Portraits of Patriarchs edited by Shona Kinsella
Publisher – British Fantasy Society
Published – Out Now
Price – If you join the British Fantasy Society members bet a free copy. At a later date this will be available for purchase for a charity Proceeds from the sale of the anthology will go towards the cost of the BFS supporting a sponsored place at future retreats.
The themed anthology is often a great way to remind ourselves that writers can all have the same prompt and yet create many different tales and in all sorts of genres. The British Fantasy has proved this yet again with their anthology Portraits of Patriarchs edited by Shona Kinsella which takes the theme of Patriarchs (and note not necessarily Patriarchies) and it’s a highly enjoyable collection well worth your time.
In this collection we have
Into the Darkness They Go, The Wise and The Lovely By CA Yates – a young child working with her mother in the spiritualist scene starts to dream of a strange place and a presence that has her attention. A silver locket opens up a connection to her absent father but will be save her from poverty. I really liked Yates ability to create this world and family and slowly weaves in moments of increasing strangeness and ultimately this is a tale about defying the father (who is a very malevolent creation). A really good opening tale.
Zanshin by Teika Marija Smits – this tale explores the role of a father figure. Set in 1988 with suitable mentions of Bros we follow young Jess going to her karate class. Smits lets us understand Jess and her increasing unpleasant home life and then we move into a more supernatural encounter. This though is less a tale of horror and more empowerment when someone you respect shows they believe in you. Really enjoyable and the emotional beats are well timed indeed.
Mort’s laws or Ten Commandments for A new Dawn by Jacey Bedford – This SF tale uses the prompt in a very entertaining comic way and we get a tale of survival after an alien invasion and how a society rebuilds itself (ish). All I will say is number six is indeed thought-provoking.
Draw The Dead by Halla Williams – Here a dead grandfather is the source of the tale as a young princess named Lilia seeks advice from her beloved relative from beyond the grave. There is lovely world-building so we slowly understand Lilia’s world and then we get a touch of the mystical as a particular spell is created and the ultimate solution is very satisfactory.
Cyber Portraits of the Patriarchs by Matt Adcock – very enjoyable and deceptive SF tale of a world where five of the greatest minds (of an alternate earth) are kept alive as portraits to guide us. But the world become then under attack from a new unknown enemy. It’s a great shell game with a useful message about being over respectful to the past. Here the fathers of the world need re-appraisal.
The Adorner of Limwald by LJ Wiseman– Here the father is the enemy as a young tattoo artist finds her latest customer knows way too much about her. Really engaging set up and then lets loose with a lot of action. I am fascinated to know what happened next by the way!
RUN: mask mode by Eliza Chan – a robot awakes on their flight to find a male passenger wants her attention. This is a glorious piece of science fiction where Chan explores male aggression towards women. It captures the horror of finding someone in your space; how you become aware how limited your escape routes are and watching our robot respond and take control and then decide what their ultimate response will be is absolutely delicious for an ending.
Worm-shaped by TH Dray – a wonderfully atmospheric and strange tale of a young woman trapped in her house with her not human father. It’s a world where things are very unusual and it is about escape but not as you would expect – freedom is ultimately in the eyes of the beholder.
The Art of Retribution – Sian O’Hara – A period tale of a young, impoverished aristocrat who would much prefer creating art but knows she needs to play the game of society to win. I loved how this tale tackles that idea and gives a different form of escape and purpose – a woman taking charge of her own life and protecting others is a much better reward.
A Figure Missing by David Green – Here a young man seeks to find his missing father. This is a slowly building tale of cosmic horror and Green makes us see the fate awaiting the narrator just before the danger arrives which is a smart use of horror.
1539 by Jen Williams - a really smart tale that takes an unusual true part of history and comes up with a different interpretation of what is going on. There is an artist and a witch, and I’ll leave it at that as the reveal is rather well handled!
A really enjoyable anthology and well worth your time!
