(Modern Fantasy) Yukiko's best friend just died, one of her other friends has lost his mouth, and she's starting to think there's a connection. (4,300 words; Time: 14m)
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended
"Screaming Without a Mouth," by Travis Heermann [bio] (edited by Jason Sizemore), appeared in Apex Magazine issue 82, published on March 1, 2016.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: Yukiko feels guilty that she backed out and let Kasumi commit suicide alone. Arguably, the whole story is about her coming to terms with that. There is obviously some reference to Harlan Ellison's I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, but it may not extend beyond the title.
Con: There's no real resolution to the story. Kasumi has her revenge, but it's spreading like a disease, and her ghost seems to be gone. So now what?
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Con: There's no real resolution to the story. Kasumi has her revenge, but it's spreading like a disease, and her ghost seems to be gone. So now what?
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites
The only thing I really liked was the modern epistolary format. Although there was an issue with the time stamps going from Sun back to Sat when the story is still clearly moving forward.
ReplyDeleteWhile the title also made me think of "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream," it seems more of a variation on the Kuchisake-onna urban legend.
Your link to Harlan Ellison's story has broken, but it can still be found on the Wayback Machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/20160519100218/http://hermiene.net/short-stories/i_have_no_mouth.html