★★★★☆ A Fine Little Tale
(Fantasy Adventure) Two selkie women, childhood friends who’ve drifted apart, get together for an adventure in an abandoned human mine. (4,844 words; Time: 16m)
"Swimming Apart," by R.Z. Held [bio] (edited by Scott H. Andrews), appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue 291, published on November 14, 2019.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.665 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The real story here is how Deania and Seriola decide what to do about their friendship. What suited little girls doesn’t really suit grown women, particularly two whose lives have gone in such different directions.
I liked the setting too: A 19th-Century world where the selkie village hides from human view, and a few selkies like Seriola use their ability to take human form to visit human cities and collect things of value.
Con: I never felt I really understood why they were ever friends in the first place.
If you changed it to a story about two women taking a swim in a flooded mine, you could eliminate the supernatural element entirely without much effect on the story.
Other Reviews: Search Web
R.Z. Held Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Pro: The real story here is how Deania and Seriola decide what to do about their friendship. What suited little girls doesn’t really suit grown women, particularly two whose lives have gone in such different directions.
I liked the setting too: A 19th-Century world where the selkie village hides from human view, and a few selkies like Seriola use their ability to take human form to visit human cities and collect things of value.
Con: I never felt I really understood why they were ever friends in the first place.
If you changed it to a story about two women taking a swim in a flooded mine, you could eliminate the supernatural element entirely without much effect on the story.
Other Reviews: Search Web
R.Z. Held Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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