Fantasy Magazine, May 2008

Fantasy Magazine Online delivers four strong stories in its May, 2008, offerings.

In “The Stolen Word” by Lisa Mantchev, a foul-tempered and incorrigible child is sold by her mother to a wandering peddler, with the promise that he’ll not bring her back “evermore.” But the peddler is in for more than he bargained for with this strange child, as is everyone who encounters her.

What seems at first to be cautionary tale told by a surly grandmother to frighten naughty children into obedience turns down a twisting, non-rational path. The moral is somewhat elusive, as Gran herself admits, leaving the reader fascinated yet a little troubled by this puzzling, barbaric tale that gives the impression of being passed down from long ago and far away.

A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown struggles to find herself again in Rachel Swirsky’s “Mirror Images.” Everywhere she goes, she sees different facets of herself—ex-wife, mother, daughter, friend—shining out at her from reflective surfaces. But the image of her true self eludes her.

The protagonist’s disorientation and rising anxiety are palpable, emphasized by rich sensory descriptions throughout. The ending is a bit abrupt for my taste, however, as I had grown to empathize with the protagonist and hated to leave her where and when the story did.

“The Small Door” by Holly Phillips differs from the other stories in this issue in that it is less dark. But it is no less intriguing or moving.

Sal would like to go to the fair, but she doesn’t complain. She is a good daughter, a good sister. It’s up to her to take on the responsibilities—and the dares, now that her more daring sister is confined to her bed with a serious illness. Macey has been watching from her sickbed, Rear Window style, as “The Weirdo” takes small animals into his house—and never brings them out. Despite her qualms, Sal promises Macey that she’ll check it out and discover what’s happening to the animals.

“The Small Door” is told with empathy and kindness to all the characters, letting no one become merely a “type.” There is a gentleness about this story, but one that is paired with a melancholy that keeps it from cloying sweetness.

In “The Shadow in the Mirror” by Mari Ness, a woman is haunted by memories of her dead sister. Although others tell her to mourn and move on, she can only obsess about her sister’s flute playing, her stories, and her dreams. But then she begins to notice a strange presence, a shadow, moving in the corners of her room…

Ness hooked me with this story’s impressive first sentence, and began to reel me in through the mists of its dark, brooding atmosphere. The line went a bit slack in the middle of the tale, however, as I got distracted by the narrator’s repeated lapses into recurring dreams. Although I understood their point, I could have done with one or two fewer of these episodes. Once the protagonist stops dreaming, the tension rises again, and the end delivers powerfully on the story’s early promise.