Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings

Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings is a novella from an Australian author whose short fiction I have previously enjoyed. She is, perhaps, most well-known for her artwork, including book covers such as the one for Flyaway, among others.

In a small Western Queensland town, a reserved young woman receives a note from one of her vanished brothers—a note that makes question her memories of their disappearance and her father’s departure.

A beguiling story that proves that gothic delights and uncanny family horror can live—and even thrive—under a burning sun, Flyaway introduces readers to Bettina Scott, whose search for the truth throws her into tales of eerie dogs, vanished schools, cursed monsters, and enchanted bottles.

In these pages Jennings assures you that gothic delights, uncanny family horror, and strange, unsettling prose can live—and even thrive—under a burning sun.

Going through the tags for this review, I couldn't not include "Australian gothic". This book is a tangle of fairytales brought by settlers into the unique Australian landscape, all of them twisted and variously creepy. Flyaway is, above all, a story composed of many other stories, told as flashbacks or asides. The layers are slowly peeled back as our unreliable narrator, Bettina Scott, slowly learns more of her recent past and starts to realise what she's forgotten.

The fact that part of the story is told as Bettina's memories unfurl means that we come at the main story — for lack of a better term, I mean the story most important to Bettina — from an oblique angle. We know something strange has happened, but the pieces don't come together until very close to the end. But in the meantime, Jennings keeps the reader entertained and/or horrified with the extra stories peppered throughout the narrative.

I recommend Flyaway to readers who like weird narratives and who don't mind feeling creeped out by the bush or western Queensland. I think non-Australian readers will also find much to connect with in this book, since a lot of the fairytales are recognisably based on European folklore, despite the strong presence of the Australian landscape in the book.

4 / 5 stars

First published: July 2020, Tor.com
Series: No, I don't think so
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

To Spin a Darker Stair by Faith Mudge and Catherynne M Valente

To Spin a Darker Stair is a chapbook published by FableCroft Publishing and edited by Tehani Wessley. It contains two short stories, one each by Australian author Faith Mudge and well-know US author Catherynne M Valente, and gorgeous illustrations by Kathleen Jennings. Both stories are fairytale retellings with a sinister twist.

The first story is "A Delicate Architecture" by Catherynne M Valente. From what I've read of Valente in the past (about half of Palimpsest and maybe a short story or two), I've found her to be on the borderline of the kind of stories I enjoy. For example, I found Palimpsest a bit too literary* for my liking. "A Delicate Architecture", on the other hand, was on the right side of the scale for me to enjoy. Valente deftly crafts a story about a girl with an unusual upbringing. It's surreal in the way that some fairytales are, but it's lovely. The ending made me happy, and I appreciated the foreshadowing leading up to it, evident only in retrospect. I was not, as I read, trying to guess which fairytale was being retold which I think augmented the reveal.

The other story is "The Oracle's Tower" by Faith Mudge. I had only read one other story by Mudge, which appeared in One Small Step, so she is a fairly new author to me (as well as fairly new generally, I gather). "The Oracle's Tower" is a different sort of fairytale. (The start put me in mind of some of Rowling's Tales of Beedle the Bard, interpret that as you will.) The choice of main character, giving voice to a character marginalised in the traditional telling, allows Mudge to put a very different spin on the tale. The original story isn't exactly cheery, so I found Mudge's darker retelling particularly haunting. I will certainly be keeping an eye on Mudge's future output.

To Spin a Darker Stair is a very thin volume that punches above its weight class. I recommend it to fans of fairytale retellings, especially those looking for a quick read. This volume is quite different to other things FableCroft have released and it will be interesting to see what other innovative projects they come up with in the future.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2012, FableCroft
Series: no
Format read: Paper!
Source: Purchased from publisher.
Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge (well, half of it)

* A reminder that I define literary as a story which is primarily character-driven rather than plot-driven.

Light Touch Paper, Stand Clear edited by Edwina Harvey and Simon Petrie

Light Touch Paper, Stand Clear is an unthemed anthology edited by Edwina Harvey and Simon Petrie. The anthology itself was shortlisted for a Ditmar award as was Joanne Anderton's story "The Bone Chime Song". Two stories were also shortlisted for Chronos Awards (the Victorian spec fic awards which will be announced at Continuum in a couple of weeks): “Five Ways to Start a War” by Sue Bursztynski and “The D_d” by Adam Browne.

Light Touch Paper, Stand Clear is quite a mixed bag as far as story content and style goes, not entirely surprising given that it's unthemed. When I was reading, it was impossible to guess what sort of story would come next.

My favourite stories were the quirkier ones. "History: Theory and Practice" by Dave Luckett and "The Travelling Salesman and the Farmer’s Daughter" by Katherine Cummings both involved a serious set up leading to more than initially met the eye. "Murder at the Tip" by Anna Tambour, "Mary Had a Unicorn" by Ripley Patton and "Hard Cases" by Sean McMullen took an offbeat premise and followed it through to the obvious conclusion without flinching. I particularly liked "Mary Had a Unicorn" although I can't say I'd want to live in that world with drugs so prevalent. On the other hand, "Hard Cases" gave me a bit more vicarious glee than is probably healthy.

Two other stories I quite liked (and which don't really fall in the quirky category) were "Faet's Fire" by Thoraiya Dyer, which had beautiful writing, and "Kindling" by Kathleen Jennings, which was a pleasant wander through the lives of bar patrons. I should also mention "Bone Chime Song" by Joanne Anderton, which is excellent, but which I skipped in Light Touch Paper, Stand Clear since I'd already read it.

More thoughts on each story, recorded as soon as I finished reading it, below. Overall, Light Touch Paper, Stand Clear is a diverse anthology which showcases a variety of stories and authors. I recommend it to fans of short fiction, perhaps looking for diverse reads in one single package.

~
"Bone Chime Song" by Joanne Anderton — previously read and reviewed, when I said "Eerie, well imagined. A complete world glimpsed through a short story."

"Five Ways to Start a War" by Sue Bursztynski — a tale of gods meddling in the lives of men and the real cause of the Trojan War. Interesting changes of perspective with each section.

"History: Theory and Practice" by Dave Luckett — Packed with a surprising amount of historical detail, an amusing story set in the Dark Ages. The protagonist is more than meets the eye. Enjoyed the reveal.

"D___d" by Adam Brown — exploration and industrialisation of hell. Sort of. Didn't quite do it for me (purely subjective reaction).

"The Travelling Salesman and the Farmer’s Daughter" by Katherine Cummings — Cute science fiction story with all the right elements. Travelling scout recruiting lost planets to the galactic empire. I expected a twist, but didn't quite pick it.

"Faet's Fire" by Thoraiya Dyer — A farm, a coal seam, a girl, a boy and Faet, a bird monster. Very well written and an enjoyable read, a little dark.

"Murder at the Tip" by Anna Tambour — About the horrors that could ensue were the irritating machines in our lives sentient and granted personhood. (Ironically, this was the story my Kobo chose to misbehave on.)

"The Subjunctive Case" by Robert Porteous — a detective story about a mysterious murder and a detective who can split himself into two parallel universe investigations.

"Mary Had a Unicorn" by Ripley Patton — a story set in a world in which drugs are particularly prevalent and unicorns have been genetically engineered to search and destroy them.

"Between the Lines" by Brenda Cooper — a story about conspiracies and hope in the future. I didn't find it entirely believable and it reminded me a bit of Cold War SF. Not a bad story, though.

"The Godbreaker and Unggubudh the Mountain" by Ian McHugh — a story of power struggles between fantasy creatures and mountain gods. Fight scenes a bit protracted for a short story.

"Hard Cases" by Sean McMullen — a story about a group of people taking a hard stand against the kind of people who refuse to believe in global warming. I enjoyed it, perhaps thanks to a bit of vicarious activism. Ahem.

"Kindling" by Kathleen Jennings — a story about paths crossing and diverging. A barmaid with a knack for bringing people together. I quite liked it.


First published: 2012, Peggy Bright Books
Series: no.
Format read: ePub on all the devices
Source: A review copy provided courtesy of the editors