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Sword & Spore
This is how magic left the Kingdom and made room for democracy. Three supernatural beings created by an Omnipotent Mushroom God travel the multiverse until they are abandoned on a planet of stunning ecological diversity. They use their magic to rule over humans, but as their powers wane and a climate disaster looms, a young illiterate man is able to take the throne.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
53 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 6, 2022
About the author
Dominica Phetteplace
45 books13 followersDominica Phetteplace is a math tutor who writes fiction and poetry. She has been awarded a Pushcart Prize and fellowships from I-Park, the Deming Fund and the MacDowell Colony. She is represented by Michelle Brower of Aevitas Creative Management.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 25, 2022
Sometimes you can only do your best and nothing more.
Cayhun is a young man who lives in a village near the forbidden forest. They are all told by the village priest not to enter the forest as it contains a demon who is trapped in the King's sword. The forbidden forest line contained different types of fruits and plants, some edible some not. One day Cayhun goes way past the forbidden line and he hears a voice calling out beware, beware. Cayhun quickly makes his way out of the forest unharmed. On his return, he finds out that his little sister who was suffering from a mysterious illness has passed away. He blames his father as his father didn't treat his sister. Now, he doesn't want to join his father in raiding another village for food and grain so he flees deep into the forest and sees the very same King's sword. There were many myths about the King's sword. One myth held that the King’s Sword was cursed. Another myth held that whoever could touch the sword without dying would become the new king. Would Cayhun be cursed or would he become the King?
Nothing is apart from anything else in this forest. Our roots intertwine.
This story is told in nine parts and it has a very interesting premise. The story contains so much information about the plants and spore (given the title is Sword & Spore) that I don't recall another story talking about this. This has a wonderful amalgamation of both magic and science but not enough of either. Parts of it also read like a fairytale. The world-building could have been better but the writing flowed. I think for a short story this felt rather long, especially the last three parts but overall, I really enjoyed this.
3.5 stars
Cayhun is a young man who lives in a village near the forbidden forest. They are all told by the village priest not to enter the forest as it contains a demon who is trapped in the King's sword. The forbidden forest line contained different types of fruits and plants, some edible some not. One day Cayhun goes way past the forbidden line and he hears a voice calling out beware, beware. Cayhun quickly makes his way out of the forest unharmed. On his return, he finds out that his little sister who was suffering from a mysterious illness has passed away. He blames his father as his father didn't treat his sister. Now, he doesn't want to join his father in raiding another village for food and grain so he flees deep into the forest and sees the very same King's sword. There were many myths about the King's sword. One myth held that the King’s Sword was cursed. Another myth held that whoever could touch the sword without dying would become the new king. Would Cayhun be cursed or would he become the King?
Nothing is apart from anything else in this forest. Our roots intertwine.
This story is told in nine parts and it has a very interesting premise. The story contains so much information about the plants and spore (given the title is Sword & Spore) that I don't recall another story talking about this. This has a wonderful amalgamation of both magic and science but not enough of either. Parts of it also read like a fairytale. The world-building could have been better but the writing flowed. I think for a short story this felt rather long, especially the last three parts but overall, I really enjoyed this.
3.5 stars
April 28, 2022
The way out of the forest seemed longer than the way in. The trees grew close together in some parts, and the strangler figs and other vines seemed to be closing off paths. It was like a labyrinth now; it had not been this way before. Cayhun willed his heart not to race.
He had seen plants trap insects, finding ways to move their leaves to enclose their pray. He had thought of it as a fascinating phenomenon, one that really had nothing to do with him. But now that the forest was closing in on him, he realized there was no way to be apart from the things he had spent his life observing.
This was a really interesting mix of fantasy, science fiction, a little elder god action, and a touch of transitional governing - that's a lot to fit into a short story, but I think it worked for me.
As always with Tor shorts, available free online - find it here: https://www.tor.com/2022/04/06/686071...
He had seen plants trap insects, finding ways to move their leaves to enclose their pray. He had thought of it as a fascinating phenomenon, one that really had nothing to do with him. But now that the forest was closing in on him, he realized there was no way to be apart from the things he had spent his life observing.
This was a really interesting mix of fantasy, science fiction, a little elder god action, and a touch of transitional governing - that's a lot to fit into a short story, but I think it worked for me.
As always with Tor shorts, available free online - find it here: https://www.tor.com/2022/04/06/686071...
May 26, 2022
“Your Highness, with respect, you’ve never won against her.”
The King pursed his lips. “I’ve defeated lots of mushroom people.”
review to come!
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2022/04/06/686071...
May 9, 2023
Fast paced, imaginative, and thoughtful, but what was with all those little references to Trump (orange skin powder, infrastructure week, maybe the masking stuff)? Does that make the goddess Hilary Clinton? Awful. The more it was its own thing, the better it was. I really liked the owl stuff. And the wizard. The fantasy ecology was great, and prose was stylish and often beautiful.
The author mentions the poem Revolt of the Turtles by Stephen Dunn. It's quite good and you can read it here: https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-a...
The author mentions the poem Revolt of the Turtles by Stephen Dunn. It's quite good and you can read it here: https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-a...
May 9, 2022
3.5 stars
This was only about 50 pages give or take, so it’s fair to say that it doesn’t require a lot of time or commitment to get into. But, I will say that it didn’t truly sucker me in until the Wizard was introduced in Chapter 3.
Why? Because the the notion that ‘Universes’ had dual meaning as both units of totalities and of measuring time intrigued the heck outta me.
I loved how this introduced me to such a splendid poem: *Revolt of the Turtles* by Stephen Dunn. I immediately went off in search of it once I’d finished and the inspiration is very evident at the conclusion of the novel, and I like how it was referenced despite its lack of subtlety.
I do however think the ending is not enough of a defined conclusion for me though. When comparing the story to its synopsis, it achieves its purpose and results in a perfect match between the two, but without having read the book blurb it feels almost unfinished, like the ending doesn’t so much end as opposed to just stop. It’s not even really abrupt, but it left me with this sense of unfulfillment, like there was a puzzle piece missing or a sock without its pair.
And perhaps that is intentional? Stephen Dunn’s poem also ends with the same sense of inconclusiveness, but it still feels like a conclusion, it still imparts closure despite the ambiguity which this story does not.
I also feel like I don’t quite understand what message I’m supposed to be taking from this tale.
The writing is quite entrancing though; I loved the sci-if fantasy elements and how they were portrayed, both absolute and yet indefinite, a contradiction of cosmic proportions.
It’s hard to fully establish characterization in such little a word count, but I still found the Wizard quite riveting; his forgetfulness endearing, his intelligence manipulative, his heart striving to make change for the less fortunate. Even the voice of Ayunsil was very distinct, her hunger and patience were as cloying as Cayhun’s innocence and determination.
This a bit of a strange little story, but despite me not fully jiving with it, I think it’s quite an interesting read and would encourage anyone who’s even vaguely interested in the synopsis or just for a quick read to try it out.
This was only about 50 pages give or take, so it’s fair to say that it doesn’t require a lot of time or commitment to get into. But, I will say that it didn’t truly sucker me in until the Wizard was introduced in Chapter 3.
Why? Because the the notion that ‘Universes’ had dual meaning as both units of totalities and of measuring time intrigued the heck outta me.
I loved how this introduced me to such a splendid poem: *Revolt of the Turtles* by Stephen Dunn. I immediately went off in search of it once I’d finished and the inspiration is very evident at the conclusion of the novel, and I like how it was referenced despite its lack of subtlety.
I do however think the ending is not enough of a defined conclusion for me though. When comparing the story to its synopsis, it achieves its purpose and results in a perfect match between the two, but without having read the book blurb it feels almost unfinished, like the ending doesn’t so much end as opposed to just stop. It’s not even really abrupt, but it left me with this sense of unfulfillment, like there was a puzzle piece missing or a sock without its pair.
And perhaps that is intentional? Stephen Dunn’s poem also ends with the same sense of inconclusiveness, but it still feels like a conclusion, it still imparts closure despite the ambiguity which this story does not.
I also feel like I don’t quite understand what message I’m supposed to be taking from this tale.
The writing is quite entrancing though; I loved the sci-if fantasy elements and how they were portrayed, both absolute and yet indefinite, a contradiction of cosmic proportions.
It’s hard to fully establish characterization in such little a word count, but I still found the Wizard quite riveting; his forgetfulness endearing, his intelligence manipulative, his heart striving to make change for the less fortunate. Even the voice of Ayunsil was very distinct, her hunger and patience were as cloying as Cayhun’s innocence and determination.
This a bit of a strange little story, but despite me not fully jiving with it, I think it’s quite an interesting read and would encourage anyone who’s even vaguely interested in the synopsis or just for a quick read to try it out.
Want to Read
May 11, 2023Free to read online at Tor: https://www.tor.com/2022/04/06/686071...
Decent short story. Sometimes it felt like it was spending too much time describing something without incorporating it into the story in a way that moves the plot forward? Not the biggest crime but tends to slow things down. I liked the wizard and the mushroom stuff. Would like to read more stories set in this world.
Decent short story. Sometimes it felt like it was spending too much time describing something without incorporating it into the story in a way that moves the plot forward? Not the biggest crime but tends to slow things down. I liked the wizard and the mushroom stuff. Would like to read more stories set in this world.
April 7, 2022
This was the original fiction included in today's newsletter from Tor and I immediately ate this up! It reads like a folktale, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This short story also includes elements of flora and spores, which was fascinating to me. It made me realize that I might want to read more stories about plants.
"Sword & Spore" had a slow start for me but picked up when introduced to the Wizard. Plot twists in the 4th and 5th parts were delightful and unexpected for me. I really enjoyed the magic involved, however, it was convoluted and a bit confusing, given the limited amount of pages this story had to work with. As much as I loved the magic , I wish it had been left out of this one. Instead, I would love to see a novella or full-length novel from Phetteplace set in this world that effectively addresses these elements.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience reading this short story, and I'm excited to read more original fiction from the Tor newsletters. Thank you Tor!!
"Sword & Spore" had a slow start for me but picked up when introduced to the Wizard. Plot twists in the 4th and 5th parts were delightful and unexpected for me. I really enjoyed the magic involved, however, it was convoluted and a bit confusing, given the limited amount of pages this story had to work with. As much as I loved the magic , I wish it had been left out of this one. Instead, I would love to see a novella or full-length novel from Phetteplace set in this world that effectively addresses these elements.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience reading this short story, and I'm excited to read more original fiction from the Tor newsletters. Thank you Tor!!
August 4, 2022
A story that starts out like the usual fantasy of a boy who finds a sword and goes on to be king, but the cast of supporting characters (a wizard, a king and his estranged wife) turn out to be more SF when the wizard talks about travelling between universes, gathering books on science and educating others.
The wizard convinces the king to meet his wife (who has taken over the body of the boy) and the ensuing encounter upends the world as the boy becomes king and, in a twist, does all he can to get an education to make the country a better place.
A very condensed tale of a situation that cries out for a longer tale that looks into how the wizard, the king and his wife came to the world, and what happens after.
The wizard convinces the king to meet his wife (who has taken over the body of the boy) and the ensuing encounter upends the world as the boy becomes king and, in a twist, does all he can to get an education to make the country a better place.
A very condensed tale of a situation that cries out for a longer tale that looks into how the wizard, the king and his wife came to the world, and what happens after.
August 21, 2025
Three supernatural beings created by an omnipotent mushroom travel the multiverse until they are abandoned on a planet of stunning ecological diversity. They use their magic to rule over humans, but their power is waning.
Well, the story can't really be summed any more clearly than that. Weird and glorifying in its weirdness. Phetteplace was unknown to me before this story, but I'll definitely check out anything else she's written.
Well, the story can't really be summed any more clearly than that. Weird and glorifying in its weirdness. Phetteplace was unknown to me before this story, but I'll definitely check out anything else she's written.
April 30, 2022
Sword & Spore by author Dominica Phetteplace is a short fantasy story you can read for free on the Tor.com site https://www.tor.com/2022/04/06/686071...
This is how magic left the Kingdom and made room for democracy. Three supernatural beings created by an Omnipotent Mushroom God travel the multiverse until they are abandoned on a planet of stunning ecological diversity. They use their magic to rule over humans, but as their powers wane and a climate disaster looms, a young illiterate man is able to take the throne.
I read one of Phetteplace’s other short stories in Lightspeed Magazine (#111) and really liked it. This one took me a bit to get into but got more and more interesting along the way.
Themes: beware beware, trapped in the King’s Sword, a mushroom army, the Queen, the King, the Wizard and the village boy who would be king.
4 Stars
This is how magic left the Kingdom and made room for democracy. Three supernatural beings created by an Omnipotent Mushroom God travel the multiverse until they are abandoned on a planet of stunning ecological diversity. They use their magic to rule over humans, but as their powers wane and a climate disaster looms, a young illiterate man is able to take the throne.
I read one of Phetteplace’s other short stories in Lightspeed Magazine (#111) and really liked it. This one took me a bit to get into but got more and more interesting along the way.
Themes: beware beware, trapped in the King’s Sword, a mushroom army, the Queen, the King, the Wizard and the village boy who would be king.
4 Stars
April 14, 2022
I liked this pretty well, in some ways it reminded me of the Malazan series, at least in the big picture way. It took a little bit of time to get rolling in a way that made sense, the first section didn't make sense at first.
December 22, 2022
"God is a mushroom."
This was a great story, a Tor original that can be read for free on their website. I am fascinated by any speculative fiction involving mycelium or fungal lifeforms, so as soon as I saw the title (and that gorgeous cover!) I was excited about this. Plus, sci-fi-fantasy has been my genre of choice this year.
There are a multitude of interesting components here - mushroom deities, forbidden forests, wizards, age-old powers of other universes vying for power, and even ants that occasionally decide to forsake their duties, climb blades of grass, and consequentially explode.
I absolutely loved the parts interwoven with nature - the ominous forest, Cayhun's observations and musings on insects and plants, and the general integration of plant and fungal life into the story.
However, this novelette unfortunately had some downsides for me, too. It wasn't perfect. I would probably give it a rating of 3.5 stars, but 3 stars is too low, so I've rounded up.
I didn't feel that everything fit together cohesively. If this had been done in a more abstract way, I could see it fitting the story, but as it was, I just didn't think it worked.
The world-building was interesting but not remarkable - something that I consider to be a major flaw in a story like this. I found myself disappointed at the lack of detail, especially since I was so drawn to the fungal-organism type fantasy world.
Another strike against this one for me would be that I wish it was longer. I know that that's often seen as the 'best' criticism a short-form work of fiction can get - "I loved it, but my one complaint is that it was too short!" High praise!
But this time, I really do feel that the low page count detracted from the quality of this book. There are some big, large-scale plot devices - multiverses, ancient deities who have existed for so long they are no longer gods, and events that unfolded over thousands of years or "universes ago."
I kept thinking to myself as I read that all of this would be amazing in a novel, but doesn't quite fit a short story / novelette.
I hope that the author writes a long, detail-rich, more fluid novel version of this story, or one like it, one day. I would be first in line to buy it.
This was a great story, a Tor original that can be read for free on their website. I am fascinated by any speculative fiction involving mycelium or fungal lifeforms, so as soon as I saw the title (and that gorgeous cover!) I was excited about this. Plus, sci-fi-fantasy has been my genre of choice this year.
There are a multitude of interesting components here - mushroom deities, forbidden forests, wizards, age-old powers of other universes vying for power, and even ants that occasionally decide to forsake their duties, climb blades of grass, and consequentially explode.
I absolutely loved the parts interwoven with nature - the ominous forest, Cayhun's observations and musings on insects and plants, and the general integration of plant and fungal life into the story.
However, this novelette unfortunately had some downsides for me, too. It wasn't perfect. I would probably give it a rating of 3.5 stars, but 3 stars is too low, so I've rounded up.
I didn't feel that everything fit together cohesively. If this had been done in a more abstract way, I could see it fitting the story, but as it was, I just didn't think it worked.
The world-building was interesting but not remarkable - something that I consider to be a major flaw in a story like this. I found myself disappointed at the lack of detail, especially since I was so drawn to the fungal-organism type fantasy world.
Another strike against this one for me would be that I wish it was longer. I know that that's often seen as the 'best' criticism a short-form work of fiction can get - "I loved it, but my one complaint is that it was too short!" High praise!
But this time, I really do feel that the low page count detracted from the quality of this book. There are some big, large-scale plot devices - multiverses, ancient deities who have existed for so long they are no longer gods, and events that unfolded over thousands of years or "universes ago."
I kept thinking to myself as I read that all of this would be amazing in a novel, but doesn't quite fit a short story / novelette.
I hope that the author writes a long, detail-rich, more fluid novel version of this story, or one like it, one day. I would be first in line to buy it.
December 14, 2022
Starts off as just fantasy with kings, queens, wizards, magic swords and boy heroes, but adds in more science and sci-fi layers, talking about the multiverse and the freaky power of mushrooms. More weird than anything else, but food for thought.
June 10, 2022
An inventive take on a common trope. Well worth the time.
December 14, 2022
Interesting, but uneven.
January 28, 2024
really well rounded in my opinion. powerful characters and interesting eldritch murmurs.
June 29, 2024
kinda not my vibe and confusing
February 27, 2025
Structurally ambitious, precisely executed at a sentence-by-sentence level, and bursting with unusual sensory detail. As a writer I found it highly educational. Also, good use of swords.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews