A horror edition of Mythaxis this time round, with six varied and stirring stories alongside articles and reviews.
25 Peppercorns by Emma Burnett is a very strong opener. A powerful story about overcoming intergenerational trauma in a Jewish family, which can’t really be read through anything but a contemporary lens at the moment; but the take away message is far from narrow, and spoke to me of the importance of communication and openness, how hiding and being shamed by physical or psychological realities only leads to more hurt. As ever with Burnett, she uses a ‘foody’ narrative to get her point across.
A.M. Sutter’s Murmurations is not exactly a zombie story, but kind of like one, with a tense and failing relationship thrown in and some pretty disturbing scenes involving eye worms. The eyes are the windows of the soul indeed, and Caleb is losing his connection with the rest of the human race as he fights to keep his own peepers from their disturbing fate. Weird and confusing, but worth the investment.
Third up is Body Parts by Anna Koltes, a metaphorical tale about the giving, taking and sharing of limbs, hearts, lungs and more, and how the uneven flow of these parts takes its toll on some, particularly what children take from their mothers. You need to be careful what you give, and sometimes need to lock your heart away altogether.
For Giving by Olufunmilayo Makinde is an old-fashioned friend-returns-from-the-dead story in which said mate becomes the ghostly conscience of the protagonist, testing friendship and exploring cowardice, guilt and atonement. It reminded me of the American Werewolf in London scenes where this happens, but Makinde puts their own spin on things for sure.
The Sugar Wife by Christina Ladd is one of the most vivid and memorable contributions to this issue. An unnamed Baker, a greedy and unattractive man, decides to bake himself a wife, putting into her not only his sweet and sticky ingredients, but also his lust, greed and selfish desires. Will this ultimately lead to his comeuppance? You’ll need to read it to find out. An overtly feminist story which graphicly portrays the problems of inequality.
The Twelve Blackened Slippers by Siobhan Ekeh has a thread running through it of sacrifice and family trauma. Kara’s three strange children, who seem to exist as a little secret collective, are clearly going out at night and returning with muddy slippers, despite being firmly ensconced in their bedroom. Can Yira (Kara’s sister and friend to the triplets) find out where they are going, and why? The reason for the distance between the three girls and their mother is soon discovered, but the consequences are far greater than anyone could ever imagine, as a familiar revenant enters the frame.
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