Tuesday, January 8, 2019

The Fall from Griffin's Peak, by Pip Coen

[F&SF]
★★★★☆ Quite the caper!

(Fantasy Adventure) A professional thief gets an offer (one she can’t refuse) to steal a valuable “griffin’s tear” for a wealthy client. But things aren’t always as they seem. (6,451 words; Time: 21m)


"The Fall from Griffin's Peak," by (edited by C.C. Finlay), appeared in issue 01-02|19, published on by .

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

Review: 2019.043 (A Word for Authors)

Pro: We know from the start that something terrible happened, so much of the story is about figuring out just what that was, but the best part of the story is the various twists and turns, not least of which is wondering exactly who has the griffin’s tear at any moment.

As the story unfolds, we get a better and better idea of Rose’s character, and she’s not really a bad person, even if she sometimes imagines she is. She does live in a rough time and place, and she’s somewhat hardened, but she shows us her soft side from time to time.

Of course the letter from her mom, when we finally read it, is devastating.

Con: Peacock and Punchy put Rose’s life at risk, assaulted her, planned to cheat her from the start, and would have been happy seeing her executed. Nor did she have any reason to believe they weren’t wealthy, privileged folks taking advantage of her; she had no way to know they were poor like her and merely trying to save a sick girl. It’s not clear she should feel as guilty as she does nor that the shade of her mom should be holding her responsible.

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1 comment (may contain spoilers):

  1. Cleverly done. Unusual in that you end up having sympathy for both the protagonist and antagonists here.

    ReplyDelete