Review of “The Death of Bees” by Avra Margariti

Plot:

The unnamed narrator has an online girlfriend, Anastasia, who is writing an essay about the population depletion of bees. When the narrator looks out her (?) bedroom window, she sees fuzzy insects landing on the lilacs.

Homeschooled, she later asks her parents why the bees on their property seem to be thriving. This question makes her computer-programmer parents nervous and provokes warnings to stay away from the bees. She could be stung—or—or what if she’s allergic?

This, in turn, provokes a question to Anastasia: How do you know when a thing’s real?

Apparently of a practical bent, Anastasia replies: You investigate, silly. Her practicality doesn’t prevent her from adding a string of throbbing heart emoji.

Thoughts:

I’ve called the narrator “she,” but there really is no indication of her gender. Another reader might see a male here, I suppose. It would be perhaps the first logical conclusion after seeing the narrator has a girlfriend. I just read her as female, but I obviously don’t know the intent of the author.

The ending is visible from a mile away. Just the same, watching the narrator test the limits of her world is engaging. Author Avra Margariti works in lightness via the eye-rolling teenager fed up with her hand-wringing parents to make the reader smile and to mask something perhaps more sinister.

While not among my favorites, this short, enchanting read has charms. I enjoyed it.

Bio:

According to her blurb, author Avra Margariti is a queer Social Work undergrad living in Athens, Greece. She enjoys storytelling in all its forms. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Flash Fiction Online, The Forge Literary, SmokeLong Quarterly, The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, and Argot Magazine, among others. Margariti won the 2019 Bacopa Literary Review prize for fiction. Her Twitter handle is @avramargariti.

The story can be read here.

Title: “The Death of Bees”
Author: Avra Margariti
First published: Daily Science Fiction, January 27, 2020

Review of “The Unicorn Keeper” by Mary E. Lowd

There is no plot in this short work, only a portrait of a put-upon unicorn keeper. Amilioona, the unicorn, has dainty gleaming, tufted—perfect— hooves which gleam “the same sparkling shade of white as a hillside of snow in the sun.” Those dainty hooves manage to kick the slop bucket over regardless of where the keeper leaves it. They also kick up fresh hay, making the keeper sneeze.

The unicorn’s trespasses go from inconveniences that could view with indulgence to more serious things. Is Amilioona conscious of the pain she inflicts? Or, like a spoiled toddler, does she simply not understand?

Amilioona earns her keep, performing in a carnival and visiting children’s birthday parties. However, she insists on being fed by hand. She won’t eat three-leaf clovers. They taste different from the four-leaf clovers she demands. If the keeper tries to set limits, Amilioona stops eating and loses her silver-as-moonlight ethereal glow. Everyone blames the keeper and cries for her fix to the unicorn.

Thoughts:

It’s hard not to see this as the quintessential abusive relationship. Everyone is enchanted with the unicorn who performs ludicrously impossible acts in the carnival. A trapeze artist walks the unicorn home and says goodbye to the unicorn while ignoring the human because after all, the human is only the unicorn’s keeper.

The keeper sees the situation as her fault. Amilioona is a difficult eater because she babied her when she found her as a fawn. The bandages she wears when the unicorn cuts her with her horn are the result of things the keeper has done. (Again, is this deliberate? Out of negligence? Or does Amilioona simply not know better?)

This nicely crafted little piece leaves the reader unsettled.

Bio:

According to her blurb, author Mary E. Lowd lives in Oregon with her husband, two children, a bevy of cats and dogs, and the occasional fish. Her fiction has won an Ursa Major Award, two Leo Literary Awards, and two Cóyotl Awards. She is also the editor and founder of the furry e-zine Zooscape.

The story can be read here.

Title: “The Unicorn Keeper”
Author: Mary E. Lowd
First published: Theme of Absence, January 17, 2020

Review of “Kill Switch” by A. P. Howell

This is more of an essay. There isn’t a plot as such.

The reader is told that what is referred to as a “kill switch” is more complicated than a single switch. What is referred to as a gene is more complicated than a single gene.

“That’s the history of genetics right there. Applying chosen labels to half-understood phenomena of infinite biological and social complexity.”

The narrator is a working technician. Just the same, he (or she?) says if she’d been born a generation earlier, he’s been regarded as a wizard. Nevertheless, he’s happy with no more reward for his tweak here and snip there than a regular paycheck.

Thoughts:

The message of the essay is obvious from the opening paragraph when the narrator makes a point of identifying “morons.” This appears to allude to the infamous 1927 Supreme Court decision, Buck v. Bell, in which Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote denying that the 14th Amendment protected people from forced sterilization—if they didn’t measure up. Regarding plaintiff Carrie Buck and her family, he rather uncharitably added, “Three generations of morons are enough.”

This decision lent justification to the eugenics movement in the United States. The movement lost steam after the horror of the Holocaust and Nazism was revealed, but the recent resurgence in white supremacy shows how often a bad penny shows up.

There are other allusions, of course. Author A. P. Howell has done her homework.

I would be remiss if I didn’t add, despite its harrowing warning, the writing itself tends to be dull. This may be intentional, underlining another point the author wished to make, but it can strike the reader like reading the same sentences several time.

I liked this sad little piece, but I would not read it a second time.

Bio:

In her author’s blub, author A. P. Howell has held various jobs, from ice cream scooper to webmaster. Her work has appeared in Corvid Queen and the anthology XVIII.

The story can be read here.
Title: “Kill Switch”
Author: A. P. Howell
First published: Daily Science Fiction, January 20, 2020

Review of “The Castle of Wine and Clouds” by Jenny Rae Rappaport

Plot:

“It begins with the Tyrant,” the reader is told. When the war is over, and a new king is crowned, the people are secure. They overlook the gradual eroding of less consequential rights. People disappear in the night. In the country, among those who work the land, the memory that things were ever different fades.

But the stones remember. They whisper to a farm boy, who will eventually save the country. And they invade the dreams of the tyrant.

Thoughts:

I thought as I read through this the first time that this was an abstract depiction of a police state, controlled, not by sociopathic humans (as is the usual case), but by stones who drink wine and blood. It never occurs to the people that their problems don’t stem from a bad king as much as the bad idea of kingship itself. It’s not the man in the castle, but the castle itself that’s the root of all evil. Make it a museum or a college.

Better yet, build a legislative building on the opposite side of town where not just one guy, but conceivably hundreds of men and women from the whole country can argue and gum up the governing of the country for years to come if you want to restore civil rights.

Seriously, this horror story hits close to home. No ghost or goblins. Maybe a jackbooted vampire, though.

Bio:

According to her blurb, author Jenny Rae Rappaport’s work has been published in Lightspeed Magazine and Escape Pod among other magazines. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from Carnegie Mellon University. She lives in New Jersey. She can be found online at jennyrae.com and on Twitter at @jennyrae.

The story can be read here.

Title: “The Castle of Wine and Clouds”
Author: Jenny Rae Rappaport
First published: Daily Science Fiction, January 13, 2020

Review of “A Matter of Fax” by Susan Rooke

Plot:

The house is perfect with its acreage, gatehouse, and large conservancy. After all her years of recording and concert work, and all the travel, this is the place for her. Never mind the silly rumors about the place being haunted.

Then the relatives she hadn’t seen for years descend on her. When polite hints to leave her alone don’t work, she takes to more underhanded measures and invites them to stay the night… in a haunted house, even if she has to do the haunting herself.

Thoughts:

On the one hand, the reader sympathizes with the narrator right away. It’s understandable that the poor woman wants a little peace and quiet after a long hard professional life. The relatives who help themselves to her hospitality get in the way of that.

Not all is as it seems, of course. Unfortunately, the ending is visible from a mile away. Other than that, this is a fun little piece I enjoyed it.

Bio:

According to her blurb, author Susan Rooke is a Pushcart-nominated poet and author of the Space Between fantasy series. Her work has appeared in such publications as inkscrawl, Eye to the Telescope, The Twilight Zone Magazine and The Christian Science Monitor, among many others. She lives in Texas.

The piece can be read here.

Title: “A Matter of Fax”
Author: Susan Rooke
First published: Theme of Absence, January 10, 2020

Review of “Inertia” by Wendy Nikel

Plot:

The unnamed narrator and her unnamed mate meet at the launch pad.

“Is it love at first sight?” he asks her.

“Does it matter?” she responds.

They are one of a one hundred assigned couples about to be sent off to replenish the human race on a distant world. They will sleep in suspended animation until they reach the new world. What could go wrong?

Thoughts:

It crossed my mind that this might be a rerun of the tired Adam and Eve story. It is not. The narrator volunteered for this project after the man she loved told her that he would be marrying another woman, a pregnant girlfriend. She has, understandably, soured on the male of the species.

The author intersperses the recitation of various principles of physics throughout the story, beginning with the statement of (what else?) inertia: “A body in motion will remain in motion, and one at rest, at rest.” Generally, this device annoys me as a reader. However, in this story, author Wendy Nikel uses it to enhance rather than to decorate the story. It works.

I liked this story.

Bio:

According to her author blurb, Wendy Nikel is a speculative fiction author with a degree in elementary education. Her short fiction has been published by Analog, Nature: Futures, Podcastle, and elsewhere. Her time travel novella series, beginning with The Continuum, is available from World Weaver Press. Her website notes she is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), currently serving as the Publisher Liaison for the 2020 World Fantasy Convention.

The story can be read here.

Title: “Inertia”
Author: Wendy Nikel
First published: Daily Science Fiction, January 6, 2020

Review of “A Plague of Santas” by Emily Dorffer

This is not really a story, as there is no plot. It is a portrait, a satire of the frenzy surrounding Christmas time. And it is cute.

“It starts innocently enough in November,” the reader is told. “A shortage of cookies and milk at the grocery store, a faint jingling at night, the lingering scent of peppermint.”

The imagery is evocative, poking fun, and sparing some pity for harried parents who exchange tips and discuss strategy “over mugs of eggnog.” There is advice for wise children and wise families.

There is also mention of the often unwise practice of buying puppies and kittens for the holidays, which then sometimes end up abandoned.

Thoughts:

When I began reading this, I thought, Oh. Christmas—yeah, it’s a wonderful life, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it does achieve some nice satiric moments. Having worked retail for more than twenty-five years, I have come to dislike Christmas. Almost everything I detest about Christmas is portrayed here—without anger.

Is all the turmoil around Christmas worth the effort, for those who celebrate it? It’s a question only each person can answer.

Bio:

According to the author’s blurb, author Emily Dorffer is a technical writer who has cerebral palsy. She loves Christmas.

The story can be read here.

Title: “A Plague of Santas”
Author: Emily Dorffer
First published: Daily Science Fiction, December 23, 2019

Review of “Tenure” by Andy Tubbesing

Plot:

The Philosopher is out walking up the slate steps up Academy Hill, as she frequently does when puzzling out problems. The path circles the school so she can pace it for hours if need be.

A call to wait up comes from the Artisan.

“Well, keep up,” the Philosopher grumbles. The Philosopher despises the Artisan as a “flipper of rocks” who has no respect for deep thought.

The Artisan holds a metal cylinder, which he refers to as a precision instrument, a real time machine. He wants to make sure he’s dialed it in right. “Yeah, it’s ugly, a shakedown cruise. But it works. It’s a genuine time machine.”

He continues, explaining how it works, telling the skeptical Philosopher, “You’re great at dismembering the universe, but you couldn’t assemble a tricycle.”

Thoughts:

Author Andy Tubbesing gives the reader a cute and lively depiction of tension between the practical and theoretical sciences. The Philosopher and the Artisan get carried away in their own little worlds to notice a bigger picture of what’s going on. They discuss paradoxes of time travel: what would happen if a time traveler accidentally killed his own grandfather?

This is a cute little tale, told with some humor. It doesn’t take itself seriously and is a pleasant read. The only drawback is the ending, which is predictable from a mile away. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this.

Bio:

According to his blurb, author Andy Tubbesing writes and paints in rural Ohio. Among his visual inspiration are “Bruegel (the elder), Wyeth (the eldest), and Wood (both Grant and Wally).”His literary influences include “Bradbury, Dunsany, and the guy who wrote Beowulf.”

Title: “Tenure”
Author: Andy Tubbesing
First published: Daily Science Fiction, December 2, 2019

The story can be read here.

Review of “Rainbows” by William R.D. Wood

Note: the story comes with an editorial warning from Daily Science Fiction that it is a dark, adult tale. In short, you won’t see any rainbows.

Plot:

Jacob holds his four-year-old daughter Becca up to the basement window so she can look out to the outside world. There, the reader is told, “[a] cloud of cancer fibers drifted across the yard outside like spider silk.” Many of the fibers appear to be about several inches long, but most are dust. They squeak when they hit the window and leave scratches.

Becca asks her father if he saw the cancer that got Mommy.

“No, honey, these are a different kind. Mommy… was already sick before [we] got here.”

Jacob carries a bottle of pills in his pocket. He vows today is the day.

Thoughts:

The author offers no explanation for the cancer fibers, but their origin is unimportant. They’re getting worse. Jacob can do nothing to stop them.

The story centers on Jacob trying to protect Becca as much as he can, even to the point of eventually killing both of them. He lies to her, he shelters her, and he rations food.

In her cocoon, Becca is incapable of seeing evil, adding to the poignancy of the story. The reader can understand a parent’s love and a well-crafted tale, but this is not a story to enjoy.

I do have to add a few remarks about a handful of editing oopsies. These do not reflect on the quality of the work of the author, however. One typo involved the author’s name in his byline. Sh!t happens, of course, but in this poor guy’s story, more than a few boo-boos seem to have slipped by, through no fault of his own.

Bio:

According to the author’s blurb, author William R.D. Wood lives with his wife and children in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley in an old farmhouse. His work has appeared in Nature, Tales to Terrify, and Alien Invasion Short Stories. His site is here. Not that I would ever criticize anyone after my neglecting my site so regularly, but Wood’s really needs to be updated.

The story can be read here.

Title: “Rainbows”
Author: William R.D. Wood
First published: Daily Science Fiction, October 21, 2019

Review of “Living Image” by James Rumpel

Plot:

Twenty-four-year-old Joseph Marshal has just lost his mother. He had never left home and had rarely ventured out in public. He misses his mother but is not lonely. He worries about how he will survive without her to provide a buffer between himself and the rest of the world.

At her funeral, a tall, thin man in a gray suit approaches Joseph. He offers his condolences. He also offers a way the young man could continue to see and interact with his mother daily.

The man works for a company called Living Image that uses all known social media posts, diaries, and other public information to create artificial intelligence to simulate the dearly departed. He hands Joseph his business card.

As it happens, Joseph’s mother was a primary designer and primary stockholder in smart home technology. She left him a sizeable inheritance, so money is not an issue.

Thoughts:

From the moment the tall, thin man in the gray suit appears, the reader knows this won’t end well. Though called an introvert, Joseph is depicted as a lazy, overgrown child.

The idea of the Living Image is just creepy.

When the bad stuff hits the fan, he has been so incapacitated by his own infantalization there is nothing left for him to do.

Author Rumpel has created an effective if unsurprising horror story dealing with technology, grief, and humanity.

Bio:

According to the blurb, author James Rumpel is a retired high school math teacher. In an author interview with Theme of Absence, Rumpel says that he’s been writing for about a year since he retired. He’s been thinking up stories and ideas for his entire life but didn’t start writing them down until recently.

The story can be read here.

Title: “Living Image”
Author: James Rumpel
First published: Theme of Absence, October 20, 2019