★★★☆☆
(Slipstream Horror) Lyra goes to the land of the dead to beg for the return of her dead wife. She gets her wish, but Justine seems incomplete somehow. Like, really incomplete. (4,068 words; Time: 13m)
"Regret, Return, Reignite," by Audrey R. Hollis [bio] (edited by Vanessa Rose Phin), appeared in Strange Horizons issue 07/15/19, published on July 15, 2019.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.411 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: A nice twist on the old Orpheus myth. Even the names are references to the myth: Lyra, because Orpheus played the lyre, and Justine, because Eurydice means “wide justice.”
Considering this is pretty much a horror story, it’s remarkable how many laughs there are in it. E.g. the running gag about the man who went after his wife but only came back with a foot because he didn’t love her enough to get the rest of her. Or the way the college students simply take it in stride that their teacher is a zombie.
At the conclusion, true to the myth, they attempt to use music to restore Justine. It’s cute that Lyra needs to not look back so she won’t mess up the music. (Nice to provide a reason for that.)
Con: The ending’s a little confusing and seems to violate some of the earlier conditions. We’re told you can’t return to the land of the dead twice, but they go back anyway. And why does Justine need to dip into the lake of sorrows before they play the music? It says that later Lyra would realize it was the last time they had touched. Does that mean the plan didn’t work after all?
Other Reviews: Search Web
Audrey R. Hollis Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: A nice twist on the old Orpheus myth. Even the names are references to the myth: Lyra, because Orpheus played the lyre, and Justine, because Eurydice means “wide justice.”
Considering this is pretty much a horror story, it’s remarkable how many laughs there are in it. E.g. the running gag about the man who went after his wife but only came back with a foot because he didn’t love her enough to get the rest of her. Or the way the college students simply take it in stride that their teacher is a zombie.
At the conclusion, true to the myth, they attempt to use music to restore Justine. It’s cute that Lyra needs to not look back so she won’t mess up the music. (Nice to provide a reason for that.)
Con: The ending’s a little confusing and seems to violate some of the earlier conditions. We’re told you can’t return to the land of the dead twice, but they go back anyway. And why does Justine need to dip into the lake of sorrows before they play the music? It says that later Lyra would realize it was the last time they had touched. Does that mean the plan didn’t work after all?
Other Reviews: Search Web
Audrey R. Hollis Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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