Flytrap, Issue #9, June 2008

Flytrap #9 begins with M. Rickert’s “War is Beautiful.” Told in a highly subjective first person, an American soldier befriends a Vietnamese girl named Binh. He thinks of her as his angel, but soon she takes on the qualities of a ghost. Rickert begins by using an ironic tone with lines such as: “…humans are funny creatures aren’t they, and what is war if not the ultimate in human expression?” Though plot is not at the forefront of this story, it is quite moving, as the author proves that there is nothing beautiful in war. Yet, she does it with a flowing style that is beautiful indeed.

Jenn Reese combines modern high-school life with Greek mythology in “Monstrous Love.” Our young protagonist is made of living stone, as his father is Pygmalion and his mother is Galatea. Other mythological figures are represented as his fellow students, and soon, their teacher gives them the assignment to interview a monster. The narrator, a klutzy dweeb, is teamed up with Maddie, and the adventure is on. A light tale that moves along briskly with more than a few laughs.

In “Domesticated Bliss,” Lori Ann White tells of Elaine, an AG Science instructor who’s doing gastric research on Portia the cow. Elaine has a husband who is seldom there and a colleague, Brad Schaefer, who has a strained marital relationship as well. This is a good story with believable characters, but because hard science holds little interest for me, I couldn’t get into it. A matter of taste, not competent storytelling here. You may enjoy it.

M.K. Hobson’s “Crushing Butterflies” is a time-travel story about regrets. Helen has an abusive husband and goes to a bar where she meets a man from the future. Time travelers have been visiting her era for a while now, with agents of the Continuuati sent back to stop them. This is not an original idea, but Hobson overcomes this by telling a passionate story of Helen and her dead child. The title comes from the man telling Helen a famous story from his era, the tale of a man who accidentally crushes a butterfly underfoot and changes everything. That’s not terribly original either, but because of the story’s pathos and fine writing, “Crushing Butterflies” works.

At a single page, Sarah Monette’s “Fiddleback Ferns” is the shortest offering in the issue. But that doesn’t mean it’s not powerful. Marjorie has strange ferns growing in her garden that soon land her daughter, Cindy, in the hospital with a tube down her throat. Are alien spores causing this? Marjorie’s husband deals with the crisis by getting drunk, while Marjorie resorts to a can of gasoline, and soon the neighbor’s house is in flames. The narrative has a matter-of-fact quality about it that brings out the horror through the characters’ actions. Memorable.

Haddayr Copley-Woods tells a story of three generations of women in “Kitchens.” When Death claims Hazel, she punches him square in the face. She is escorted to a house where she finds her dead mother, Katherine, younger than she should be. They play card games and reminisce about the past, until Hazel learns that Death will be claiming her daughter, Kate, as well. This story didn’t work for me. Slightly humorous, but frankly, it wasn’t that clever, and dealing with the subject of death and the afterlife, I found it had little poignant to say. The ending was somewhat moving, but there wasn’t enough tension throughout, as Hazel is a bystander in her own tale.

This is the first issue of Flytrap I have read, and I was impressed and look forward to future issues. Being a fan of Tim Pratt’s fiction, I was interested to see his and Heather Shaw’s editorial efforts, and I was not disappointed. This issue also includes four poems by Catherynne M. Valente.