Thursday, August 3, 2017

The Broken Karwaneer, by Jeremy A. TeGrotenhuis

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(Fantasy Apocalypse) In a dying world, Orha hunts a band of raiders who’ve been killing families and stealing children. (6,822 words; Time: 22m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

"," by (edited by Scott H. Andrews), appeared in issue 231, published on .

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

Pro: Orha finds her true calling in this story. There’s plenty of foreshadowing that she might have the same sort of power that Brighteye has, but there is a lot of tension when she confronts the raiders because we’re not sure that anything is going to save her.

Con: Between the “thinnings” and the magic users who’re constantly on the verge of destroying everything, this world seems doomed, making the story seem like an exercise in futility.

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2 comments (may contain spoilers):

  1. In spite of the bleak setting, the story seems kinda hopeful to me. As Brighteye says at the end, "Either [the world] is more resilient than we know, or else every man and woman who has ever held the power to destroy it has decided to go on." Here's a blog post from the author about the story:

    https://jeremyteg.wordpress.com/2017/08/03/worldbuilding-dark-settings-and-their-purpose/

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    1. Thanks for the link. Among other things, it tells me I really need to make more use of the "dark fantasy" subgenre than I've been doing.

      I do realize Brighteye was being optimistic at the end. The problem was, by that point, I didn't believe it.

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