Seonag and the Seawolves

by M. Evan MacGriogair

Seonag is born on a day where the clouds race each other across the sky.

A clan storyteller unfolds the tale of "Seonag and the Seawolves," about the wolves and the waves. From science fiction and fantasy author M. Evan MacGriogair comes a beautiful, spellbinding story of Gaelic legends, a Tor.com Original.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Mythology, Fiction, Magical Realism, Speculative Fiction, Fairy Tales

33 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 21, 2019

About the author

M. Evan MacGriogair is also known as Emmie Mears.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!

this explanation/intro will be posted before each day’s short story. scroll down to get to the story-review.

this is the FOURTH year of me doing a short story advent calendar as my december project. for those of you new to me or this endeavor, here’s the skinny: every day in december, i will be reading a short story that is 1) available free somewhere on internet, and 2) listed on goodreads as its own discrete entity. there will be links provided for those of you who like to read (or listen to) short stories for free, and also for those of you who have wildly overestimated how many books you can read in a year and are freaking out about not meeting your 2019 reading-challenge goals. i have been gathering links all year when tasty little tales have popped into my feed, but i will also accept additional suggestions, as long as they meet my aforementioned 1), 2) standards.

if you scroll to the end of the reviews linked here, you will find links to all the previous years’ stories, which means NINETY-THREE FREEBIES FOR YOU!

2016: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2017: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2018: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

reviews of these will vary in length/quality depending on my available time/brain power.

so, let’s begin

DECEMBER 5: SEONAG AND THE SEAWOLVES - M. EVAN MACGRIOGAIR

We are aware of the worlds beyond our own. We know there are times when you can touch them, at twilight and dusk, at the shores and on days that mark the turning of the year. But it is impossible to know when we have gone from touching those worlds to finding ourselves in one.

Seonag certainly never thought she would swim herself over a blurred boundary, into something deep and cold and dark but full of life and salt and energy nonetheless.

this is a lush, dreamy story that maybe i don't understand all the way through, but that didn't stop me from getting caught up in the storytelling flow of it and appreciating the ambiguity rather than being frustrated by it. thumbs-up for wolves, thumbs-down for dolphins, and the rest you'll need to figure out for yourselves—this is one of the days i warned y'all about, where i don't have the mental acuity or free time to devote to short story parsing. but read it! it has pretty words and is moody as hell, and i liked it very much. but now, the grind beckons...

read it for yourself here:

https://www.tor.com/2019/08/21/seonag...

*******************************************

THE STORIES:

DECEMBER 1: FOR HE CAN CREEP - SIOBHAN CARROLL
DECEMBER 2: TAM-O'-SHANTER - DONNA TARTT
DECEMBER 3: TRASH BIRD - REZA FARAZMAND
DECEMBER 4: COLOR AND LIGHT - SALLY ROONEY
DECEMBER 6: KAIJU MAXIMUS "SO VARIOUS, SO BEAUTIFUL, SO NEW" - KAI ASHANTE WILSON
DECEMBER 7: BEWARE OF OWNER - CHUCK WENDIG
DECEMBER 8: THE TALE OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL RAPTOR SISTERS, AND THE PRINCE WHO WAS MADE OF MEAT - BROOKE BOLANDER
DECEMBER 9: OUT OF SKIN - EMILY CARROLL
DECEMBER 10: PROBABLY STILL THE CHOSEN ONE - KELLY BARNHILL
DECEMBER 11: THE HUNDREDTH HOUSE HAD NO WALLS - LAURIE PENNY
DECEMBER 12: GIRLS, AT PLAY - CELESTE NG
DECEMBER 13: MR. THURSDAY - EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL
DECEMBER 14: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - MADELINE ASHBY
DECEMBER 15: A FOREST, OR A TREE - TEGAN MOORE
DECEMBER 16: OUTFOXED: A FABLE - DYLAN MECONIS
DECEMBER 17: THEN LATER, HIS GHOST - SARAH HALL
DECEMBER 18: OH, WHISTLE, AND I'LL COME TO YOU, MY LAD - M.R. JAMES
DECEMBER 19: PREMIUM HARMONY - STEPHEN KING
DECEMBER 20: KNOWLEDGEABLE CREATURES - CHRISTOPHER ROWE
DECEMBER 21: THE HOLE THE FOX DID MAKE - EMILY CARROLL
DECEMBER 22: MRS. FOX - SARAH HALL
DECEMBER 23: SEASONAL WORK - LAURA LIPPMAN
DECEMBER 24: THE PLAGUE - KEN LIU
DECEMBER 25: ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS - SEANAN MCGUIRE
DECEMBER 26: BLOOD IS ANOTHER WORLD FOR HUNGER - RIVERS SOLOMON
DECEMBER 27: CIRCUS GIRL, THE HUNTER, AND MIRROR BOY - J.Y. YANG
DECEMBER 28: ALL ALONG THE WALL - EMILY CARROLL
DECEMBER 29: SWEETNESS - TONI MORRISON
DECEMBER 30: DERIVING LIFE - ELIZABETH BEAR
DECEMBER 31: EVERY LITTLE THING - CELESTE NG

come to my blog!

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up.

I think I would have enjoyed this more if I understood more of the myth behind the story, and could read Gaelic. Throughout the whole story I was confused and disconnected from what was going on. All I got was some wolves, a moral lesson and swimming. Seonag is a bit mysterious, but I got nothing really ethereal or enigmatic about her. More development would have been greatly appreciated, just so I could get a sense of who she was. The writing was quite nice though, and rather atmospheric.

Confusing jumble of a story, with hints of myth and wild settings.

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll also put the name of the story here, in case Goodreads decides to merge it into some other work...
Seonag and the Seawolves by M. Evan MacGriogair - 3/5★

A Gaelic legend about Seonag, a girl who is different, and sea wolves, and not sure what else, cos I’m sure I didn’t understand a lot if it.. But the writing is very beautiful and manages to summon the right atmosphere.

The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2019 edition and can also be read on Tor.com.

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A folklore story, told to us by a clan story teller, although seemingly timeless, there is mention of guns, so it isn't set so historically. Scots-Gaelic is used throughout the story, although it is usually explained sufficiently, there is also depth to be gained from translation.
It is a short story, but time is still spent evoking the mysterious setting, and adding atmosphere.
It is not abundantly clear the message being passed on with the story, and is open enough to interpretation to be worth re-reading to take another view.
Short review for a short story. 4 stars.

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seonag has always been different. When her parents decide to leave for Canada for a better life, she doesn't board the ship and remains on the island she grew up on. She goes to Tormod Mòr and he tells her a tale of the wolves and that she should go and find them. Seonag gets on the journey and finds her true calling.

This was written so beautifully and the concept is wonderful yet haunting.

4 stars

[Heather M · Rating 4 out of 5]

a sort of scottish gaelic frozen 2, a magical thing to read in the morning

[S.A Reidman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The is something about the Highlands that is equal parts gloom and beauty and melancholic, always that sense of melancholy . Anything from Gaelic country gets my imagination running into overdrive. The mysteries just on the shore at high and low tide are just beyond magical in this setting.

So when I say I'm so upset this isn't a novel, it's with a knowing that a novel would haunt me for my days - and I would love it.

Plot/Storyline/Themes:
Heartbroken and with a deep yearning to learn Gaelic and maybe watch Outlander or more closely related IORRAM: Boat Song because it is breathtaking and leaves an ache much like this short.

Two Sentences, A Scene or less - Characters:
Oh boy, there's an arse like Dòmhnall Geur in every facet of life. Still, he can jump off a cliff and save us all the bullying and cruelty. Get wrecked - How do I say that in Gaelic?

“He believes in those wolves. I think he is one of the wolves.”

Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene:

That moment of despair at seeing the wrong island not realizing she has swum into a portal or otherworld.
"She begins to pray, not to a god who forsook her all of these years, but to the each-uisge, to the selkies, to the storm kelpies, to anything that would listen. She longs for the dolphins to return, belatedly thankful for their company and kindness." - Seonag after losing her escorts.

Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
🖤 “S ann a-bhos a tha mi beò. It is here I am alive.” (Seonag moments after abandoning the family and family plan)
🖤 “Very well,” my father says in English, looking back and forth between us. I think he knows that in this moment, my allegiance has shifted.” (To be acknowledged by Seonag is life-changing)
🖤 “The shore is an in-between place, and Seonag is an in-between person.” (She sounds like something beyond enigma)

Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
■ The wolves of Uibhist
■ Madaidhean-allaidh
■ Monday Superstition

StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories by 2025

[dathomira]

oh this was fucking PERFECT. great way to kick off a new year of reading.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

"So let us begin. Come closer, for my voice weakens and soon will not be here at all."

This bittersweet tale is wonderfully told with prose steeped in its Gaelic tradition. The storyteller speaks of when he was a youth and knew the young woman Seonag, who departed her island for the waves and the long-gone wolves.
There's some Gaelic throughout (with enough context to get a feel for what is said, or you can look the words up for an enriched experience), beautiful imagery, and a haunting cautionary tale.
Content: no swearing, a wee touch of fantasy-type violence, and some non-sexual nudity. Recommended for middle school and up.

"'It is here I am alive.' She says it with the heat of the fire, that low burning smolder that will not be put out, and she glances toward the open window as if she is looking through it and down through the years that have not yet had the chance to touch her."

Read this short story here for free: https://www.tor.com/2019/08/21/seonag...

[Harold · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story as I have often lived it in my dreams, dreams of the sea, dreams of the wolves, dreams of the wilderness of my heart.

It is, as other have said, a tale of folklore.

It is a tale of pushing ourselves to follow that forbidden wilderness in our hearts, to go where we must even if it seems impossible and outlandish.

Nature is not other.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mythical short story, but the amount of gaelic and varying names kept throwing me out of the story. I like the concept though.

[Corrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clan storyteller unfolds the tale of Seonag and the wolves, and the wolves and the waves.

Seonag and the Seawolves by author M. Evan MacGriogair is a short bittersweet tale steeped in Gaelic tradition.

I liked it. It was mysterious and lyrical, and really captured the right atmosphere. The Gaelic words and phrases are not really readable (unless you speak it), but it adds something as well.

Every stroke of her arms feels like a miracle from the very first of them. She is certain this will be her last act, an act of defiance, an act of doing precisely as she was told, just as she always did, convinced that if she were good enough, modhail enough, kind enough, the whispers would cease.

I read it on Scribd, but there is a free online version available for you to read on the Tor.com site https://www.tor.com/2019/08/21/seonag...

Themes: the cold Atlantic ocean, a young woman who doesn’t fit it, a boy with a crush, leaving home.

4 Stars

[Shadow the Hedgehog · Rating 4 out of 5]

A magical and mysterious short story, Seonag and the Seawolves tells the tale of a young woman who is forced to leave home and the dangers she faces once she's gone. It's told from the perspective of a young man who is infatuated with her.

I enjoyed the tight yet lyrical prose and the strong sense of place. It felt like a fairytale. Each character is fleshed out in a minimalistic way, yet with details of dialogue and spare descriptions, we get a glimpse of characters that seem bigger than the story.

Gaelic is used extensively and - although it does help establish the setting and adds to the magical nature of the story - at times it was confusing. This is a story that probably deserves a re-read.

[Lizabeth Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seonag was considered strange almost from the moment she was born, but she still loved her homeland. So much so that she hides when her parents make plans to sail to Canada, unable to afford the croft rent. Once they leave her behind, Seonag goes to the town bard for help and advice. She is told about the wolves that were driven out of Ireland. He tells her to swim west until she can hear the wolves. The advice is cruel, certain suicide. Knowing all that, Seonag still decides to do so.

An old style story, a myth, a fable, a fairy tale. A story about those who only want to belong, yet are different enough to be pushed to the sidelines. Mystical and magical. 4 out of 5.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last quarter and its more fantastical elements, which I really enjoyed, are what bumped this up to three stars for me. I always love to see Gaelic and Irish represented in fantasy, although this wasn't particularly heavy on the fantastical/folklore aspect. It wasn’t a smooth read to start with, given the amount of Gaelic speech used in the text, but I did enjoy that aspect nonetheless.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Seonag is born on a day where the clouds race each other across the sky.’

‘My father smiles in the way of parents who know more than a child who assumes, in childish folly, that they know more than their parents. That smile turns back in on itself much like that sentence.’

[Katrina Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely and almost lyrical, this story is a dream-like legend and a great read.

[lex · Rating 3 out of 5]

dreamy and moody, and like the last story, contains fascinating ideas. but...it suffers from a complicated, confusing beginning and from overwrought writing.

[Kait · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Seonag tastes fear, but it tastes like the salt of the sea and she has steeped in it all night. She ignores it now."

[JM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love stories like this, deep-rooted in folklore and with the feel of an honest-to-god folktale. Except for the mention of Canada, it's a pretty timeless story and I could just as easily picture it happening at almost any time in the last few centuries. I loved how the author uses some phrases and words in gaelic and lets the reader either infer what they mean in the context of the story, or look the translations up themselves. I hate it when English-speaking audiences expect their hands to be held all the time when dealing with stories involving other cultures and languages. Same for movies. You don't know how stupid it sounds to the rest of the world when an English speaker complains about subtitles. Anyway, off-topic rant over. This is a great story.

[Beth Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know how it feels to read a short story and know that you've found a new favorite author?

This is that.

You know how it feels when you read a story by your new favorite author so you look him up to see what else he's written, only to find there ISN'T anything?

This is that.

My only wish is that I could speak Gaelic or that the conversations had been translated in more detail. Gaelic is so hard to guess-pronounce for those of us definitely not fluent.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. Story is of a Scots woman who is just enough different that she doesn't fit in; when her parents sail for Canada, she stays behind. Without land or house Seonag is advised to seek the wolves which are somewhere in the sea since she will not be safe on her own. Strangely magical. I read this for my 2020 Reading Challenge (What's in Name "element of water in title") and the Hugo nominations (novelette or short story).

[Lainey Grieve Ramsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is beautifully told Scottish Gaelic folklore. I have only dabbled with the language on Duolingo but managed to understand this tale well enough by going to google translate if I required more explanation, However, the author translated all the Gaelic he used in the next sentence.

Seonag didn’t follow her family to Canada instead she sought out her true calling with the Seawolves after learning of them from Tormod Mòr the local story teller.

[Aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always dearly appreciate a short and fantastic story. This one is narrated with caution and fear and love, and I got the feeling like I was reading a story of old, a Gaelic folklore story, and absolutely magical.

[aja · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a delightful little story to start 2021 off with, wow. this felt so fresh??? & the prose is perfectly balanced between beautiful & sparse. there's not nearly enough fantasy out there like this these days y'all

[Kyrie ⌒☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and atmospheric read about a woman, her choices, the wolves, and the waves.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful story of a girl rejected by society who comes into her own as an outcast.

[Bobbi Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dark story about a loner who doesn't want to leave her home but whose home is not safe for her.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love these pseudo-mythical short stories

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me.