LRSF #20, Catherine and the Satyr, Theodora Goss

Opening: "You've come back," said the satyr.
Where was he? Somewhere in the shadows. She could identify him only by the intolerable stench. Read more...

Capsule: The review over at The Fix gives this one a high recommendation and though I enjoyed it my recommendation is a little more reserved. Theodora Goss does accomplish quite a bit in the short space (speech patterns used to great effect in character development and setting, for example, and the alternating scenes of social milieu and satyr-intimacy create an interesting narrative dynamic) but overall the sense of being trapped didn't come across very compellingly for me. The light tone of the social scenes did make the darkness of what Catherine is experiencing darker--but I still found myself at a remove from her plight.

I enjoyed the historical setting but it seemed to me mostly a device subject to the speculative premise, and since I didn't find that particularly new or absorbing, the resulting proportionality in the narrative weight left me a little underwhelmed. Still, a strong entry.