Chasing the Queen of Sassi

by Paul Di Filippo

A science fiction story set in one of the oldest cities in the world.

After his wife's death, Rupert decides to change his life and start your journey: he wants to see Matera again, and ends up loving it so much that he decides to move there. But the city is mysterious: who is the beautiful Daeria Bruno that appears and disappears without a trace? And how will the cucibocca's curse affect his life? In a dizzying series of time travels, Rupert will reveal legendary secrets, being at the center of a timeless story.

45 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 19, 2014

About the author

Paul Di Filippo is the author of hundreds of short stories, some of which have been collected in these widely-praised collections: The Steampunk Trilogy, Ribofunk, Fractal Paisleys, Lost Pages, Little Doors, Strange Trades, Babylon Sisters, and his multiple-award-nominated novella, A Year in the Linear City. Another earlier collection, Destroy All Brains, was published by Pirate Writings, but is quite rare because of the extremely short print run (if you see one, buy it!).

The popularity of Di Filippo’s short stories sometimes distracts from the impact of his mindbending, utterly unclassifiable novels: Ciphers, Joe’s Liver, Fuzzy Dice, A Mouthful of Tongues, and Spondulix. Paul’s offbeat sensibility, soulful characterizations, exquisite-yet-compact prose, and laugh-out-loud dialogue give his work a charmingly unique voice that is both compelling and addictive. He has been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, BSFA, Philip K. Dick, Wired Magazine, and World Fantasy awards.

Despite his dilatory ways, Paul affirms that the sequel to A Year in the Linear City, to be titled A Princess of the Linear Jungle, will get written in 2008. He has two books forthcoming from PS Publications: the collection entitled Harsh Oases and the novel titled Roadside Bodhisattva. His 2008 novel Cosmocopia is graced by Jim Woodring illustrations.

Paul lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Reviews

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

a story like out of another era

This was a tight fast-paced story that included demi-gods from Ancient Greece/Italy brought into present-day Basilicata, Italy. A hapless American gets mixed up in an adventure that spans the ages.

Di Filippo’s writing style in this story is a little stilted, reminiscent of Tolkien or some such, full of unfamiliar terms and vocabulary. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I suppose I can add that di Filippo’s descriptions of Matera and it’s features are incredibly detailed and evocative. Makes me want to go down there and visit one day. Nowadays, if we are able to visit Italy at all (not always a given in this era of CV19), we stay at my In-laws in Veneto and don’t venture out much at all.

[Leticia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was original, creative and interesting.
I really liked the Matera descriptions.
The ending could have been longer, the story ended somehow too abruptly.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matera, Italy is where the main character meets Daeira,, the legendary queen of the Sassi. This fantasy tale is probably built around some local legends but it was rather confusing to read. The story is full of vivid descriptions of places like cisterns, caves etc, and the other characters were quite unusual to say the least!
If you enjoy mystic legends mixed with time space encounters, then this book is for you.

[Martin Willoughby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Occasionally confusing, this is still a good short story and worth a read.