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Gorgeously paced, pulsing in time with the life in a witch-woman's swamp: a short story about gods, devils, witchblood, dying and death, with fly-tying. A mud-encrusted gem of a tale.Read for free at Pocosin-Apex Magazine
A pocosin is a particular type of swamp, and in this swamp lives a particular type of witch whose native habitat is the stories of Ursula Vernon. She is old, she is cranky, she is kind-hearted. You don't want to mess with her, not even if you're the Devil.
So far only listened to:~ Pocosin - 2*Not my preference for reading and some of it didn't make sense to me but I admit I wasn't fully engaged.A opossum crawls up under an old witch's house to die. I guess it's not his first time he's died. I guess he knows she'll leave him alone to die in peace. But other gods come to claim him but the witch won't let that happen or something. Why they want him I don't really understand and ytf does she call the death god "Granny"? Oh, later we learn that the de...
What a beautifully written short story this was!Down on the swamp, an aging witch must confront powers both heavenly and, you know, the other, to give an old god that she doesn't even care about his dying wish.A great premise, absolutely exquisite dialogue, and heartfelt descriptions of an ecosystem that may soon be beyond us, due to "progress."
http://www.apex-magazine.com/pocosin/
Only read Pocosin — Ursula Vernon.
Pocosin — Ursula Vernon
Evocative, slightly sad story about an aging witch and a dying possum god who asks her for sanctuary. There's a wonderful sense of place here, and the characters shine.I was originally leaning towards 4 stars. But there was something about it, an echo, that kept drawing me back - and it was so wonderfully evocative and poignant even on a second read. Bumping it up to 5.It's free to read here.
A dying 'possum god asks sanctuary at the cottage of a swamp witch. Reluctantly, the witch must speak to both god and the devil on the ancient deity's behalf.Vernon wonderfully captures the feeling of an authentic folktale here. it's also a bit reminiscent of 'Anansi Boys' or 'American Gods' Neil Gaiman.
I only listened to the short story John Dillinger and the Blind Magician by Allison M. Dickson from this collection thru the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. Set in an alternative magical world in 1934, mobster John Dillinger goes to a speakeasy to find a magician to help him escape the feds. Two magicians get roped into the scheme, and of course, there was a double-cross. Meh.
Very much love.
What to do when a god crawls on your porch to die? For Maggie Grey, it's her sad duty to make sure the possum god gets a decent death, for she is a witch.Pocosin reminds me a lot about Vernon's Jackalope Wives, which won a Nebula Award this year. The main character is an old woman who is wise beyond her years. The style is similar, the story flows peacefully and includes occasional philosophical ponderings.I can't really put my finger on why, but the story left me completely cold. The dying god
Horror seems to be more of a theme in this issue which isn't really my thing although I must say that each of the authors did a great job setting up and delivering each of their stories.I loved the novel excerpt contained here and definitely plan to look into the book More on my own. Great fiction pieces offer insight into how to set up a great monster in a story. Traditional or non traditional. And the short story review section will no doubt give readers a slew of other stories and magazines t...
I have to admit, I think this story was about something that I missed. And I don't care. It was amazingly well written, and beautiful. If Granny Weatherwax wandered into American Gods, I think this story would be the result.
Yet again, another gem by Ursula Vernon.
Quick Sips - Apex Magazine #68Today I'm looking at Apex #68, which as always is a nice mix of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. I always think of Apex as being the go-to place for dark speculative stories, and this month is no exception, with enough creepy and bloody to keep things moving along nicely.Stories:"Pocosin" by Ursula Vernon (5000 words)A story about a witch helping out an old possum god to die, this one is all about the mood, the tired witch fed up with the work of doing good. Fending...
My review for this story is two parts - the pitch that brought me to it, and a quote from the story itself.Someone of r/fantasy pitched this as - "If Granny Weatherwax wandered into American Gods" And this quote -“Needful,” she said thickly. “That’s being a witch for you.”“No,” said Death, “that’s being alive. Being a witch just means the things that need doing are bigger.”Can be read for free at http://www.apex-magazine.com/pocosin/
Review for 'Multo' by Samuel Marzioli only - 3 stars3 stars: Interesting, a potentially scary story - it was almost there for me. It had enough moments to give me the heebee-geebees, but enough moments to take me out of the story.
This was a beautiful short story. The world is so full and complete. I feel like I could stumble upon this place somewhere, and I feel like I would recognize it.
Found here: http://www.apex-magazine.com/pocosin/