★★★☆☆
(Fairy Tale) In distant Ruyastan a single prince survives her mother’s efforts to hold power by slaying all descendants of her sons. (3,479 words; Time: 11m)
Presumably there’s no connection with the “Ruyastan” in David Romano’s 2015 piece “Morbid Fiction in the Middle East,” but it’s rather timely given that in his story, “Ruyastan” is a thinly disguised Turkey and the “native group” is the Kurds.
"The Valley of Wounded Deer," by E. Lily Yu [bio] (edited by John Joseph Adams), appeared in Lightspeed Magazine issue 113, published on October 1, 2019.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.586 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The prince faces a dilemma: she can take the throne by violence, but then be no better than the Dowager, or retreat and let others do the violence, and then be a scavenger like the ravens, or else give up on being King and let the Dowager poison her.
It’s amusing that she gets a different result than any of these.
Con: So what’s the message of this story? If faced with injustice, don’t fight it; just suffer it in silence and hope for a miracle? And how could you imagine that a cook would survive as king?
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E. Lily Yu Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: The prince faces a dilemma: she can take the throne by violence, but then be no better than the Dowager, or retreat and let others do the violence, and then be a scavenger like the ravens, or else give up on being King and let the Dowager poison her.
It’s amusing that she gets a different result than any of these.
Con: So what’s the message of this story? If faced with injustice, don’t fight it; just suffer it in silence and hope for a miracle? And how could you imagine that a cook would survive as king?
Other Reviews: Search Web
E. Lily Yu Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
I agree with the 3-star rating and the comments. Reads like a well-written fable. If there is something more, I am not getting it.
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