Marla’s Reviews > The Mythic Dream > Status Update

'Florilegia or Some Lies About Flowers' by Amal El-Mohtar (5 Stars) - A retelling of the Welsh story of Blodeuwedd. And as usual with Amal El-Mohtar's writing: I loved the shit out of it.

'The Things Eric Eats Before He Eats Himself' by Carmen Maria Macahdo (5 Stars) - Erysichthon of Thessaly being cursed with hunger until he eats himself is a WILD story and one I didn't know before this retelling. Great modern version, absolutely horrifying.

'Close Enough for Jazz' by John Chu (4 Stars) - a retelling of the Norse myth for Idunn, who tends the golden apples that keep the Norse gods immortal. This story discussed body dysmorphia, and techbro gatekeeping of technology.

'Kali_Na' by Indrapramit Das (4 Stars) - I love a cyberpunk Kali retelling. It felt like a taste of a rich world but I wanted even more from it.
'Live Stream' by Alyssa Wong (dnf) - Skipped because of revenge porn, doxxing and stalking. Wasn't interested in reading that.

'Across the River' by Leah Cypess (4 stars) - a story that uses the Jewish tale of the Sambatyon river in an attempt to gain magic to defeat a sorcerer killing Jews across Europe

'Sisyphus in Elysium' by Jeffrey Ford (3 stars) - What did Sisyphus think of while he pushed the boulder up the hill? It felt a little too disconnected for me but still good.

'Curses Like Words, Like Featheres, Like Stories' by Kat Howard (3 Stars) - A retelling of the Children of Lir with the discussion about how the baptism at the end felt tacked on by someone else. The writing was very lyrical and poetic, which suited the story perfectly.

'He Fell Howling' by Stephen Graham Jones (dnf) - I skipped this one after Lycaon started talking about being a wolf and being the King of Wolves so he could have sex with whatever wolf/dog he wanted, and then eating his pups.... And there were still sooo many pages left? Nah, pass. No thank you.

'¡Cuidado! ¡Que Viene El Coco!' by Carlos Hernandez (3.5 Stars) - A story including the myth of El Coco (which again, I've never heard of before!) and stealing children's heads and replacing them with coconuts. I couldn't tell where each part of this story was going but it was interesting and I sped through it.

'Wild to Covet' by Sarah Gailey (3.5 Stars) - This one was long and I really didn't recognize the myth of 'Thetis' and the birth of Achilles even though the main character's name never changed. However, the message in the story was powerful.

"Labbatu Takes Command of the Flagship HEaven Dwells Within" by Arkady Martine (4 Stars) - Okay, I'm ready to read more Arkady Martine!