- Title:
- Musings of the Muses
- Author:
- Various
- Release:
- April 30, 2022
- Format:
- Audiobook
- Edited by:
- Heather Vassallo
- S.D. Vassallo
My preferred format for anthologies is to read and review each story individually. I’ll be reading and reviewing 1 – 2 stories every Short Story Saturday and Short Story Sunday until I’ve read them all. Once I’ve reviewed them all, I’ll update this post with my final thoughts on the collection.
Prelude
Title: The Offering
Author: Callie S. Blackstone
Pages: 23 – 23
Review Date:
Monsters
Medusa
Title: One Thousand Nights for Beloved Medusa
Author: Hailey Piper
Pages: 29 – 35
Review Date: July 3, 2022
The aspect of this story I enjoy most is the time loop. I like how the protagonist is stuck repeating the same action over and over until she “gets it right“. I like how the story evolves over time and she has no idea how long she’s been wandering in the dark for. I enjoyed the ending as well, I thought I had it figured out, so when it defied my expectations, it made me appreciate the story even more.
Title: The Lamentation of Medusa
Author: Stephanie Ellis
Pages: 36 – 37
Review Date: June 19, 2022
This poem manages to evoke feelings of sadness in me. It’s both beautiful and descriptive while maintaining a low word count. I particularly love the line “See me as I was,”.
Title: The Girl from Sarpedon
Author: Christina Sng
Pages: 38 – 42
Review Date: June 26, 2022
The Girl from Sarpedon gives me the same vibes as the intro to the movie UP. It skips out on a lot of details, but I feel as if I’ve been taken on a roller coaster ride of emotions. The ending did leave me a little confused. A few unanswered questions remain, tough overall, it’s a solid story.
Title: Greek Tragedies
Author: Kenzie Lappin
Pages: 43 – 49
Review Date: May 29, 2022
First off, I appreciate the bit of backstory for heathens like myself who went into this without prior knowledge. I love this story of girl power and rebirth. I find it interesting to see Medusa (and others) in the modern era, using technology, Uber, etc. I wasn’t sure this was the case at first, which did leave me a little confused. I think it could have used some background deal on the setting. Overall, it was more informative than anything. The vast majority of the story is background and world-building, though the payoff is worth it. I was dying to find out what happens from the start, I will add.
Sirens
Title: Siren Song
Author: Kristen Cleaveland
Pages: 53
Review Date: June 5, 2022
I have no experience reviewing poetry, so I’m not sure what to say. It’s eerie, it evoked feelings of dread and discomfort in me, while also managing to rhyme, which I find impressive.
Title: Songbird
Author: Romy Tara Wenzel
Pages: 54 – 60
Review Date: May 22, 2022
The first thing I notice with this short story, aside from the unpronounceable names, is how descriptive it is. This story isn’t even 10 pages long and the author was able to tell a story wrought with emotion and vividly described. There were a few times when I felt the wording was confusing and I wasn’t quite sure what was being conveyed.
Other Monsters
Title: Laborers Wanted
Author: SJ Townsend
Pages: 63 – 73
Review Date: July 26, 2022
Much like the ‘protagonist’ who repeatedly says she doesn’t even know what her job is, I don’t know what I just read. I’m not sure which monster was supposed to be represented. It was horrifying, to say the least, the creepy, eerie, uncanny valley dolls that the author describes are bad enough. But the entire factory in which the story is set in is unnerving. Overall, I was curious, invested, and interested, but equally as confused and lost.
Title: Nature Always Finds a Way
Author: Ruschelle Dillon
Pages: 74 – 82
Review Date: July 10, 2022
That was pretty damn good. There’s a ton of build-up and detail, I was worried it would run out of room for a satisfying payoff, but I was pleasantly surprised. Half of my short story reviews this weekend were duds and it made me appreciate this one all the more for it. As with many short stories, I wish it was longer, but I also appreciate the talent that goes into constructing a believable setting and compelling story in so few words.
Title: Lover’s Quarrel
Author: Georgia Cook
Pages: 83 – 84
Review Date: August 28, 2022
I’m sure there’s a message to be found here, but I’m not going to be the one to find it. My feeling on the story as a whole is just ‘meh’. It doesn’t do anything for me/
Title: The Strife who Walks in the Darkness
Author: Ben Thomas
Pages: 85 -95
Review Date: August 28, 2022
This is a story I can get behind. It starts off with some background info, to help you better understand the character(s) and setting. As the protagonist is tasked with doing away with somebody who supposedly killed his own father. Maybe that whole kin-killer thing poisoned the well, but he simultaneously gave off vibes of being a serial killer and a decent human being. I kept waiting for the “other shoe to drop” as the saying goes.
Mortals
Antigone
Title: Izzy and Anti: A Tragedy in Texts
Author: Deborah Markus
Pages: 249 – 274
Review Date: September 4, 2022
Anti is infuriating in this story. I’ve dealt with people who can’t give you a straight answer and it makes me want to rip their throats out. This is the first story I’ve ever read that seems to be told entirely in texts and I kinda like the format.
Aside from the boiling rage inside me from having to read Anti’s cryptic messages, I enjoyed this story very much. It’s tense and exciting. It’s intense and there’s a present danger. Izzy’s response to Anti’s messages and silence really helps to sell the setting as well.
Title: Ismene (At The Tomb of Antigone)
Author: Nupur Shah
Pages: 275 – 276
Review Date: August 7, 2022
don’t know if poetry just isn’t my thing, but this is another poem in this book that doesn’t do anything for me. Without prior knowledge, I just find myself lost and confused.
Herstory
Title: The Xanthippic Method
Author: Susan Mcdonough Wachtman
Pages: 303 – 306
Review Date: August 7, 2022
I like this one for the message it sends. I’ve always wanted to leave an impact and I really don’t care how people remember me. I want to leave a legacy as a fuck you to the people who hate me, so I just find Xanthippe in this story extremely likable and relatable.
Goddesses
Titans
Title: Themis, Look Closely
Author: Carey Oxler
Pages: 335
Review Date: July 24, 2022
This poem really didn’t do anything for me. It didn’t really evoke any feelings or emotions as the others did.
Title: Before Gods
Author: MJ Pankey
Pages: 336 – 344
Review Date: July 30, 2022
I kept thinking of a book I read in school while reading this. I think it was called “The Pearl”. It also kept reminding me of the movie 10,000 BC, which I don’t know that I’ve ever watched. Past a certain point, the ending was pretty predictable. Though it was no less shocking or enjoyable when it arrived. It does just enough character and wold building to make you care about these characters for the ending to pay off.
Note:
Note: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a physical review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.