Charon's Song by the Skolion Authors Collective

Subgenre: Speculative Fiction Anthology

About Charon's Song: 

 

A collection of stories by the Skolion Authors Collective. 

In the Greek myths Charon is the ferryman who helps the dead across the rivers that separate the lands of the living from the underworld. Like Charon, each writer in this collection is a guide and guardian. Some of their stories are gentle and hopeful, some tell of betrayal and despair. There are tales set in the future of our Earth, or in magical realms of fantasy. Every story helps us look fearlessly into the face of death.

Step into the boat, gentle reader, and join us on this journey through the dark.

Stories by: Laurie Janey, Nerine Dorman, Cristy Zinn, Tallulah Lucy, Icy Sedgwick, Toby Bennett, Suzanne van Rooyen, Yolandie Horak, Masha du Toit, Cat Hellisen

Edited by Masha du Toit and Nerine Dorman

 

Excerpt:

From "Beans" by Laurie Janey

“Tantie, I can’t sleep.”My nefie’s hair curls around the edges of the hotel pillow like roots holding fast to a stone. Her eyes are big and dark and full of sky.The glass on her bedside table is empty.“Would you like some water?” I ask her.“No, thank you,” she says. “I’m not thirsty.”I sit beside her on the edge of the bed and smooth the crisp covers over her shoulders.“Why can’t you sleep, nefie?”Her eyes shift from my face to the dome window.“The stars are too bright. Especially that one.” She points. “It’s getting bigger and bigger, and it flashes sometimes.”I turn my head to observe the offending light as it blinks gold against the velvet darkness. Her bedroom at home has a north-facing window, so she hasn’t witnessed this before.“That’s not a star,” I tell her. “That’s a departure craft.”“Dapocha craft?” she asks. “What does that mean?”Her father has not had this conversation with her yet. I asked him about it en route to the hotel for the ceremony while she slept in his lap.“Does she know?” He’d shaken his head. “Will you tell her?” He’d pretended not to hear me. I’m surprised he still hasn’t told her anything, given the circumstances.I should’ve used the other name; I should’ve just said, ‘Oh, that’s a veg craft, bringing us fresh carrots!’ It wouldn’t even have been a lie. But my slip of the tongue feels fated. I reach out and stroke a strand of my nefie’s silky hair away from her face.“Departure,” I say slowly. “To ‘depart’ means to leave.”“So, what is a departure craft?” she asks.“I’ll answer your question if you answer mine first,” I say. “What did you have for dinner?”She giggles at the apparent randomness of the enquiry. I’ve always been her silliest tantie. This is why she loves me.“I had a protein steak and a salad,” she replies, smiling.“Sounds delicious,” I say. “What was in the salad?”“Lettuce and carrots and turnips, with a sweet dressing,” she says. “I like turnips.”“Turnips are wonderful,” I agree. “Such a bright colour and a strong flavour. Do you know where turnips come from?”“Yes!” says my nefie, eager to show off her knowledge. “All vegetables come from the skyfarm.”She knows about the skyfarm, of course. It’s a fertile satellite, orbiting us, covered in geometric farmlands from pole to pole. Unoccupied, fully automated. We grow the protein locally, but we don’t have the space for vegetables these days, so we’ve moved that operation off-world. Children learn about the skyfarm and the veg crafts at the same time. It’s only later that they learn the other names.

 

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About the Skolion Author Collective: 

 

Skolion is an authors’ collective geared towards publishing and promoting quality fantasy, science fiction & speculative fiction. We work together, pooling our skills and experience. All of us are writers, but we also have other skills. Between us we boast editors, designers, media gurus and marketing experts who understand and love our genres. Our aim is to create the kinds of books we want to read. We want you to know that when you pick up one of our books, it will be something special, something different – a work of art made with love and passion.
This anthology is the ideal opportunity to sample all that Skolion has to offer, free of charge.
Discover your next favourite author now.

 

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