★★★☆☆
(Historical Horror) A writer explains to an editor that a colleague who died over 60 years ago didn’t really deserve credit for his stories and relates the unusual circumstances of his death. (7,726 words; Time: 25m)
Recommended By: 👍STomaino+2 (Q&A)
"Bird Thou Never Wert," by James Morrow [bio] (edited by C.C. Finlay), appeared in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction issue 11-12|19, published on November 5, 2019 by Spilogale Inc.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.650 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The basics of the story are great: an inadequate writer pays for magical assistance that makes him a great writer, but eventually there’s a high price to be paid for it.
Con: I found it hard to believe that in 1955 Marsha actually cared that much about the welfare of the eagle. She might have disapproved mildly, but she’d hardly have broken off her relationship over it. This is a serious anachronism.
The Prometheus angle at the end didn’t really work for me. Darko didn’t do anything like giving men fire—he just wrote a few stories.
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James Morrow Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: The basics of the story are great: an inadequate writer pays for magical assistance that makes him a great writer, but eventually there’s a high price to be paid for it.
Con: I found it hard to believe that in 1955 Marsha actually cared that much about the welfare of the eagle. She might have disapproved mildly, but she’d hardly have broken off her relationship over it. This is a serious anachronism.
The Prometheus angle at the end didn’t really work for me. Darko didn’t do anything like giving men fire—he just wrote a few stories.
Other Reviews: Search Web
James Morrow Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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