Gorgon: Stories of Emergence

by Sarah Read (Editor), Richard Thomas, Gwendolyn Kiste

Be changed. Gorgon: Stories of Emergence contains 42 transformative stories spanning all genres from both emerging and new voices alike, with all new stories by Gwendolyn Kiste, Richard Thomas, Annie Neugebauer, Eden Royce, Beth Cato, D.A. Xiaolin Spires and more, and featuring 10 illustrations by Luke Spooner.

Genres: Anthologies, Horror, Fantasy, Short Stories

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2019

Reviews

[Suz Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I’ve always cultivated a love of mythology, particularly the story of Medusa, GORGON: STORIES OF EMERGENCE was a must read. The anthology includes 42 short stories by various authors interpreting the theme using multiple genres and ten color illustrations by Carrion House. Additionally, I’m a big fan of Pantheon Magazine’s publications and the editor of this book, Sarah Read, who appears on the 2019 preliminary Bram Stoker Award ballot in the categories of Superior Achievement in a First Novel and Superior Achievement in a Fiction.

The anthology includes the following stories:

“Who are You” by Filip Wiltgren
The journey to the underworld requires much sacrifice.

“The Face God Gave” by J. Ashley Smith
An airplane trip results in a mythological transformation for a woman and her two young sons.

“Undone” by Richard Thomas
A couple’s car breaks down, and their journey becomes one of survival and of new life.

“Psalms” by Aimee Ogden
A deer, who is not really a deer, must sacrifice another in order to survive.

“Fit for the Wolves” by Annie Neugebauer
A goddess comes to care for a pack of wolves, but their relationship is threatened once another enters the mix.

“The Goddess of Birds and Wind” by Alex Shvartsman
In the light of the goddess, an atheist becomes transformed.

“Gods of Empty Places” by A. T. Greenblatt
Worship of the Gods of Empty Places results in holes and voids and so much loss.

“The Boy Who Drowned” by Duke Kimball
Their offerings rarely are enough to satisfy his hate.

“Seen and Not Heard” by Barbara A. Barnett
The blood of the Goddess Vasdahr: Eater of Worlds has the power to transform.

“Tips for How to Deal with Your Daughter When She's Become a Monster”
by Gwendolyn Kiste
“Livia [is]…a child with moonlight in her blood and dirges in her heart.”

“An Illusion of Substance” by C. M. Muller
His admiration of a living stature becomes its own trap.

“Iris and Chiaroscuro” by Erin Robinson
An artist explores a new fixed medium.

“We Did All We Could for Them” by Rebecca Ann Jordan
We all cope differently in this world where men become monsters.

“Only the Mirrors Tell You” by Rhonda Eikamp
Sam sees snakes and so does his new friend.

“Bluebeard's Surrender” by Julie C. Day
Aisling’s passion for reptiles puts a damper on her other relationships.

“Burning Bright” by Carina Bissett
A lady is a tyger and a tyger is a lady. And men wish to possess and control them both.

“The Wallflowers” by Lora Gray
One wishes to blend in while the other needs to stand out.

“Swings and Suspension” by D. A. Xiaolin Spires
A babe becomes a savior.

“Amazon” by Tori Cárdenas
In this magical realism story, a fixed flower blooms.

“A Quick Getaway” by Sherri Cook Woosley
Pilfering peaches produces a profound penalty.

“The Queen's Secret” by H. L. Fullerton
At the sting of his wife’s abandonment, Seth welcomes another being to make a home of him.

“She Shells” by Eden Royce
For one month a year, a woman performs her family duty.

“Raven Hearts” by Stephanie Herman
A woman, whose heart is grief-heavy, envies the buoyancy of a particular bird.

“Her Blood Like Rubies in the Ground” by Eugenia Triantafyllou
A father struggles to accept the living effigy of his dead daughter.

“Edges of Love” by G. D. Watry
With the original gone, a replica fails to satisfy.

“Discarded Skins” by Steve Toase
Margaret takes drastic action to break her lover’s addiction.

“Abyssal” by Lorraine Schein
In order to descend, Katexa must relinquish her humanity.

“Bioluminescence” by Maria Haskins
Much time passes before a mother returns changed to fight the irresistible pull of the water.

“Portrait of My Wife as a Boat” by Samantha Murray
Marriage takes a backseat to the lure of the sea.

“Silvermouth” by Doug Murano
Shelley’s affinity for a local legend gives her a new perspective.

“A Fish for Ophelia” by Craig Wallwork
Ophelia uses what caring for her pet taught her to deal with a profound problem.

“Green” by Sharon Jimenez
Sisters trade their bounty for a different kind of treasure.

“Cold Burn” by Shannon Connor
A wisp attempts to lure a new victim.

“Winward Down by the Weeping Shore” by Natalia Theodoridou
The arrival of the Swan Prince brings doom.

“King Swan” by Juliana Spink
A girl hides out awaiting the birth of the child she carries.

“Mills Moth's Wing in Spider's Web” by J. E. Bates
The First Ancestor creates poetry and delivers his worshipers.

“Walls of Nigeria” by Jeremy Szal
A soldier suffers great losses in order to keep his community and family safe from antagonistic aliens.

“Of Talons and Teeth” by Brent Baldwin
Genetic engineering becomes a mother’s weapon.

“Awaken My Bones Old and New” by Beth Cato
Stopping missiles becomes a young girl’s mission.

“Kq'” by Nicole Givens Kurtz
Yazhi defies the Black God to protect her village.

“The Scorching” by Dan Rabarts
With death comes the power to haunt.

“Dark the Sky, Rust the Earth” by Hal Y. Zhang
He brings the one who is his destiny a gift.

Each of these stories makes magic in two-thousand words or less. My favorites are as follows: “Undone,” written as one flash fiction length sentence masterfully creates an urgency through pacing. “Fit for the Wolves” speaks of yearning, purity, and desire that tips a delicate balance. I love how the moon is portrayed in this tale. “Gods of Empty Places” provides a cool take on repetitive life cycle patterns and family. “Tips for How to Deal with Your Daughter When She's Become a Monster” shows how a young woman’s power is both a blessing and a curse. Kiste channels one of Medusa’s powers in a fun way in this story. “The Wallflowers” nicely illustrates the differences between introversion and extraversion using plastic surgery. This story reminds me much of the Remades in China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station. The protagonist of “Amazon,” a young breast cancer survivor, is more proud, fierce, and determined than she believes herself to be. Her relationship with her husband is well shown, and the reference to mythological Amazons is perfect. “A Quick Getaway” is a lovely homage to myths that center around a coveted fruit. In “She Shells,” an aunt’s tough love has a soft side, showing the complexity of familial bonds. “Raven Hearts” shows a woman gutted by grief and the curious way she uses to cope. Her love/hate relationship with the birds and desire to trade heart-space for head-space is relatable in the face of her enormous loss. “Silvermouth” brings a fascinating urban legend into the mix. The quiet strength of the worshipers in “Mills Moth's Wing in Spider's Web” is beautiful and heartbreaking. In “Of Talons and Teeth,” not feeling the crush of the mother’s pain is impossible, yet it is rewarding to see her use science to fight back.

This anthology reads like the modern-day equivalent of Ovid’s Metamorphosis, which expands to include mythologies from around the world and beyond, as well as a great section of genres. The order Read arranged the tales creates a lovely rhythm and groups stories thematically. With 42 uniquely rendered stories, readers are sure to find many which resonate with them.

[Jackie McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories have been my jam lately. Life got you down? Read a quick tale about a girl who can turn you to stone with a single touch. Fight with your partner? Take 5 minutes and read about how a single airplane trip can alter you forever. Boss giving you hell? Close your door and enter the world of a woman with a magically transforming tattoo.
The tales in Gorgon: Stories of Emergence range from the supernatural to the mystical all the way through to the truly beautiful. Each with a central theme of transformation and emergence, there are 42 different tales to discover. As with any large collection, there are a few misses and some truly phenomenal ones.
My current author crush, Gwendolyn Kiste has a gut wrenching fable about a girl reminiscent of Kings “Carrie”. Titled “Tips For How To Deal With Your Daughter When She’s Become A Monster”, Mom gives us advice about what to do when we come home from a night out and see our daughter has turned 3 teenage boys to stone in their family basement. I related to this in such a huge way: not the turning boys to stone (although that would have been awesome!), but the overall theme. This one tore at me.
Carina Bissett has the other 5 star gem in here with “Burning Bright”. I'm not sure if i just read too much into this one but it had all the feels struggling through an abusive relationship, and likening it to a tiger trapped in a circus just felt brutally real.
My final favorite was “Amazon” by Tori Cardenas. Josefina is a breast cancer survivor, trading her left breast for her life and replacing it with a beautiful peony, beginning to bloom. When the tattoo starts to actually bloom right there on her skin, Jo is bewildered and intrigued. After learning that the artist remembers Jo and remembers tattooing her, she is steadfast in her stance that she did not do THIS tattoo. What could it all possibly mean?
I truly recommend this work, simply because the stories are so varied and meaningful. It takes a special skill to pack so much thought, passion and power into such a short tale.

[Beth Cato]

Not a review. Contains my story "Awaken My Bones Old and New."

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an anthology of flash stories of emergence, of transformation—of people transformed into birds, tigers, snakes, monsters, gods, flowers, and even a boat. People who have powerful encounters with transformation. People who emerge into something new. People who experience emergence and transformation on a profound psychic and spiritual level, if not always physically.

It’s a gorgeous collection of tiny stories, sparkling with vivid imagery like jewels. Some of them are tiny pieces of horror; some are hopeful, and some are sad. Nearly all are filled with longing and strangeness. With 42 stories in this collection, many of them by some of my favorite writers, choosing favorites is difficult. But in a collection of strange and lyrical beauty, some of the standouts were J. Ashley Smith’s wonderfully mysterious “The Face God Gave,” a story of an airplane flight that ends most unexpectedly; Alex Shvartsman’s “The Goddess of Birds and Wind,” and A.T. Greenblatt’s “Gods of Empty Places,” which both speak of yearning and a journey into empty, wild places; the amazingly creepy “Only the Mirrors Tell You,” by Rhonda Eikamp; the poignant “She Shells” by Eden Royce; Eugenia M. Triantafyllou’s story, “Her Blood Like Rubies in the Ground,” which is both creepy and heartbreaking; Maria Haskin’s gorgeous, luminous piece of loss and heartache, “Bioluminescence;” and Sharon Jimenez’ strange and lovely tale of sisters, snails, and a peacock in “Green.”

Flash fiction (that is, very short fiction—usually defined as 1000 words or less) lends itself to the experimental, to unconventional forms, and Gorgon showcases that here. Though there’s a range of tones and style, the stories are united by their lyricism (although it takes different forms) and, of course, by the theme of transformation. It’s a collection that I read slowly, a few stories at a time, treating myself to bite-sized pieces of beauty before bed and in snatches of time. This collection reminded me strongly of another anthology of strange and lovely flash pieces: An Alphabet of Embers, edited by Rose Lemberg (although Gorgon has a stronger leaning toward horror). Both anthologies present stories that glow with mystery and beauty, pieces that often read like prose-poems. Both are highly recommended.

Edited to add: the interior illustrations for Gorgon (and for that matter, An Alphabet of Embers as well) are also gorgeous and really add to the stories. This is a physically beautiful book.

[Gareth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah Read has gathered an exceptional collection of 42 stories in this themed anthology of transformation. I really liked the diverse story telling genres, but what struck me most was the topics that the writers had chosen to weave into their fiction.

Two special mentions, first for the cover illustration by Daniele Serra showing ‘the Gorgon’ eyes down cast, off to one side blending into the background cutting a sad and very lonesome figure. Secondly for the story illustrations by Luke Spooner, for capturing the essence and emotional impact. There are two that I think deserve particular praise they are She Shells, and Iris and Chiarsocuro.

I enjoyed all the stories a couple to highlight are
‘Tips For How to Deal with Your Daughter When She Becomes a Monster’ by Gwendolyn Kiste an emotional horror story dealing with the trauma following an attempted date rape, told from the perspective of her mother. A masterful story by Kiste that does not shy away from uncomfortable confronting thoughts of victim blame.
‘Seen and not Heard’ by Barbara A Bennett a tale of a curator in a museum that trying to follow their dream despite her mother, but now coming up against gender inequality at work and male chauvinism giving jobs to the boys. The transformation is going to be epic.
‘Bluebeard’s Surrender’ by Julie C.Day a wonderful story of a teenager with a lifelong fascination of snakes, Day neatly sows in aspects of the snake behaviour and biology that will bear fruit.
‘Burning Bright’ by Carina Bissett is a par excellence weird fantasy a something that is something else, that highlights the abuse suffered by victims of domestic violence.
‘Her Blood Like Rubies on the Ground’ by Eugenia M. Triantafyllou a sad and heart-breaking tale of grief for a child.
‘Of Talons and Teeth’ by Brent Baldwin told as a series of desperate messages by a gene-splicing scientist to her imprisoned husband as the army of the enemy approaches.

This is a collection plays with the idea and concept of transformation, as with the cover the Gorgon as a monster is only part of the person.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but a lot of the stories seemed to have a very similar aesthetic and voice. After a while they stopped being distinct for me.