Realms of Fantasy, June 2008

Tanith Lee doesn’t disappoint with “The Snake: A Story of the Flat Earth” in the June, 2008, issue of Realms of Fantasy. A fairy-tale type story rife with intrigue, it is a complete page-turner all the way to the surprise ending. The death of her beloved prince causes Princess Zerezel to become catatonic, and only a mage living far in the North can revive her. But the mage is not the beneficial “Prince Charming” he appears to be.

While the characters tend to be classical archetypes, Lee breathes life into them in a way only a master storyteller can. In many ways, it’s a genius twist to the old “Sleeping Beauty” story but set in a different world with different characters. The main connection to “Sleeping Beauty” is in the similarities of the basic archetype and the “love conquering death” theme, but in other ways, it is a completely different story.

“Lest our Passage be Forgotten” by Bradley P. Beaulieu is set in the Far East. Yasuo is a mystic with the gift of recalling the memories of others and then setting them in fireworks for others to experience during funerals. He is hired by the local Daimyo to perform his service for the Daimyo’s soon-to-be-departed mother, Fuyoko. While trying to perform his service to the cantankerous old woman, Yasuo discovers a secret that, if exposed, could bring dishonor to the Daimyo’s household and cost Fuyoko his life.

“Lest our Passage be Forgotten” is full of surprise twists, courtly intrigue, and more. Beaulieu displays a skill at delving deep into the psyches of his characters to reveal the human condition and weaves a tale full of love, lies, and danger.

“The Self-Fulfilling Prophet” by Way Jeng is total, flat-out humor. It pokes fun at conventional wisdom while also enlightening the reader as to how a self-fulfilling prophecy actually works. It simultaneously displays the foolishness of wise men and the wisdom of fools, and throws in a little cult humor on top. The shortest story in this issue and one well worth the read.

“The Good Neighbor” by Betsy James was a fairly good read despite the obvious ending. But sadly, this story did not stand out among the other good stories in this issue. Mainly about a boy, a “coming-of-age” ceremony, and his doubts over the local religion in the boy’s community—which, of course, is what made the “surprise ending” anything but a surprise. Other than that, it is an entertaining story with well-drawn characters that provides a good look into pastoral shamanic cultures.

“The Summer of Lucy” by Kate Riedel features a really cool dog, so it automatically gets my vote on that alone. (I once had a German Shepard named Lucy.) Aside from the cool dog factor, the tale is pretty straightforward, although the ending did have a nice twist. The true nature of the dog and the old homeless woman wasn’t particularly surprising to me; I had it figured out before I finished reading the first page. Riedel does show great skill in character development,t and that, if nothing else, made it an enjoyable read overall.

“Here’s What I Know” by Dennis Danvers is the most entertaining and comedic story in the June issue of Realms of Fantasy. Between the ghost of a less-than-savory father coming back to right past wrongs, having to deal with people meeting the ghost only for them not to remember later, and searching for a half-sister he never knew he had, combined with the struggles of attending an SF convention, the writer protag with no name has a lot to deal with. Normally, I get turned off by the “Where’s Ishmael” syndrome that seems to be infecting first-person narratives these days, but this time around, the story was too entertaining for me to notice. Danvers weaves a very entertaining tale rich with humorous situations and dialogue, plus complicated characters who feel so real you’d almost swear they were standing next to you. Of course, I’d still love to know what the main character’s name was.