★★★☆☆
(High Fantasy) A witch decides to take away the king’s free will, but there are bigger consequences when she takes away the free will of a kitchen boy. (9,335 words; Time: 31m)
Recommended By: 👍MHaskins+1 (Q&A)
"The Witch of the Will," by Aaron Perry [bio] (edited by Scott H. Andrews), appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue 287, published on September 19, 2019.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.565 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The core concept is fascinating: Canute wants to give up his free will so he can do anything he wants to without guilt or grief. The witch has a conscience, so she can’t bring herself to just kill him, but she makes up her mind to follow him and try to bend him in a better direction.
As is often the way in fairy tales, they have three key meetings: in the town where she deprives him of his first love, in the mountains where she frustrates his mission, and by the sea, where he captures her.
Con: The ending was just too random. We never heard of “blood shades” before the climax, so it feels like a cheat. Marisol is too powerful for the story to have any tension to it, and Canute is totally unsympathetic as well.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Aaron Perry Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Pro: The core concept is fascinating: Canute wants to give up his free will so he can do anything he wants to without guilt or grief. The witch has a conscience, so she can’t bring herself to just kill him, but she makes up her mind to follow him and try to bend him in a better direction.
As is often the way in fairy tales, they have three key meetings: in the town where she deprives him of his first love, in the mountains where she frustrates his mission, and by the sea, where he captures her.
Con: The ending was just too random. We never heard of “blood shades” before the climax, so it feels like a cheat. Marisol is too powerful for the story to have any tension to it, and Canute is totally unsympathetic as well.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Aaron Perry Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Author is @KnownSequitur on Twitter.
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