Julian Lawler’s The Prophet of Dreams has finished the exposition. Now act II begins, and the portents are terrible: a general comes limping home with news that shatters the complacency of “The City’s” inhabitants. And they get a foretaste of what awaits them in the coming siege in “The Wounds of Defeat.”
Toby Wallis finishes standing a modern mythical tale on its head in the conclusion to “The Artificer.” In a somber, realistic world complete with zombie villains, rotten leather goes a lot farther than ruby slippers.
In part 2 of Michael J A Tyzuk’s “Take the Helena,” Michelle and the hero become not only a couple but quite a team. They’re making ready to go into action, and we’re looking forward to it.
A new contributor, Susan Jane, shows a mother and her little daughter caught in a dilemma: they have compassion but also physical and mental limits. If you have an old pair of earmuffs lying around, hang on to them: “They Fly and They Float” shows when you might really need them.
Another new contributor, P. D. Morton, paints two action-filled, symbolic scenes where young Manuel meets the forces of the Patron — and the ghost riders — in “Justice.”
Thomas R. sketches the biography of the longest-living semi-immortal in the fourth profile of “Anti-Geria.” How old is she? She’s so old that she considers the “New World” old.
We have two new contributors in this issue. Our next issue will bring you three: Dustin LaValley, Craig Snyder, and Clint Venezuela. The index lists the short titles of three stories as “dark,” “fried1,” “silverfish,” and “moonlight.” Is issue 83 a Cajun clambake at night? Um, no. But it is guaranteed to scare, perplex and amuse you. In short, they’re all truly Bewildering Stories.
Readers’ reactions are always welcome. Please write!
Copyright © 2004 by Bewildering Stories
