Saturday, September 14, 2019

Witch's Road, by Christian K. Martinez

[BCS]
★★★☆☆

(Fantasy Adventure) Catalina has run away from town to beg a particular gift from the witch in the forest, knowing the risk of failure but not the cost of success. (4,746 words; Time: 15m)


"," by (edited by Scott H. Andrews), appeared in issue 286, published on .

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

Review: 2019.532 (A Word for Authors)

Pro: Catalina wants immortality, and the risk is that if she wavers in her resolve she’ll turn into a monster and roam the forest. Much of the story focuses on the witch showing her the cost of succeeding. Of seeing all her loved ones die. (But she’s already seen many of them die.) Of seeing all her accomplishments fall to dust (but she hasn’t got any). Of seeing herself become less human simply by having more-than-human experiences.

But none of that matters to her.

Con: She gets immortality without paying any price for it, and she seems quite satisfied with the result. Either from lack of imagination or just coarseness of character, the drawbacks don’t faze her at all. That makes for a rather unsatisfying outcome.

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