(Fairy Tale) In South Africa, nearsighted Héloise has a hopeless job cleaning fish. Things start to change after she sees a water spirit—or thinks she did (7,310 words; Time: 24m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
"A Green Silk Dress and a Wedding-Death," by Cat Hellisen [bio] (edited by C.C. Finlay), appeared in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction issue 03-04|17, published on March 1, 2017 by Spilogale Inc.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: Héloise wants to escape from her life, and Sil e Catthia gives her that. She loses her humanity, but humanity has not been kind to her anyway.
Sil e Catthia wants a bride. Even when he’s captured, he’s amused, which suggests he could get away easily enough—being captured suits his plan. He too gets what he wants.
Con: Although her leaving is understandable, she’s abandoning her grandmother and her little brother to even greater poverty and suffering. This makes it harder to be sympathetic to her.
The writing is a little awkward, relying on narration more than it should.
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Cat Hellisen Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Sil e Catthia wants a bride. Even when he’s captured, he’s amused, which suggests he could get away easily enough—being captured suits his plan. He too gets what he wants.
Con: Although her leaving is understandable, she’s abandoning her grandmother and her little brother to even greater poverty and suffering. This makes it harder to be sympathetic to her.
The writing is a little awkward, relying on narration more than it should.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 03-04|17)
Cat Hellisen Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Dark like an old fairy tale, yet in a modern setting. Although I had to keep reminding myself of that with the cooking over the hearth.
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