(Fantasy; Stormwrack) Captain Gale Feliachild and her handsome first mate, Garland Parrish, must find the inscription for a spell that turns people's skins into glass. Entertaining. (6,880 words; Time: 22m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
Recommended By: GDozois:4 RHorton:4See related articles on Tor.com.
"The Glass Galago," by A.M. Dellamonica [bio] (edited by Stacy Hill), published on January 6, 2016 by Tor.com.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: It's a nice little detective story. Gale's strategy works well to find the guilty party, and Parrish gets to save the day with a feat of heroism.
Con: It's rather confusing to start with, probably because the author depended too much on readers having already read other stories in the series. It's a little unclear what Parrish looks like, inasmuch as one scene describes him as having dark skin while another describes him blushing.
And although it's very entertaining, it's a simple, linear, tale.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 01/06/16)
A.M. Dellamonica Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Con: It's rather confusing to start with, probably because the author depended too much on readers having already read other stories in the series. It's a little unclear what Parrish looks like, inasmuch as one scene describes him as having dark skin while another describes him blushing.
And although it's very entertaining, it's a simple, linear, tale.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 01/06/16)
A.M. Dellamonica Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
I agree that it's a pretty good, but not great, story. The world building and magic system make me interested in checking out the series.
ReplyDeleteI also wondered about Parrish having a visible blush. :)
This is another one that probably would have been a four-star story under the new guidelines. The "sophistication" requirement still applies to 5-star stories, but 4-star stories just need to be memorable or entertaining. Any story that's genuinely a fun read should have the honor of being recommended.
ReplyDelete