Reading Mythaxis really brings home that there are some great unknown (or relatively unknown) writers out there. Writers who could quite conceivably be published in any of the more prestigious mags.
Alongside the usual reviews section are five enjoyable stories, beginning with the charming ‘Tintype Trolls’ by Teresa Milbrodt. This tale of modern trolls, their human companions, and the cost-of-living crisis proves that ordinary life is a fitting subject for fiction when the writing is good, and a gentle drama of two folkloric creatures in love can definitely be entertaining. Ulyana and Grisha spend their time cleaning the local bridge and purifying the river water; but Grisha is finding it hard to cope with the workload and considers moving to live with his cousins in the city. The trolls’ human friends – Madigan and the story’s unnamed narrator – make extra money producing tintype photos (an early form of photography where the print is a metal sheet), and support their horned friends with their relationship difficulties. Sounds weird, it is weird, but it’s also lovely.
Sounds weird, it is weird, but it’s also lovely.
This is followed by a short piece by Steven Genise, ‘The Note Affixed to Your Cryotube’. It’s only a snippet of a story, but manages to convey some deep feelings expressed by the servant of a traveller in cryogenic suspension, how they feel about tending the body, and the grief experienced when considering the vast amount of time between their two lives. The patient will remain unaged as the servant grows old and dies; but still, a message can be illicitly passed between them.
Third up is ‘Cottage in the Woods’ by Carl Walmsley, which could be set in a postapocalyptic world or in the middle ages – it’s hard to tell; but this won’t matter when you start to get involved with the action. It portrays the life of Rebecca, inhabitant of a once abandoned cottage deep in the forest, and her tender care of two runaway children. All three are safe from the perils of the wider world, until there’s a loud knock at the door. What happens next is quite unexpected, as someone comes looking for the runaways…
‘With Nothing Left’ by Emma Burnett is a strange one. An account of palliative care administered by an increasingly sentient company robot, and the growing affection between nurse and patient. In a world where automated care is clearly the norm, it must be inevitable that human-bot relationships will flourish.
Last in line, ‘Pillars of Distraction’ by Rob Gilham is a triumph of world-building. It is set in a future where bees are extinct and food is becoming more scarce. This is a time of intrusive virtual advertising, drug addiction and the control of society by pharmaceutical giants. The main character, Mehrtens, is forced to go cold turkey when the supply chain of his favoured drug is interrupted. Such drugs keep the minds of the population off the growing breakdown of civilised society, and the majority of people use them. So, when a group of non-drug-using rebels enter his life, is Mehrtens brave enough to stay off the dreaded juice forever?
All the stories are very accomplished and deserve to be read. No doubt some of the authors in here will become household names one day. Hopefully soon!
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