sorcery, with a touch of science fiction and humor as seasoning.
The narrator of “Dreaming Kandresphar” by Darrell Schweitzer seeks the fabled, possibly mythical or vanished city mentioned in the title. He encounters an old man who claims to have been there. The elder relates his strange experiences, leading to an unexpected connection between the two men.
The author creates an effective dream-like mood, filling the narrative with exotic details and a sense of the vastness of time. Some readers may be able to predict the story’s concluding revelation.
“Eye of Wisdom, Eye of Pain” by John R. Fultz features a lonely cyclops, a magician, and a warrior. Together they end the ceaseless wars between different tribes of cyclopes. United, the one-eyed creatures battle the god-like beings who inhabit a city atop an immense tower.
This brief synopsis fails to fully describe a lengthy, complex tale set in an imaginary world full of all sorts of supernatural entities. Readers who demand a great deal of fantasy content will appreciate the constant magical happenings throughout the text. Others may find it difficult to suspend their disbelief in a story where almost anything can happen.
In “The Thing That Isn’t His Mother” by Lorenzo Crescentini, translated from Italian by Amanda Blee, a preteen boy discovers that a monster hides inside the body of his mother, who was actually killed in an automobile accident. He has to deal with that terror, as well as many of the ordinary challenges faced by youngsters.
The story provides profound insight into the psychology of children. The author manages to make a schoolroom bully as frightening as a parasitic creature, while making both seem equally real. The resulting work works both as supernatural horror and as a moving portrait of preadolescent anxiety.
“Zoltán” by Cynthia Ward takes place at the World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago in 1991. A man desiring immortality attends a panel discussion on vampires, meeting the mysterious man named in the title. Their encounter is not what he expects.
As this synopsis may suggest, there is not much new in the story’s plot. What is more interesting is the way it deals with two gay men in the age of AIDS. The author displays a gift for characterization that partially makes up for a lack of originality.
Set in Paris in 1917, “Charmed, I’m Sure” by Franklyn Searight features a man suffering from blackouts of memory. It soon becomes obvious to the reader that he has killed a woman, although the protagonist does not realize this until much later. Threatened by the dead woman’s lover, he struggles to avoid the man’s wrath while also dealing with another problem.
Although not overtly fantastical, the story has the feeling of horror fiction, and an ironic ending suggests a tiny touch of the supernatural. Some readers may not care for a tale in which all the characters are unpleasant, although more cynical types may appreciate it.
“Pandemonium” by Thomas Vaughn mixes science fiction and cosmic horror. The protagonist and two crewmen travel to a Martian colony founded by her estranged billionaire husband on a spaceship carrying a secret cargo. On arrival, they discover the real motive behind the wealthy man’s obsession.
Even for a story that combines space travel and a sinister cult, the plot strains the reader’s credibility. One must assume that nobody aboard the spaceship has any idea what the vessel is carrying, and that the billionaire was able to conceal his evil intentions from everybody. If one can forgive this implausibility, one might derive some entertainment from the blending of disparate elements.
The narrator of “A Witness of the Last Days of En-Fanulk” by Adrian Simmons spends time in the city mentioned in the title after being left behind by a caravan. He has a relationship with a prostitute. A severe headache keeps him indoors when the city is destroyed by a mysterious force.
This is all that happens in the story; the title of the piece makes it clear what will occur, so there is no suspense. There is only one tiny hint of what wiped out the city, so that is not the focus of the work at all. Instead, it is better appreciated as a study of the narrator and his doomed lover.
“The Acquisition of Lady Bracknell” by R. C. Mulhare deals with an antique pane from a stained-glass window that allows one to gaze into another world. The item causes tragedy before it is destroyed.
An opening quote makes it clear that the premise is based on an idea by H. P. Lovecraft. As if this were not enough, a major character, although unnamed, is clearly supposed to be Lovecraft himself. Only readers who cannot get enough recycling of Lovecraftian concepts will be able to fully enjoy this pastiche.
The protagonist of “Whitsun” by Simon Bestwick is a British veteran of the First World War, still haunted by his experiences on the battlefield a decade after the Armistice. Wandering through the countryside, he comes across a village inhabited only by women. He is told that all the men were killed in the war. The situation turns out to be even more sinister.
The main character is a fully realized creation, suffering from what we would now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The terrifying truth about the village is depicted in an unusually realistic manner. This deceptively quiet horror story engages the reader’s emotions from beginning to end.
“A Comedy of Terrors” by Adrian Cole is one of a series of tales about an occult investigator called Nick Nightmare. In this story, he travels through a magic mirror in search of a lost cat. The universe behind the looking glass contains beings who are the opposite of those in the real world. The detective has to face an evil version of himself as well as other challenges in order to rescue the missing feline, as well as preventing an invasion from the mirror world.
Despite the title, the work is not blatantly humorous, although it definitely contains a fair amount of wit. Readers who enjoy lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek fantasy adventures are the best audience for it.
An author’s note at the start of “Wildfire” by Sharon Cullars explains that the story was inspired by the well-known song of the same name. A teenage farm boy abused by his widowed father derives some solace from his friendship with a girl his own age, who rides a horse named Wildfire. When he discovers what really happened to his mother, things go from bad to worse, ending with a supernatural encounter.
Although the story is only very loosely based on the song, those who have heard Michael Martin Murphy’s haunting 1975 ballad may be able to predict one aspect of the plot. The work has a powerful emotional impact; so much so, in fact, that some readers may find it overly depressing.
Less than two pages long, “Recorded Delivery” by Alexander Hay features a mail carrier who makes a terrifying discovery while delivering a package. This gruesome little vignette has a twist in its tail which may provide an extra shiver, or which may confuse.
Even shorter is “The Divine Floutist” by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. In an Islamic fantasy world, a holy fool performs a miracle at the funeral of a sacred flute player. There is not much else to this tiny tale, which depends entirely on its exotic flavor for its impact.
In “Sessa’s Song” by David C. Smith, a soldier and a witch travel together in search of adventure. (I don’t know if this story is part of a series, but it has that feeling to it.) They confront a wicked lord who has imprisoned the witch’s sister for an evil purpose.
Firmly in the tradition of sword-and-sorcery yarns featuring a pair of heroes battling sinister magic, this tale is likely to satisfy fans of the genre. Readers with delicate sensibilities should be warned that one aspect of the plot is particularly disturbing.
“A Streak of Gray” by Mark McLaughlin is another variation on Lovecraftian themes. One of Lovecraft’s entities swaps appearances with a college professor. This is more of a prank than anything else, until the final meeting between the two leads to something more serious.
The text contains lengthy descriptions of Lovecraft’s imagined universe. Those familiar with his mythos do not require this information, and those who are not are unlikely to be interested, as it is not really relevant to the plot. The entity is playful but dangerous, and this pastiche can be thought of as Lovecraft Light.
Victoria Silverwolf sometimes reads a weird book.