★★★☆☆ Average
(Chinese High Fantasy) Serving good food is always a challenge, but it’s even harder when your restaurant has to cater to dead people as well as live ones. (4,548 words; Time: 15m)
"Boiled Bones and Black Eggs," by Nghi Vo [bio] (edited by Scott H. Andrews), appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue 275, published on April 4, 2019.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.208 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: Although the narrator is a nameless teenage girl, the real protagonist of the story is her Aunt Hua. She’s the one with the most to lose, and the one who needs to find a solution to the problem of a rude (dead) customer who won’t go away.
The solution of inviting all the people the general killed and offering them a chance to get some payback was brilliant, particularly since he’s the one who gave them the list.
Con: The solution worked too well, and there was no price attached, so the victory seemed unsatisfying.
At first I thought these guests were immaterial ghosts, but the climax makes them seem like zombies. A zombie in a restaurant seems really unsanitary. (Probably shouldn't have read this while eating.)
Other Reviews: Search Web
Nghi Vo Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Pro: Although the narrator is a nameless teenage girl, the real protagonist of the story is her Aunt Hua. She’s the one with the most to lose, and the one who needs to find a solution to the problem of a rude (dead) customer who won’t go away.
The solution of inviting all the people the general killed and offering them a chance to get some payback was brilliant, particularly since he’s the one who gave them the list.
Con: The solution worked too well, and there was no price attached, so the victory seemed unsatisfying.
At first I thought these guests were immaterial ghosts, but the climax makes them seem like zombies. A zombie in a restaurant seems really unsanitary. (Probably shouldn't have read this while eating.)
Other Reviews: Search Web
Nghi Vo Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
It's a good story that is worth reading.
ReplyDelete