(Fantasy Horror) When the world changed and the sky turned silver, magic became real, Emma Anne became a little girl and her neighbor became a pirate. But can a little girl fight off an attack by the Loping Man? (5,802 words; Time: 19m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
"Though She Be But Little," by C.S.E. Cooney [bio] (edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas), appeared in Uncanny Magazine issue 18, published on September 5, 2017.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: It’s kind of fun gradually figuring out how this new magical world works. The communication via parrot and tin can was particularly funny. And, of course, the Loping Man is soundly defeated in the end.
Con: The story is mostly lighthearted, but the Loping Man really is trying to kill Emma, and that’s a bit jarring. Otherwise, I’d call this humor.
Sometimes this feels more like a post-apocalypse story than anything else, and yet we learn very little about the setting or the causes and consequences of this change.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 18)
C.S.E. Cooney Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Con: The story is mostly lighthearted, but the Loping Man really is trying to kill Emma, and that’s a bit jarring. Otherwise, I’d call this humor.
Sometimes this feels more like a post-apocalypse story than anything else, and yet we learn very little about the setting or the causes and consequences of this change.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 18)
C.S.E. Cooney Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
It sounds like you're trying to read this as SF but it's really a fairytale in an unusual guise. Logic doesn't really come into it, although there's some fun connections between the pre- and post-change states of people.
ReplyDeleteI thought the language and imagery was wonderful. I'm a bit hesitant about whether the ending worked 100% though.
(Admittedly I'm a big fan of Cooney so I may be a bit biased)
Even a fairy tale has logic, though.
ReplyDeleteA bit more bizarre than I'm usually comfortable with, but it worked for me this time. Emma Anne is like Pippi Longstocking, Christopher Robin, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan...and, as the title implies, she is fierce indeed.
ReplyDeleteThis is another one that probably ought to be marked "Honorable Mention."
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