Myth Understandings edited by Ian Whates
Fantasy , Ian Whates , NewCon Press / November 5, 2010

This weeks post is written by Sam (@SamaelTB). He has kindly provided his thoughts on Myth Understandings. I just want to take an opportunity to thank him. For me the measure of a short story is really whether it’s a story at all. So many feel like prologues to novels or just don’t make sense in isolation. Others seem to feel it’s okay for to skip out on character development or feel the need to hint at a massively complex world that leaves the reader with more questions than it does answers. I bought this collection because Ian Whates (the owner of publisher NewCon Press) told me to. He’s a lovely friendly chap and even asked us what we liked to read before pushing the hard sell! The stories are divided into two themed groups, the first being Myth and the second Understandings. In reality ‘myth’ translates to ‘literary fantasy, fairy tales and stories written in a loose mythical style’ and ‘Understandings’ translates to ‘everything else’. Myth Storm Constantine – Owl Speak I found this story both wonderful and frustrating at the same time. It opens with a myth that informs the shape of the story. The characters are therefore…