Third Instar

by David Gullen

A glittering story that seems to exist on the cusp between fantasy and pure imagination. Set in an unnamed city on the edge of the world, we progress through a parade of fantastical images, surreal sights and picaresque progression.

54 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 2018

About the author

My latest novel, The Girl from a Thousand Fathoms, was published in early 2020. Other books includes Third Instar from Eibonvale Press, and my alternative-present-day SF novel Shopocalypse. I’ve edited three anthologies, including Once Upon a Parsec:The Book of Alien Fairy Tales.
I’ve sold over 40 short stories to various magazines and anthologies. My short story, Warm Gun, won the BFS Short Story Competition in 2016 and other work has been short-listed for the James White Award and placed in the Aeon Award.
I’m also a past judge for the Arthur C. Clarke and James White Awards, and the current Chair of the Milford SF Conference.
I was born in Africa, baptised by King Neptune, and raised in England. I live in South London with the fantasy writer Gaie Sebold behind several tree ferns.

Reviews

[Karl]

This Hardcover is Eibonvale Chapbook Line #7.

[Robert Adam Gilmour · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this at the same time as the paperback of The Girl From A Thousand Fathoms and I was way more eager for that but this is so short and I seen a good review of it on The Bedlam Files, so I just started here.

It's about a city on the edge of (the/a) world and people like to fly around the sky by means of kites. There's some fantasy creatures but it's mostly about a city love story and a man repeatedly restarting his life.

I found it a little hard to visualize everything that happens with the cauldron, just how fast and rough the journey is that allows the main character to do everything he does in it.

It's quite good. Occasionally I felt like I needed more description of the gods, some of the settings and clothes but I'm looking forward to The Girl From A Thousand Fathoms.

[Des Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder if Gullen has created here his own version of Gulliver, as a paradoxical Swift fall from the edge in Lafferty-like slow time, riding within the cauldron with a stowed-away of the city’s fruit-for-sale, along a trend downwards or even back upwards, past water cascades that is in mutual synergy with the city, and slowly past a tantalising opening to a cavern?

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too impractical to post here.
Above is one of my observations at the time of the review.

[Pia · Rating 4 out of 5]

If love, loss and search for identity could write a story about themselves, it would be like this. A surreal dream in which these themes are crystal clear and everything else in soft focus. A wonderful piece of written art.