Reviews and Comments

A fun prequel to the author's previous book, this one concerns the adventures of Viv the Orc when she was just starting out in the 'hack and slash' business with a group of mercenaries. Injured during a battle against a necromancer, Viv is bundled off to recover in a seaside town in the middle of nowhere.

With nothing else to do, Viv wanders into a bookshop, where she discovers an owner with a very discerning eye for readers, who recommends to her a series of books that Viv is startled to discover she enjoys. Viv then returns the favour by helping the owner to clean up the shop and help advertise it to visitors. Viv also gets acquainted with the owner of a bakery, which turns into a summer fling while she waits to rejoin the mercenaries.

Things take a dark turn when a creepy visitor turns up at the town, leading to a fight between the visitor and Viv. This would begin a series of events that would lead the necromancer Viv was fighting to the town, and it would need all of Viv and her friends' bravery to put an end to the necromancer.

The book might be called a 'cozy fantasy', as the story is more about friendships and romance, rather than heroics and fights, the usual tropes in fantasy stories. It is also a good lead-up to the author's previous book, showing the readers more about Viv's background as a fighter and why she eventually chooses to quit it and turn to running a coffee shop instead. It also shows a fantasy world where people are not judged by what they are (an orc, dwarf, elf, etc.) but by their actions. And, of course, interspecies romance would be in the air.

A light and fun read.

An average issue, with interesting stories by H.H. Pak, Caroline M. Yoachim, S.B. Divya and Luc Diamant.

• "Twenty-Four Hours" by H.H. Pak: a mother spends one day with her daughter, who is part of a war effort. As the story progresses, things don't start to add up, but it is only at the end is the true nature of the mother and daughter's connection revealed as the mother bids farewell.

• "Our Chatbots Said "I Love You," Shall We Meet?" by Caroline M. Yoachim: a girl is dreading her first meeting with a potential partner: but their AI chatbots have been having conversations with each other for ages and think they make a good match. It would require her to overcome her 'first date' nerves to learn if what the chatbots say is true.

• "Artistic Encounters of a Monumental Nature" by S.B. Divya: a graffiti artist and her team plan to get a viral hit by painting a mural (with environmentally neutral paint) in a nature reserve. But their plan gets aborted when an unusual monument springs up in the area. Their decision to go ahead with the mural, but doing on the monument instead, gets the attention of the government, and other artistic beings, when more monuments spring up around the world.

• "The Reflection of Sand" by Tan Gang, translated by Emily Jin: a story about venerated Buddhist caves that have been detached from its geographic location to physically walk the Silk Road and places further. Tied up in the story are discussions on whether the geography, artefacts, etc. in a cultural monument are really what define such places.

• "Himalia" by Carrie Vaughn: on a moon of Jupiter soon to be abandoned by its inhabitants, a returning colonist discovers her best friend is missing. She goes in search of her, hoping to find her before the last ships leave. But by the end, she realizes that her friend may be too attached to the moon to want to abandon it.

• "Bodies" by Cat McMahan: a worker at a factory growing cloned chickens that have been genetically modified for food discovers that some of her co-workers are going missing. As the story progresses, the nature of the people working of the factory is revealed, in this world where only some kind of people can do work.

• "Off Track" by Luc Diamant: a humorous story, told in a series of letters between the school and the parent of an activist student who goes on strike using personal microclimate gear, to help her friend compete in a sports competition.

A rather rambling story about a group of presumed friends who don't really seem to like each other, and especially Kelly, who appears to be always late or doing things they rather not discover. One day, they discover another Kelly in their midst who doesn't talk or do much. And then, the story ends, without much of a resolution.

A story that didn't really catch my attention. It is about Evan, who suddenly begins to cough up bones, in a purportedly haunted house. Weirder things begin to happen when his partner leaves him and then eventually returns to find him in another relationship of a different kind.

A list of ways to retell a fairy tale by mixing up or varying elements. That's it: not much of a story.

A caregiver's car breaks down on the median in the middle of a highway. Strangely, other vehicles ignore her attempts to get help, and her attempts to contact emergency services and others fail. Then, she starts to get calls from strangers. Finally, she encounters another tragic scene on the highway and, perhaps, realizes her situation in this strange, unsettling story.