★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention
(Nigerian Fantasy Horror) Banished for the death of a princess, Ebuka gets a surprise when her ghost visits him in exile and demands he go back to his village and retrieve her body for her. (5,344 words; Time: 17m)
Recommended By: GTognetti+1
"Nneamaka's Ghost," by Walter Dinjos [bio] (edited by Scott H. Andrews), appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue 243, published on January 17, 2018.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2018.064 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: Ebuka starts the story wondering if he ought to head to Zaka, and he ends it crossing their border at a run. In between, he lays at least one ghost to rest, even if he’s not rewarded for it.
The complexity of the tale makes it entertaining. Ebuka hears the plea of the princess, the warning of prince, and the promises of the king. He raises the dead princess, but not quite the way he expected, and, realizing the prince was right, destroys the body, saving his own life when he realizes the Prince had hinted at what the incense might actually work for.
Con: The ending feels a bit off because the prince’s story doesn’t wrap up. I was also a little hazy as to how the royal couple died and why Ebuka was blamed for it, since it seemed they just fell out of a tree.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 243)
Walter Dinjos Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: Ebuka starts the story wondering if he ought to head to Zaka, and he ends it crossing their border at a run. In between, he lays at least one ghost to rest, even if he’s not rewarded for it.
The complexity of the tale makes it entertaining. Ebuka hears the plea of the princess, the warning of prince, and the promises of the king. He raises the dead princess, but not quite the way he expected, and, realizing the prince was right, destroys the body, saving his own life when he realizes the Prince had hinted at what the incense might actually work for.
Con: The ending feels a bit off because the prince’s story doesn’t wrap up. I was also a little hazy as to how the royal couple died and why Ebuka was blamed for it, since it seemed they just fell out of a tree.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 243)
Walter Dinjos Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
This was surprisingly fun (for horror). I did wonder about the prince -- I assume it was him tapping at the shutter just before Ebuka takes off at the end, but?
ReplyDeleteThe author's "bio" link above is broken.
ReplyDeleteHis site is now:
https://dinjos.com/
Thanks, I'll update it the next time I open the spreadsheet.
Delete