★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention
(High Fantasy) Rana serves the Goddess of Sorrows, taking suffering away from people consumed with terrible memories. She does a good job, but she has a larger mission—one she shies away from. (9,017 words; Time: 30m)
"A Tale of Woe," by P. Djèlí Clark [bio] (edited by Scott H. Andrews), appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue 253, published on May 31, 2018.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: Rana gathers the courage to confront Lika and put a stop to her war mongering. Rana had cared about Lika, so having to do this hurts her deeply, and she walks out in pain. The only person whose pain she can’t salve is her own.
The image of the goddess as a mindless thing that gobbles up human pain was arresting. It would be interesting to learn more about this world.
Con: I was so confident in Rana’s abilities that there was no real tension in any of the scenes past the first encounter with a guard.
I didn’t feel close enough to Rana or Lika to get much of an emotional impact from the ending.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 253)
P. Djèlí Clark Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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The image of the goddess as a mindless thing that gobbles up human pain was arresting. It would be interesting to learn more about this world.
Con: I was so confident in Rana’s abilities that there was no real tension in any of the scenes past the first encounter with a guard.
I didn’t feel close enough to Rana or Lika to get much of an emotional impact from the ending.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 253)
P. Djèlí Clark Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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