Sunday, May 8, 2016

Coyote Song, by Pat MacEwen

(Horror) At a crime scene, Yutu and her boss Nathan both suspect supernatural involvement. Even with her Native American magic and his voodoo, it will be a challenge. (18,757 words)

Rating: 3, Unexceptional
 

"Coyote Song," by appeared in the May/June 2016 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, published , by .

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: The story is well-written, and has a very well-defined plot, with plenty of tension and action.

It's fun to watch the matter-of-fact way Yutu and Nathan use their different kinds of magic together. It's a nice angle that Coyote gets personally involved because he objects to foreign magic invading his territory.

Con: The ending is jarring. Yutu only survives as a zombie, with no indication how long that will last (or even whether she'll start to rot). This seems entirely unnecessary to the plot--it's just the result of her bad luck--and it somewhat spoils the story.

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