★★★☆☆
(Dark Fantasy) A man seeking to kill the Witchman continually erases his most recent memories, which makes the task much harder but it’s the only thing that makes it possible at all. (4,606 words; Time: 15m)
"Kill the Witchman," by William Broom [bio] (edited by Scott H. Andrews), appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue 306, published on June 11, 2020.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2020.322 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: It’s a clever idea that the Witchman’s special power is the ability to mold other people’s memories. So he can turn an enemy into an ally simply by giving that person the right memories. And the narrator’s use of a potion that prevents new long-term memories is equally clever. It’s a bit like the movie Memento but for a purpose.
There’s a great deal of tension once Dumu meets his brother, Ketan, and son because we don’t know what to believe. Between Ketan’s power and the memory-wiping juice, Dumu is the ultimate unreliable narrator.
Con: At the end, I think I know what the truth was, but there’s a nagging hint of doubt that the history Dumu imagines isn’t real either.
It’s seems really strange that Nazd is willing to have anything to do with Dumu after watching him kill his father.
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William Broom Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: It’s a clever idea that the Witchman’s special power is the ability to mold other people’s memories. So he can turn an enemy into an ally simply by giving that person the right memories. And the narrator’s use of a potion that prevents new long-term memories is equally clever. It’s a bit like the movie Memento but for a purpose.
There’s a great deal of tension once Dumu meets his brother, Ketan, and son because we don’t know what to believe. Between Ketan’s power and the memory-wiping juice, Dumu is the ultimate unreliable narrator.
Con: At the end, I think I know what the truth was, but there’s a nagging hint of doubt that the history Dumu imagines isn’t real either.
It’s seems really strange that Nazd is willing to have anything to do with Dumu after watching him kill his father.
Other Reviews: Search Web
William Broom Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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