★★★★☆ Tension, Excitement, and a Nice Twist
(Modern High Fantasy) Four young men fishing illegally in the polluted waters off Kurathi City hook something enormous, and with no idea what it is, struggle hard to capture it. (7,051 words; Time: 23m)
"The Sea Maker of Darmid Bay," by Shauna O'Meara [bio] (edited by Andy Cox), appeared in Interzone issue 277, published on September 15, 2018 by TTA Press.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2018.528 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The young men are simply trying to provide for their community in a world that has left them behind—and which seems to be on the way to destroying itself. That they seem to have found a way to save not just their community but also their world gives the story a hopeful ending.
It’s hard not to like Tadi. We see early on how hard he works for his “brothers,” we see how he gives encouragement to Wild Boy, even knowing he’s damaged by his previous experience. When he recognizes the maker for what it is, he gathers his courage and makes his argument, even fighting his friend to save it. And he’s the one who figures out that they can save the maker by allying with it and helping it keep more of the water clean.
Con: If the maker was that easy to catch, why didn’t the commercial operations catch it a long time ago, as they apparently did the rain-forest maker?
The message is a little heavy-handed.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 277)
Shauna O'Meara Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Pro: The young men are simply trying to provide for their community in a world that has left them behind—and which seems to be on the way to destroying itself. That they seem to have found a way to save not just their community but also their world gives the story a hopeful ending.
It’s hard not to like Tadi. We see early on how hard he works for his “brothers,” we see how he gives encouragement to Wild Boy, even knowing he’s damaged by his previous experience. When he recognizes the maker for what it is, he gathers his courage and makes his argument, even fighting his friend to save it. And he’s the one who figures out that they can save the maker by allying with it and helping it keep more of the water clean.
Con: If the maker was that easy to catch, why didn’t the commercial operations catch it a long time ago, as they apparently did the rain-forest maker?
The message is a little heavy-handed.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 277)
Shauna O'Meara Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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