A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: khōréō
khōréō 3.3 includes two short stories and a novelette in two parts. The one I found to be most effective of the three is “The Blue Glow” by Lisa Hosokawa, which follows a failed suicide pilot as he returns home in search of his family, and finds only destruction. His journey is plagued by ghosts, but he holds onto hope that his mother and baby sister might still be alive, until he encounters a peddler selling his mother’s brooch. The story is framed as the suicide bomber addressing his father, whose fate remains unknown. The tone can be read as one of recrimination for the father not staying with his wife and young daughter and dying with them, or one of hope, that at least one member of the pilot’s family survived. Either way, the prose is lovely and haunting, full of gorgeous imagery, and carries real emotional weight.
“The Cursing of Herman Willem Daendels” by A.W. Prihandita follows a grieving mother seeking revenge in the form of a curse for her son who died building a new road for the governor. The story provides an effective look at the brutality of colonialism, the ripple effect it has, and the ongoing pain it causes. “Dragonsworn” by L. Chan features lovely worldbuilding as it looks at the cost of war through a fantasy lens. Professor Chao used to evaluate people for affinity with dragons so they could become dragonsworn and aid in the war effort. During an expedition with one of her students to research the remains of a fallen dragon, she encounters the military commander she used work for, and discovers that their guide, Da Kai, is the fallen dragon’s former rider, who can no longer hear his dragon’s voice.
Recommended Stories
“The Blue Glow”, Lisa Hosokawa (khōréō 3.3)
This review and more like it in the April 2024 issue of Locus.
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