Journal of Mythic Arts, Summer 2007

The Endicott Studio Journal of Mythic Arts is an online magazine which features a wide variety of offerings on folklore themes; fiction, articles, poetry, and art can all be found on the website. The fiction offerings are numerous, many of them from big names.

The theme for the Summer 2007 issue is Young Adult Mythic, and the stories all revolve around teenagers.

“Going Ironside” by Holly Black is a short piece about fairies who came into the mortal world to have babies of their own and who have become drug addicts. Told in a wonderfully expressive first person voice, the story nails down the fairy details people don’t often think of: how lost they’d be in an unfamiliar world, and how iron and pollution and other human things might affect them. My only complaint was that it was very short, and the ending a bit inconclusive. But very enjoyable nonetheless.

In “Bittersweet” by Steve Berman, boys Dault and Jerrod are dating each other, and Jerrod has to undergo surgery because he’s lost his foot and worries about it. While Jerrod is gone, Dault sees three mysterious boys passing by his window…This is a slow, subtle story, and I personally didn’t care much for the ending—which made Dault a fundamentally unlikable character and made this story seem to have no point. Dault gives in to temptation, and nothing seems to come out of it, good or bad.

“The Tale of the Mountain King and His Sky Bride” by O.R. Melling is a Celtic tale of two fairies who marry—the King, Fairy of the Hills, and his bride, Fairy of the Sky. Despite the sceptics who proclaim that their union is doomed, the King and Queen are happy—until the day the Queen vanishes. A strong tale filled with atmosphere, although a bit too short for my taste, I was surprised by the turn the story took in its second half. But it made perfect sense, and the ending is surprisingly poignant.

“La Serenissima” by Catherynne M. Valente tells the story of Uliva, daughter of the Doge of Venice. She discovers the pleasures of reading through odd objects—mice inscribed with writing, rose petals which tell stories. Throughout her life, Uliva will be haunted by the writings of her father’s Fool, who leaves her messages in odd places—prophecies about Uliva’s life that turn out to be true.

As usual, Valente uses language to great effect; she knows how to keep from straying into purple prose and how to make every sentence sing. Uliva’s tale takes place in a strange, surreal world, where strange powers prowl, and not even a convent can make you safe from the rising sea. Recommended.

In “Cassie Says” by Gwenda Bond, the eponymous character has been born into a family of Greek-lovers, who have christened her and her brother after two famous twins: Cassandra and Hel (Helenus). Both Cassandra and Hel have been blessed (or cursed), with powers of prediction, but Cassie’s are unreliable. When she sees that a classmate will get raped, she enlists Hel’s help to change the future.

This very strong story takes its root in Greek myth but intelligently updates it by bringing it to the American suburbs. I loved the interplay between Cassandra and Hel, both strong, realistic characters, and seeing Cassie try to come to terms with her powers made for a powerful narrative. Recommended.

“The Guardian of the Egg” by Christopher Barzak is a reprint from anthology Salon Fantastique, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. Barzak’s story of a girl who starts growing a tree out of her head might have been ridiculous in the hands of a lesser writer, but he makes it convincing through his believable and subtle treatment of the main characters.

“Cooling” by Elizabeth Genco features Glory, a young girl who is addicted to fire; she has to see something burn to satisfy the craving within her. That is, until she meets an odd boy who seems to command the rain and whose words make her melt inside…

Genco builds a strong mythology of her own, and Glory’s strong desires drive this to its end. I felt, though, that the story stopped slightly too early before it could really dwell on the consequences of what Glory had done. Probably nothing more than a quibble—you definitely want to check this one out.

In “The Princess and the Ghost” by Jessie Suk Roy, Rose is a princess who has been cursed to live in a tower until the arrival of a prince. One day, the prince arrives—but Rose refuses to think of what happens next, of how the prince became a ghost who always stays by this side. This is short but ultimately satisfying. Rose’s denial and inability to face what she has done are palpable and give the ending its poignancy.

“The Thief of Dreams” by Will Shetterly is a short fable about a king, a tiger, and a snake who have their dreams stolen and who journey to find the Thief of Dreams. While short, but it’s a beautiful tale, and the last line is amazing. Recommended.

“The Man who Owned the Moon” by Celia Bell, another short tale, is about a man who buys the moon and who sets it everyday on his windowsill. Surreal, with a logic of its own, I’m afraid I wasn’t drawn enough either by the language or by the plot to find it satisfying. It went on for slightly too long and failed to bring enough weirdness to sustain its mostly plotless structure.

In “Jack Straw” by Midori Snyder, a sick child bargains with Jack Straw—the personification of death, harvesting people like bundles of wheat—in order to live. But she finds that beating Jack Straw can be dangerous. Like many stories in this issue, it felt too short. I loved the way things turn against the narrator, and even though the ending is predictable, it was still satisfying. But the build-up felt slightly cut-off, which kept the tale from making its full impact—which is a shame, because the ending really had the potential to be strong.

In “The Shape of Things” by Ellen Steiber, Nonie is a girl with the second sight who foresees her own death and who subsequently gives her possessions to her friend, Cam. The odd thing is, though, that Nonie associates her death with a big cat. “The Shape of Things” felt somewhat familiar as I was reading it, and a quick look at the credits ascertained that it was indeed one I’d read in a Year’s Best anthology. My opinion of it remains pretty much the same; though I love Central American mythology (we don’t see enough of it in fantasy), and the relationship between the two girls runs strong, the most important supernatural element is introduced too late and explained a scene before the ending in a somewhat clumsy fashion. This weakens what is set out to be a strong story.

In “Red Rock” by Terri Windling, half-Indian Creek brings his teenage girlfriend, Pippa, to his mother, who lives within a Navajo community. Pippa is a girl used to living on the streets; she and Creek are broke and plan to steal some peyote from the Indians. Windling draws a strong, believable character in Pippa and conveys in a short space the world of the Navajos: a magical place where spirits walk the earth and where people can find their true selves. Pippa’s journey to regain herself is all the more convincing because of the rich setting that serves as backdrop. Recommended.

By and large, the stories in this issue tended to be short, in some cases too short for my liking, drawing a fascinating world with its own mythology and leaving me hanging. But there are many strong stories in this issue, and they are certainly worth your time.

As an aside, I thought that the art selected for each of the stories was beautiful and cleverly placed—a nice complement to the reading experience.