This is #45, Vol 13 No. 2, of the Canadian Speculative Fiction magazine, and the second one I have read. This copy made it's way to these shores at a leisurely pace (surface mail) and I read it at a leisurely pace (due to transferring employment, re-mortgaging the house and buying a car - all of which got in the way of my SF reading, tsk, tsk) - hence the delay in getting the issue reviewed.

The previous issue flagged up a forthcoming theme issue on Shakespeare, which I mentioned in my review of that issue somewhat filled me with dread. This is a 'World Beat' issue, resulting from an editorial call for 'writing from the roots'. With each of the stories, a read of the editorial intro. and the author notes at the end gave useful background information to the story.

Swans. Vera Nazarian.

This nicely told story is a re-telling/rehashing/re-conceptualisation of a Russian folk tale about a mute sister and swan brothers. As I say, nicely told, over six digest pages, but not much more can be written by way of a review!

Sedna's Daughter. Elizabeth Westbrook.

A nautical folk tale - with Westbrook ably capturing the intense relationship between the sea and those who risk their lives to make a living from it. The tale of how a fisherman's daughter becomes as one with the deep, deep sea, and the struggle her own daughter has to free herself from the watery depths. Love is the key.

The Comfort of Thunder. David J. Schwarts.

A Nordic perspective on mortality and the nature of life as part of a much, much longer journey. Following the death of an elderly relative, a family gather. One stranger appears to be more than he is (the hammer on his motorbike jacket is a giveaway!).

The Trickster's Lot. Lena DeTar.

A native American influenced tale, with the coyote god stepping back and forth in time, a dance through eternity.

Conjure Me. Jarret Keene.

The French Quarter of New Orleans is facing the horrors of a dreadful epidemic. A slave servant is beguiling herself, with magical charms, into the affections of her employer, whose wife is gravely ill with the fever. The voodoo magic is powerful, but not infallible.

A particularly good story, tense and very atmospheric.

The Red Bird. Douglas Smith.

Ancient Japan. A young boy, Asai, flees the massacre of his village, and finds himself at the foot of mythical stairs. He is recruited by Ikada, Warrior of the Red Bird, and is to be trained to follow in his footsteps. As the time to replace the warrior approaches, Asai finds love with a young girl from a nearby village, and soon a choice is to be forced upon them.

The Missing Word. Allan Weiss.

A wandering Jewish magician is called upon to help a strange desert-stronghold living community, whose religious tome has begun to lose the very words from its pages. Belief in the words themselves, as opposed to their meaning (timely theme!) has caused this to pass.

Legend. Catherine MacLeod.

Flash fiction.

Closing Time. Matthew Johnson.

A young man is waiting upon the funeral feast held in honour of his father. In this society, the deceased is a participant in this process, gradually fading into ghosthood. But not Nep Gao's father, who is indeed the life and soul of the party, and is not only reluctant to fade away, but to all intent, remaining quite conspicuously of this world.

When one of the Emperor's retinue dies, the young man has a choice to make between honouring his father or his emperor. Very good indeed.

The Gate of Heavenly Peace. E.L. Chen.

A Canadian reporter of Chinese descent is covering the Tiananmen square protests, and catches a glimpse of a most peculiar creature. The mythical beast is struggling in the face of a lack of the belief it needs to survive.

The Blue, Blue Grass of Home. Gary Archambault.

Shades of One Flew Over A Cuckoo's Nest, in this telling of soul-destroying nursing home for the elderly. A native American sees a chance to help the residents escape from the drug-hazed torpid 'life' they lead.

Conclusion.

A good collection of well written, short stories. I was reading them whilst halfway through the 'fantasy' epic 'Ash', and it did prove a bit difficult in reading a 1,000+ page novel and a digest magazine with several quite short stories. All in all, though, a good read.