(Horror) There was a monster hurricane in South Florida in 1928, but the narrator tells about "Tulu," a different kind of monster, and what happened when they met. (3,852 words; Time: 12m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
"The Monster of 1928," by Sandra McDonald [bio] (edited by Sheila Williams), appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction issue 02|16, published on January 15, 2016 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The old, black Seminole, trans-gendered narrator is quite a character and a very entertaining storyteller. "Tulu" likely means "Cthulhu" or at least its Everglades cousin.
The story brings the storm and the bursting of the Lake Okeechobee dam to life, and it echoes a little bit Lovecraft's story, in which Cthulhu is temporarily defeated by a boat.
Con: The narrator doesn't do a heck of a lot in this story. He hits Tulu with a sword once, but an alligator does most of the real damage, and then they sort of wave at each other from their rafts during the flood.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 02|16)
Sandra McDonald Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
The story brings the storm and the bursting of the Lake Okeechobee dam to life, and it echoes a little bit Lovecraft's story, in which Cthulhu is temporarily defeated by a boat.
Con: The narrator doesn't do a heck of a lot in this story. He hits Tulu with a sword once, but an alligator does most of the real damage, and then they sort of wave at each other from their rafts during the flood.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 02|16)
Sandra McDonald Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
As a Lovecraft fan I got a bit excited at the intro, but this was extremely meh. It came over as more of a shaggy dog story with some Mythos references thrown in.
ReplyDelete(Possibly I'm being a bit harsh, but it was rather disappointing)