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“The Cenotaph” by Casey Wolf – 4.25 stars
Past and present collide when a camper stumbles upon a long-forgotten memorial.
A thoughtful commentary on perspective and war, this story does a great job at showing the fears and expectations that arise when one considers leaving for war. Some of the shifts are a little jarring, but may be intentional in an attempt to pull the reader into the protagonist’s confused state of mind. Overall, this is a very good story.
“Triona’s Beans” by Casey Wolf and Paivi Kuosmanen – 2 stars
A young girl goes on an intergalactic adventure with little people that look like feathered beans.
I had great difficulty getting through this story, which reads like a very young children’s fantasy. This story does not belong in a dark speculative fiction anthology.
“Pronghorns” by Casey Wolf – 5 stars
A double suicide goes to “Plan B” when initial plans go awry.
“Pronghorns” is a darkly brilliant commentary on life and death. It is well-written, gripping, and has a shockingly profound ending. This is one of those stories that resets the bar.
