Fantasy Magazine, December 2008

In December, 2008, Fantasy Magazine offers four fine original stories plus a reprint of Stephen Leacock’s haunting “Merry Christmas,” all well worth reading.

“Geddarien” by Rose Lemberg is the poignant tale of Zelig and his grandfather, both violinists. Grandfather tells Zelig of Geddarien, a magical once-in-a-lifetime event when the living buildings of the city dance to music provided by musicians like themselves. But the happy times of learning to play the “fiddele” and listening to Grandfather’s stories are coming to an end. Zelig and his grandfather, along with everyone they know, are forced into a ghetto and Geddarien comes too soon.

Lemberg uses evocative language and the point of view of young Zelig to convey the simple beauty of a family’s life, chipped away slowly by the encroaching terror of the Final Solution. The creeping horror of reality melts in and out of Grandfather’s fantastic stories as Zelig copes with what becomes of his loved ones and of the life he knew. This is a beautiful story, told with love for those lost to the Holocaust. Yet it is also clear-eyed, unflinching, and never gives in to sentimentality.

In “A Trail of Demure Virgins” by Sara Saab, Glory has been wandering Lebanon in silence for nearly 22 years, placing ceramic statues of the Virgin Mary at chosen locations exactly 14 paces from a given path. She ran away to avoid an arranged marriage as a young woman and has not spoken since, choosing instead a spare, solitary life for herself. She struggles with guilt for shaming her family and the young man she was to marry, and fantasizes about going back, explaining her actions to them. But she hasn’t spoken for so long that now no words will come, even it seems, when a word could rescue one of her planted Virgins from what she sees as thievery.

More literary than fantasy, “A Trail of Demure Virgins” is a subtle tale of internal conflict experienced by a protagonist struggling with self-awareness. By nature of its first person limited point of view, the reader is only able to know what Glory knows, to feel what she feels. Yet she still seems strange, distant as a protagonist, which I admit was frustrating to me on first reading. However, it became apparent on a second reading that this is the quality that makes the story work. Glory does not fully understand herself or the reasons for her actions. Only through the events of the story does she, and the reader, begin to achieve some understanding.

In Daniel Homan’s “The Queen of Hearts,” Renue seeks to win back freedom from servitude and dark magic for the people of his home district. To do so, he must pose as a nobleman and procure a place in the dangerous, high stakes card game presided over by the local lord, Asriael. Renue is to play and win back only the deed to the Slants, so his teacher may undo Asriael’s curse, but Renue can’t resist trying to discover what became of his mother, whom the lord took as a concubine many years ago. Renue knows he risks much, but in remaining at the manor finds more than he could have imagined.

According to an interview with its author on the Fantasy Magazine site, this tale was inspired by a nightmare. This is evident in its ethereal images, mysterious tone, and non-linear sequence. But the numbered section titles help the reader keep her bearings through the twists and turns of intrigue within the manor and the dark streets below. That Homan has also adapted this story into a novel is unsurprising, as a great deal of background detail is suggested, tantalizing the reader to seek to know more about this world in which a liar’s hands are magically turned red and a murderer’s black, and where a dark shape, once a man, stalks the night in service to Asriael.

“Keepity Keep” by Carole Lanham initially appears to be a gentle tale of imaginary friends and growing up, perhaps intended for younger readers, but is more than it seems. The imaginative Turnbull brothers—confident, handsome Alban and serious, pensive Gage—meet a Wingwee named Petaloo with a chameleon-like talent for blending into her surroundings. She helps them collect things for their memory book and tries to keep their competitiveness and jealousy over her in check. The boys begin to grow up, though. Alban starts to bring girls to the garden, much to Petaloo’s dismay. But the appearance of a mysterious note will prove to be the real threat.

“Keepity Keep” is enchanting. It reads like a bedtime story of the best kind, with sly asides to the grownup reader and imaginative language that captures the joy of discovery. Lanham cleverly lulls the reader into a false sense of security, of comfort in knowing where the narrative is going, until it turns suddenly and there is the ending—surprising, yet heartbreakingly inevitable just the same.