Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #298, Special Double-Issue for BCS Science-Fantasy Month 5

by Scott H. Andrews (Editor), Yoon Ha Lee, Aliya Whiteley

Issue #298 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies online magazine, a special double-issue for BCS Science-Fantasy Month 5, featuring stories by Yoon Ha Lee, Aliya Whiteley, Celeste Tyler, and Katrina Smith and science-fantasy cover art by Andis Reinbergs.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction

90 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2020

About the author

Scott H. Andrews is a writer of science fiction. He teaches college chemistry. He is Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of the fantasy magazine Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

Andrews's short stories have appeared in Weird Tales, Space and Time, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, On Spec, Crossed Genres, and M-Brane SF.

Reviews

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee

Essarala is a mermaid who longs to visit other stars. One day a traders' ship arrives on her homeworld and Essarala makes a deal with the sea witch, who will give her human legs and thus allow the mermaid to join the crew of the spaceship.

What follows is a tale of leaving one's family and adopting a new one, of new experiences and following one's dreams. It's a nice little story, that wasn't for me.

The problem here is a total lack of conflict. Everyone's just super nice and even though Essarala's deal with the witch means there eventually is a price to pay, the resolution too was just a little bit too straightforward and not very satisfying.

I can see fans of Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series enjoying this. Maybe. I actually liked some of these books, so maybe I'm wrong. Anyhow, this was just too nice and easy.

2.5 stars

Hugo 2021 nominee for Best Short Story.

Can be read for free here: https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.c...

________________
2021 Hugo Award Finalists

Best Novel
• Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
• The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
• Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
• Network Effect by Martha Wells
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
• The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal

Best Novella
• Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
• The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
• Finna by Nino Cipri
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
• Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
• Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Best Novelette
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny Magazine Issue 34: May/June 2020)
• I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter by Isabel Fall (Clarkesworld, January 2020)
• The Inaccessibility of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny Magazine Issue 35: July/August 2020)
• Monster by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160)
• The Pill by Meg Elison (from Big Girl)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com)

Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (Uncanny Magazine Issue 32: January/February 2020)
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer (Tor. com)
• The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020)
• Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)

Best Series
• The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty
• The Interdependency by John Scalzi
• The Lady Astronaut Universe by Mary Robinette Kowal
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
• October Daye by Seanan McGuire
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Best Graphic Story or Comic
• Die, Vol. 2: Split the Party, written by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles
• Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over, written by Seanan McGuire, art by Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosi Kämpe
• Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 2: Edge of Everything, written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Christian Ward
• Monstress, Vol. 5: Warchild, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda
• Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead, written by Kieron Gillen, iIllustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, lettered by Ed Dukeshire
• Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, written by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings

[Fiona Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review is for The Mermaid Astronaut, by Yoon Ha Lee.

“I don’t think it’s such an evil thing,” Essarala replied, “to want to see new worlds and taste their waters.”

“Evil, no,” the witch said. “Difficult, yes.”

“If you can’t help me—”

“That’s not the kind of difficulty I meant,” the witch said. “I can give you two legs like the humans, that you might walk on land, or upon the deck of a starfaring ship for that matter. The rest, though—the rest is up to you. For there’s more to starfaring than having legs. You’ll have to familiarize yourself with their alerts, read oxygen gauges, watch out for toxic atmospheres and flesh-eating pathogens, and that’s just the beginning."

Absolutely brilliant take on the Little Mermaid, which can be found here: http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...

[Nataliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a review for Hugo Awards-nominated short story “Mermaid Astronaut” by Yoon Ha Lee.
———

It’s a spacefaring retelling of Andersen’s “Little Mermaid”, I guess — and despite my ambivalence of fairytale reimaginings, it’s actually alright. But the problem is — unlike it’s earthly inspiration, this one has no real stakes. It’s sweet and pleasant and comforting, but that’s it. It needs something else there, something to give just it a bit of a bite.

“That’s not the kind of difficulty I meant,” the witch said. “I can give you two legs like the humans, that you might walk on land, or upon the deck of a starfaring ship for that matter. The rest, though—the rest is up to you. For there’s more to starfaring than having legs. You’ll have to familiarize yourself with their alerts, read oxygen gauges, watch out for toxic atmospheres and flesh-eating pathogens, and that’s just the beginning.”

It’s a story full of kindness, compassion, understanding, biological AND found family, and the dangers and threats hinted at early on do not have a payoff. There’s a price to pay sometime in the future, perhaps, but it’s hidden comfortably under layers of wondrous sweetness. I doubt I’ll remember it tomorrow, let alone months or years later.

Too easy, too sweet. Nothing wrong with it, but I suspect Hans Christian Andersen would have disapproved.

3 low-stakes unimpressed stars.

———————
Read it free here: https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.c...

———————

My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Merged review:

This is a review for Hugo Awards-nominated short story “Mermaid Astronaut” by Yoon Ha Lee. (Adding review here in case individual entry for that story gets deleted.)
———

It’s a spacefaring retelling of Andersen’s “Little Mermaid”, I guess — and despite my ambivalence of fairytale reimaginings, it’s actually alright. But the problem is — unlike it’s earthly inspiration, this one has no real stakes. It’s sweet and pleasant and comforting, but that’s it. It needs something else there, something to give just it a bit of a bite.

“That’s not the kind of difficulty I meant,” the witch said. “I can give you two legs like the humans, that you might walk on land, or upon the deck of a starfaring ship for that matter. The rest, though—the rest is up to you. For there’s more to starfaring than having legs. You’ll have to familiarize yourself with their alerts, read oxygen gauges, watch out for toxic atmospheres and flesh-eating pathogens, and that’s just the beginning.”

It’s a story full of kindness, compassion, understanding, biological AND found family, and the dangers and threats hinted at early on do not have a payoff. There’s a price to pay sometime in the future, perhaps, but it’s hidden comfortably under layers of wondrous sweetness. I doubt I’ll remember it tomorrow, let alone months or years later.

Too easy, too sweet. Nothing wrong with it, but I suspect Hans Christian Andersen would have disapproved.

3 low-stakes unimpressed stars.

———————
Read it free here: https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.c...

———————

My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Silvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating for Yoon Ha Lee's short story, The Mermaid Astronaut. Finally, a mermaid story that I enjoyed, involving no sacrifice for a guy. Featuring sisterhood story too. A heartwarming science fantasy, kinda reminded me of The Vanished Birds.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Spoils" by Aliya Whiteley is on my list of the Best Short SFF of March 2020: https://1000yearplan.com/2020/04/01/t...

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

A transparent rip-off of Has Christian Andersen (and Disney).
Well developed, nice closing twist.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant daydream but I wanted more conflict. Everyone was super nice, like in a Becky Chambers book only more so, and no one regretted anything, and the final realization that all planets are floating in space so going back home and hanging out is still achieving the dream of traveling among the stars felt rather lame.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the premise, and it’s a well-written story, but it didn’t really touch me. Maybe because there was no sense of conflict or danger, everyone was just kind to each other all the time. A lovely vision, but it doesn’t make for the most engaging story.

[Kat Hooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will review at Fantasy Literature.

[Ada · Rating 2 out of 5]

***My thoughts about the story ''The Mermaid Astronaut''***
As a short story this one felt complete. And I like the idea behind it. It just didn't sparked any excitement in me. There is nothing wrong with it but it was also nothing special.

***Finalists for the 2021 Hugo Awards***

Best Short Story
586 votes for 634 nominees, finalist range 65-35

◻ Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2020
★★★☆☆ - My review for Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse
◻ A Guide for Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, ed. Jonathan Strahan (Solaris) ★★★★☆ - My review for A Guide for Working Breeds
◻ Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer Tor.com
★★★☆☆ - My review for Little Free Library
☑ The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020
★★☆☆☆ - My review for The Mermaid Astronaut
◻ Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020
★★★★☆ - My review for Metal Like Blood in the Dark
◻ Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell Diabolical Plots – 2020, ed. David Steffen
★★★☆☆ - My review for Open House on Haunted Hill

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Science Fantasy is a blended genre I'm still dipping my toes into - the most successful example so far for me has been Gideon the Ninth - so I have to be honest when I say I spent the majority of this issue slightly confused. There was nothing I actively disliked, though!

'The Mermaid Astronaut' by Yoon Ha Lee - 4 stars

The main reason I read this issue is for this story, which has been nominated for a Hugo Award, and I'm happy to say it was the most successful story for me, probably because I felt like it leaned a little more into fantasy than it did sci-fi, so I was in more familiar territory. In a way it's a very loose retelling of The Little Mermaid, but at its core is a lovely relationship between two sisters whose bond quite literally spans space and time. I really enjoyed the way it was written, too!

'The Spoils' by Aliya Whiteley - 3 stars

I was fascinated by this story, but to be honest I spent the majority of it with absolutely no clue what was going on. I'm looking forward to reading more by Whiteley, though!

'My Sister's Wings Are Red' by Christine Tyler - 3.5 stars

I enjoyed this rather bittersweet story, another story that had sisters at the heart of it, and I think I'll still remember these characters in a year's time, which is always a sign for me that a short story has been written well. I'll definitely try more of Tyler's work in future.

'The Glassblower of Galilei' by Katrina Smith - 3 stars

This was another odd one for me. It was a fairly short read and kept me intrigued, but I think its short length is what made this story just 'fine' for me when, with a little more fleshing out, I think I would have loved it.

[Lis Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essarala is a mermaid, whose chosen name means "seeks the stars." This expresses her desire, her ambition, and is a very unusual choice among her people. for whom her younger sister's name, Kiovasa, meaning "the sun and the moon are partners," is far more typical. But Essarela watches the stars, whenever she can, and is thrilled when a starship arrives with offworld traders.

She's thrilled, initially, and plans to ask if she can sign on to their ship, until she realizes that all the species that crew that ship are land dwellers, and there's no water for her to swim in. When her sister encourages her to ask the witch of the sea to help her, though, the witch offers her a knife that will enable her to transform her tail into legs. There's a price, though, and the witch will not tell her what it is until she eventually returns, and brings the knife back to her. Essarala accepts, but privately thinks she's never coming back.

The ship's captain agrees to take her as his most junior crew member, and Essarala sets off on a journey that's physically and mentally challenging, educational, revelatory--and ultimately, she grows, changes, comes to understand the cost of relativistic star travel, and makes a decision she couldn't have imagined when she left. It's a story of exploration, openness to diversity, inclusion, and the importance both of travel, and of home.

It's told in a tone reminiscent of a fairy tale, and includes some elements that certainly seem magical, while others are more clearly science-fictional. The characters are well worth getting to know.

Recommended.

This story is available as a free read on the Beneath Ceaseless Skies website, and I am reviewing it voluntarily.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for "The Mermaid Astronaut" by Yoon Ha Lee.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I had previously read and deeply loved previous work by this author, including the Ninefox Gambit series. I had downloaded The Mermaid Astronaut on my eReader even before learning it was one of the Hugo finalists, and the nomination made me even more eager to read the story. I was not disappointed.
This is a re-telling of the The Little Mermaid, but instead of being a tragic story of a young woman sacrificing everything because of an infatuation for a man she barely saw from a distance, it's a story that focuses on the difficult balance between following your passions and family. It is the story of an emigrant, supported by her family to succeed in reaching out for the star, and the struggle to reconciliate that with the deep love that roots her where her family is.
Well deserved Hugo nomination.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essarala is a mermaid enchanted with the stars. When a spaceship visits her planet, she makes a deal with the sea witch to gain legs and join the crew. What I foremost loved about this story was that I kept expecting some awful, Little Mermaid-esque twist to happen, and it never did. People were just gently kind to each other and in the end everyone experienced or achieved something wonderful. I also need to compliment this story on the beautiful, unobtrusive worldbuilding (ex, when the starship offers "curious tools for capturing fish more efficiently." and the merfolk "smilingly declined the latter. After all, they had treaties with the fish nations and no desire to overstep them." Or the reference to the "whale-sages’ vast chorales as they deliberated upon matters judicial").

Available online here.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sort of enjoyed but didn't quite understand the first of Lee's space opera trilogy, Ninefox Gambit, but I've thought about giving the series another try as several friends love it.

Anyway, I enjoyed this story, nominated for a Hugo in 2021, as a science fictional version of a fairy tale. It's well done and definitely easier to follow than Ninefox Gambit, but I don't know, call me a curmudgeon if you must, but fairy tales and modern riffing on them aren't quite my thing. Still, I appreciate Lee's skill here, so I'll give it four stars.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full disclosure, read this as part of the Hugo 2021 voting packet. It wasn’t bad, but it was predictable. I guessed the “twist” after the first few paragraphs. I had to put it down to due to real life events, but I didn’t rush to pick it up to finish it. It didn’t grip me enough that I needed to find out how it ended. I was hoping for something more, as it’s based on the HCA authored fairytale, which ended with the mermaid becoming a spirit of the air.

[Shiva · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as part of the 2021 Hugo Award Best Short Story Finalists. It was a nice twist from The Little Mermaid, but not that exciting for me! The story line is smooth and there are no surprises. The little mermaid has a longing, she wants to go see the stars, there’s a witch who grants wishes, and there’s a price to pay. I read this story twice to see maybe I am missing something, but still the same.
2 Stars for me.
⭐️⭐️

[Martha andrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nominada a mejor historia corta por los premios Hugo 2021.
Me encanta que sea un retelling de la sirenita pero sin todo el asunto de hacer sacrificios por un hombre, sino por tus propios deseos y el amor primordial en este relato sea un amor entre hermanas, súper linda combinación de ciencia ficcion y fantasía.

[Pujashree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have yet to successfully finish the author's much celebrated Hexarchate books, and not for the lack of trying repeatedly. But this one was short and sweet and reminded me of Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series. I have read very few good mermaid stories in modern spec fic, so this is an excellent, wholesome addition, if a little rushed and handwavey on the worldbuilding.

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a mermaid who wants to get beyond the bounds of her world isn't new but this is a new slant. This mermaid has a chance to go into space and see what that will give, and what it will take too. I found it an interesting story that has very little conflict but an interesting exploration of what the costs of leaving your normal can be.

[Titus Fortner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for The Mermaid Astronaut

What a fun story. It makes good use of the format and I enjoyed the ending quite a bit.

[Ninja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful combination of fantasy and sci-fi, for a mermaid who wishes to travel on ships amongst the stars, what she'll do to achieve it, and the effect it has on her.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hightlight: The Spoils by Aliya Whiteley, but overall a great issue.

[Michael Whiteman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mermaid Astronaut - Yoon Ha Lee ***
The familiar mermaid tale, here she wishes to travel the stars, not giving up her voice but a price to be named when she returns. Mostly light and friendly, from the mermaid society to travelling with aliens, the heart is in growing up and apart from family, when or whether to return, and the rewards and consequences of having been away. 

The Spoils - Aliya Whiteley ****
After finding a dying Olme in a tunnel, the people of an underground village each receive a piece of the creature's body as a gift, choosing whether to touch it and be marked forever or use gloves or a bag and merely have the object. One's gift is the opportunity to leave for the world above ground. Atmospheric and strange, considers the lessons each receives or chooses to take from their gift and the ways they are changed by the event. Whiteley is great at visceral and the carving up of the body provides plenty  to get stuck into. 

My Sister's Wings Are Red - Christine Tyler ****
Olive is a kitchen drone in a world where humanity has been shown how to metamorphose into an insectile imago state, with the attendant colony-style changes to society; her sister is about to become the Queen. Looks at the jealousy of seeing a sister about to be raised above her, the conflict at what being Queen of a colony actually entails - and attempting to find a purpose in life. 

The Glassblower Of Galilee - Katrina Smith ****
Told from the viewpoint of a manufactured slave assistant, the master glassblower of the title - who was key to the current society winning a war over another culture to rule over this planet - is given  a strange task by a mysterious woman who seems to be the only person he respects. An interesting world created, and the inevitable reversal of the master's abilities turned against him while his creations inherit is satisfyingly rendered. 

[Corrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee is a 2021 Hugo Award Finalist short story published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue #298 (February 27, 2020). I listened to the audio podcast narrated by M. K. Hobson.

Essarala is a mermaid but longs to explore the stars. When a spaceship visits her planet she makes a deal with the witch under the waves to give her legs.

“You would give up the sea you know, and your family, and the songs of gulls, to explore the worlds beyond?” the witch asked.

“I don’t think it’s such an evil thing,” Essarala replied, “to want to see new worlds and taste their waters.”

“Evil, no,” the witch said. “Difficult, yes.”

Essarala loves her life aboard the ship where she takes pride in her work and watches the wonders of the universe. Until she learns how time passes while in space.

Beautifully written with poetic world building and kind species. A wonderful story. You can read and or listen to it here: https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.c...

Themes: mermaids, her sister Kiovasa, a knife to cut the tail and a price to pay, singing the song of her people, teacher Ssen, space and time.

4 Stars

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spring 2020 (April);
-- specifically "The Mermaid Astronaut"

This was so amazingly good. It's part Little Mermaid retelling, part Girl Runs Away on an Adventure, all wrapped up in the gorgeous cosmos of space. I have a warm net woven around my heart about this story. I loved the way the Mers were described under the sea, how they were, how names happened, and choices. I loved how the spacefaring was handle, from the bottom up realistically, and how families are formed and mourned everywhere.

And I love, love, lvoe the retake on The Sea Witch, both previous to the space travel, and when she returns. The compassion and understanding, but, also, the price, and you continue to fill the roles that came before you, walking the steps of those who were just like you not so many turns of the wheel ago.

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

2021 Hugo Award Finalist - Best Short Story (approx. 17 pages)

This is a modern fable about a mermaid who longs to visit other stars and other worlds. When she gets the chance, she is warned there will be consequences, but she is nevertheless determined to go. The moral of the story is that we all face life-changing decisions, particularly in regard to choosing a career and where to live, and sometimes those decisions mean leaving the safely and comfort of home, and the love of family. Whatever the outcome, we make do with our decisions because that's all we can do. Perhaps not too profound, but in this case it makes for a sweet, relaxing story.

[Alex Sarll]

Far more than the evocative but oblique titles of Yoon Ha Lee's novels, The Mermaid Astronaut is a story which does exactly what it says on the tin. There's a little of The Little Mermaid, of course, in the mermaid who wants to go beyond the sea, and makes a deal with a witch to do it – though the fascination with the technology of the dry world also reminded me of Luca. And if it's closer to the latter than the former in terms of the ostensible price of that desire to explore, well, there's still always a cost to any course of action, isn't there? The ending is beautiful.

[A.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for the 2021 Hugos

This is basically a sci-fi take on The Little Mermaid. It is really well written, and quite a beautiful story, actually.
The ending, though, is very different. I really like the idea of traveling through the universe, and then to come home to the understanding of your place in that universe. It's not the uber-happy ending of the cartoon version, and it's not the tragedy of the original story. It's a semi-sweet, very believable, very good ending.

[Ken Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read for Yoon Ha Lee's short story 'The Mermaid Astronaut' which was a Hugo Award finalist. It was a fine story, but not the winner.

https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.c...

A poignant story of longing and loss. Essarala is a mermaid whose name means 'to seek the stars'.
So when a metal ship comes to her world, Essarala seeks to join them. But there is a price to pay which she will learn in time.