(High Fantasy) Four river spirits flee across the desert to escape the people who dammed them and find their way to the sea. (4,986 words; Time: 16m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
"Rivers Run Free," by Charles Payseur [bio] (edited by Scott H. Andrews), appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue 230, published on July 13, 2017.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The plot is simple but effective: they accomplish another stage in their journey.
Con: The whole situation seems hopeless. The rivers seem reduced to puddles. When they disable the well, they save one of their own, but condemn the town to die.
The story is presumably a metaphor for something, but I can only guess what that might be.
Why does a shot from a bullet hurt a river?
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Charles Payseur Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Con: The whole situation seems hopeless. The rivers seem reduced to puddles. When they disable the well, they save one of their own, but condemn the town to die.
The story is presumably a metaphor for something, but I can only guess what that might be.
Why does a shot from a bullet hurt a river?
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 230)
Charles Payseur Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
It's about two peoples harmed by this empire fighting each other instead of working together.
ReplyDeleteWhen the narrator dissolves into the others at the end, it seems to revive them enough to make it.
Why wouldn't a bullet hurt a river in humanoid form? They can only leak so much water before they can no longer remain solid. Plus, the rifle was Lutean, and their Dowsers also have manacles which can bind rivers.