This week, the cabinet is full of fantasy. I’m dreaming of better weather by slipping into the dreamworlds of others. Dolphins, dragons and doves in the depths of conflict: take a trip with these three tales to take a break from your reality.
A Review of Surfacing, by Marissa Lingen, at Lightspeed Magazine
She had learned many things in the undersea city, but to its denizens – and possibly to herself – she was always the soldier from the surface. Not the person from the surface, or the woman, or the daughter, or the lover of jellyfish salads. Always the soldier from the surface.
After years of hiding beneath the sea, deserter Mishy has returned to a world at war. For what, she doesn’t know, but the objective might be hiding in the eldest daughter of the family she encounters first on dry land.
Lingen’s tale languidly ascends, with action rising to pop like bubbles reaching the surface. It’s a slow yet satisfying build that culminates in the reveal of Mishy’s mission. Brushed with shadows of Mishy’s memories and darting glimpses of her past, this is a top-notch long read.
Read it HERE
A Review of Andromache and the Dragon, by Brittany Pladek, at Ideomacer
Dragons eat anything. Maidens, moods, wallpaper. Why don’t we convince the dragon to eat something we don’t need?
What could go wrong in asking a dragon to eat desire? What could go right? When widow Andromache delivers the villagers’ new bargain to the beast, she strikes an unlikely bond. What she finds is that humans and dragons might not be so different, after all.
This imaginative, artful meditation on life, love, desire, emptiness – and dragons, of course – tackles some very real concerns in a very unreal way. A series of quick episodes paints a wholly unique portrait of the classic dragon tale.
Read it HERE
A Review of Stone Dove, by Elizabeth Beechwood, at Crossed Genres
We were afraid that our dove would be lonely and so we sent doves to her, hundreds of them, each winter to keep her company during the cold harsh days. It only caused the others to whisper behind their hands, to whisper about doves and singing and Satan.
It’s almost guaranteed you’ve never met a story narrated by talking mountains. Now’s your chance. Here, the stone dove Maria, born from the mountains, arrives to help mothers bring children safely into the world. But the villagers are reluctant to trust her beyond this task, and her focus shifts from birth to death.
In a beautiful arc that emphasizes nature’s contribution to the circle of life. Beechwood nails a super-short, inventive and engaging read. As you read, keep an ear tuned for the whispers in the wind and the singing in the trees.