Ravensmoot: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction by Marius du Plessis

Ravensmoot: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction Reviews

• 
  Nerine Dorman

  With the publishing industry in such a state of flux, it’s lovely to see South African small presses step forward to take an active interest in speculative fiction. In this anthology, Marius du Plessis has gathered six outstanding authors from around the globe, including South Africa, each with a strong voice and vision.
  
  “Passing Visions” by Martin John Stokes introduces us to a clinical psychologist named Indiana Golding whose patient proves to be troubled by something way beyond Golding’s ken. It was clear from the start that the man’s arrogance was going to prove his downfall.
  
  I’m no stranger to Nyki Blatchley’s writing and in “The Triarchy’s Emissary”, we follow the female warrior Edralit’s quest to protect an empress. What I love about Blatchley’s writing is that he often features strong female leads and isn’t afraid to treat LGBT themes in a fantasy setting.
  
  “The Dead City Blues” by Yelena Calavera takes us to a changed Joburg where only the Dreamers have survived the apocalypse – and the big dangers lies with nightmares yet to be confronted, which if you’re not careful, take on tangible and dangerous forms.
  
  “Pigs in Golfs” by Mia Arderne juxtaposes a vicious serial sexual predator’s doings with the lives of a couple, and mixes in a whiff of illegal street racing. I must admit I was put off by what I felt to be the almost gratuitous violence against women, and this story didn’t work for me though it was well written.
  
  “The Terminal Move” by Dilman Dila reads like the kind of story you’d hear an old shaman share by the fireside, and tells us about Laceng, who helps his tribe overcome evil, zombie-like creatures and a race of giants in order to claim a new homeland.
  
  Anton Sim’s “Project Hydra” is a suitably creepy offering and very little becomes more nightmarish than a dystopian corporate hell. Sim writes with an underlying touch of dark humour that left me wanting more – a perfect way to conclude this anthology.
  
  Overall, Du Plessis has proved to have a keen eye for high-quality material and has presented a diverse selection that is well worth adding to any serious lover of speculative fiction’s collection. This is a publisher worth keeping an eye out for.
• 
  Dave-Brendon Burgh

  Since I reviewed all the titles included in this anthology individually, here're my thoughts:
  
  Passing Visions by Martin John Stokes
  
  Passing Visions is about a psychologist is pulled into the sadness and horror of his patient’s life. James is trying to be a normal teenager, but and encounter with the school bully has turned his life upside down. I won’t reveal just what happened (the cover of the eBook is clue enough), but I will go into why I thought this was a brilliant, captivating read. And pretty damned unsettling, too.
  
  Like every other teenager in high school James is searching – for himself, for balance, for hints of who he wants to (or might) when he becomes an adult. He struggles with fitting in and conversely, with standing out.
  
  Indie is a psychologist who is trying to balance his career (or calling) with the stress of an impending divorce. He feels that he knows what life is about, what and who he is; his entire world is changed when James enters his practice.
  
  These two characters play off each other wonderfully – the majority of the tale is told from James’ point of view, so the reader gets to know James quite deeply, but even so, Indie’s strength as a character shines through; he’s not James’ opposite but a person in his own right, not a foil but an explorer who is approaching James and the reason he has come to see Indie from a clinical, logical direction. James at the beginning of the tale is the person who’s gone through everything and we get snapshots of who he was, or the person who is now hiding, as he tells his tale. With Indie we witness the fall into darkness and madness, vicariously listening as James’ story unfolds, both imagining Indie’s reaction and living it through our own thoughts and responses.
  
  Martin manages to begin the story at an even, gradual pace, introducing not only the two characters but the room in which the tale occurs – as the tale progresses he takes us to James’ high school, home and garden, and even though the pace remains even and measured throughout -this isn’t an action adventure or a thriller- the psychological onslaught begins, at first hardly noticeable but gradually becoming more powerful. And this is before the horror of what is happening really takes hold. By the time it does, I’m sure the reader – as I was- will be held fast, unable to stop reading. It is, as they say, too late.
  
  Martin also writes with a beautiful and enviable control, stringing sentences together in such a way that scenes take shape and characters take life with what seems to be no effort – and there are so many memorable lines in this story! Memorable and unsettling, both.
  
  This is definitely a story that will remain with me for a long, long time. It shows that Martin can weave an incredible, memorable tale with realistic characters that make the reader wonder and flinch and grimace and shudder – I can’t help thinking that he’ll be giving many readers many, many sleepless nights!
  
  An excellent tale – psychologically disturbing, emotionally powerful and creepy as hell!
  
  The Triarchy's Emissary by Nyki Blatchley
  
  The story opens with Edralit, a mysterious visitor to Faiz – she’s from the Highlands, which makes her arrival in Faiz an event that is noticed by many.
  
  Novesh is an empress without an empire, struggling to marshal what support she can gather for her cause while suffering nightmares regarding the events that saw her Empire collapse.
  
  From the beginning I was curious about Edralit – she’s capable, intelligent and wary, trying to hide a past that would lead most people to giving her entirely too much attention. From her opening conversations with a serving girl right through to the tale’s climax Edralit is compelling and interesting, a great counter-character to Novesh.
  
  Novesh plainly struggles with the trappings of her station and birth, and her need to ensure the rebirth of her empire brings a constant, sad tension her scenes – her strength and resolve come through wonderfully, as does her political acumen.
  
  The back-story of this tale raises some very interesting questions that I hope Nyki will deal with in a full-length novel – the settings (the places we as the reader visit and those only mentioned) really made me curious and world-building was interesting and imaginative, with a hint of the magic which exists in this world. Nyki has a great eye for scene-detail and he handles character-interaction well – the action-oriented scenes are also thrilling, adding the physical element to the tale and also mixing in great tension.
  
  All in all, ‘The Triarchy’s Emissary’ is a great snapshot tale, beautifully self-contained yet evocative of a larger world, and Epic Fantasy fans everywhere will enjoy it! Perfect for a quick read and when you want to discover new voices in Fantasy without having to read a full-length novel. Well done, and looking forward to more! :-)
  
  The Dead City Blues by Yelena Calavera
  
  The story centres on Shelby, a girl living in the shattered remains of the African metropolis, with her younger sister. Life is beyond difficult – just leaving the relative safety of their refuge could lead to serious injury or even death. Yelena does a great job of describing the ruins of the city – the streets are empty, the buildings are desolate and sad, and wild animals roam are slowly taking back the concrete-and-glass spaces. Shelby is a great character, given to philosophical musings and deep insights, but she’s also capable and dangerous – she has learned the hard way what to do to survive, and has also had to take the role of guardian for her sister.
  
  But things change when Shelby save a very personal nightmare from another human, Luke – what is further revealed about the world in which these remnants of humanity live, through as Shelby and Luke’s fate unfold, shows Yelena’s skill at building a world with layers of menace and beauty.
  
  The nightmare creatures that roam the city are well-imagined and memorable, and the tale flows easily and liquidly in the imagination; couple this with Yelena’s imaginative creations and you’ve got a tale you’ll read, remember, and talk about. :-)
  
  Looking forward to more from this talented writer!
  
  Pigs in Golfs by Mia Arderne
  
  On one hand, it’s a love story, showing us a husband and wife and giving us a snapshot of their lives together. They are sensual and driven, satisfied and happy, and unafraid of their appetites. She is hiding something from him, something important yet unproven, and he indulges in a dangerous hobby, dodging not only death but also the Law.
  
  On the other hand this is the tale of a despicable killer, a murderer of twisted appetites possessed of an even more twisted worldview. He is so sick that he could very well be an ‘it’, though Mia manages to beautifully straddle the line between monster and madman with a creepy and brilliant balancing act – there are hectic scenes in this tale, scenes that will make you flinch and grimace and you may, perhaps, find yourself wanting to set down your eReader. You won’t, though.
  
  Because it’s when these three people collide (and the reader can see the collision coming, like being stuck in traffic and seeing an accident unfold in dreadful slow motion) that the tale is at its most visceral and shocking. I was left silent and stunned as the events played out, and then got another kick in the stomach for good measure at the tale’s end.
  
  I’m seriously looking forward to more from Mia – she’s the kind of storyteller that is unafraid and the kind of writer that knows how to use words to pull, pinch, torture, sicken and elicit smiles. An amazing talent!
  
  The Terminal Move by Dilman Dila
  
  The tale follows a tribe during their long search for a new home; they lost a conflict with a rival tribe and had to give up their home, which forced them into a long journey, taxing not only their bodies but also testing the tribe’s resolve. Eventually, they find an idyllic place, but this is when their troubles really begin, setting up not only a conflict that could ultimately destroy the tribe but also drive deep wedges between its people.
  
  The tale is told in a style that most readers will find strange, or at the very least, different, to what they’ve encountered before.It has the flavour of a fable, or a story passed down through the generations with practically no alterations made to its rhythms and structure, so it isn’t told in a style that readers may consider ‘modern’, but I didn’t have any problems with it. In fact, if this tale had been written in any other style it would probably have come across as contrived, and the tale would have suffered for it.
  
  As such, the characters’ foundation-roles as archetypes rings a bit stronger than anything else I’ve read, which made it difficult for me to connect with them on a level needed to create that sense of empathy which all storytellers strive to achieve with their characters. This kind of characterization suited the tone and timbre of the tale, though, so I guess it worked. :-)
  
  In terms of world-building the reader is shown glimpses of the tribe’s culture and beliefs – there’s enough to keep it interesting, though a particular type of creature in the tale might strike the reader as being out of place, or at the very least something that that Dilman used to try and bridge the gap between the cultures he grew up investigating and those of readers on continents other than Africa.
  
  ‘The Terminal Move’ is definitely the most different tale that Fox and Raven has brought us so far – it is utterly unique and deserving of the spot it has claimed in Fox and Raven’s first anthology, but there is a chance that it may be a little too different to appeal to a wider readership. I’ll be reading Dilman’s work further, though, precisely because it’s so different. :-)
  
  Project Hydra by Anton Sim
  
  ‘Project Hydra’ is definitely one of the most original and disturbing tales I’ve read in a long time.
  
  In this tale, the reader is introduced to a group of co-workers who have to deal with a new and mysterious project initiated by their superiors – the ‘project’ of the title. How each individual worker deals with the questions raised by this new workplace phenomenon, and how they react when it is revealed, is what this tale is all about – and it’s an awesome play on the term, ‘Hydra’.
  
  Everything works wonderfully (and exceedingly creepily) in this tale – the characters are well-rounded and unique, each with their own mannerisms and character-arcs; the prose is flowing and uncluttered; the descriptions short yet vivid. The tension and horror of the tale builds steadily as its premise unfolds, and I’m sure plenty of readers will be keeping an eye on those office memos, just in case… ;-)
  
  It’s a memorable and chilling tale, and I’m definitely looking forward to more from Anton Sim.
• 
  SplatterGeist Reviews

  For starters, if you're looking for character development don't bother here - instead you should berate yourself for not making this discovery sooner. The variety of the stories included in Ravensmoot fill enough boundaries and expectations (plot, context, etc.) to satisfy some of you critics (I'm one myself).
  
  With an introduction by Charlie Human (author of Apocalypse Now Now) the anthology sets off with a skin-crawling novelette called Passing Visions (written by Martin John Stokes) which creates the opening stage for tales you really don't want to miss out on - seriously, you don't want to miss this. (If you miss this Pennywise the Clown might gurgle "We all float down here" tonight in your bathroom sink while you're brushing your teeth. Yes. Be afraid.)
  
  As I was saying (typing, actually), the first entry sets the stage for what is to come as you progress through a series of original and respectable works of fiction each as original and thought-provoking as the last. From a classic thriller to a secret order of assassins, from demonic nightmares that come to life and prowl in the dark, to dream-punk and everything else in between.
  
  If you're itching to read something new and interesting or whether you're in the mood to add a few names to your favourite list of authors, then do yourself a favour and give Fox & Raven's Ravensmoot a chance - even if you just skim through it, you're bound to find an experience worth your time.