Challenge 267

No Story So Truly Bewildering...

“There is no story so truly bewildering as reality.”
— a Bewildering Stories unofficial motto

1. What do the Seven represent in Peter A. Balaskas’ “In His House”? What do Francis and Christine represent?

2. Where do the Hattooshan come from in Alex Marshall’s “The Crimson Tower”? It is clear why their origin might come as a surprise, but is there anything in parts 1 and 2 that makes it plausible that the defenders need Lord Limbold’s revelation of their enemy’s origin?

3. In Mari Mitchell’s “My Love Is Like...”

   1. What are the colors of the roses?
   2. What is the fate of Thomas Hunter: is he slain or are the vampire-like blossoms satisfied with a blood sacrifice?
   3. Assume that the story is set in the present. For how long has Lauren been haunting the Hunter descendants?
   4. Assume that Lauren kills “the most promising” in each generation. Each must therefore have at least one brother, or the family name goes extinct. Estimate the least number of descendants William Hunter could have had to feed Lauren’s curse.
   5. Does Exodus 20:5 imply a statute of limitations on William Hunter’s crime? If so, why might Lauren consider herself in a position to disregard it?

4. How does Starglow’s story relate to the one she tells Jack in Colin P. Davies’ “Her Precipitous Pride, His Lamentable Ears”?

5. Do you know anyone who resembles Space Patrol Captain Darwin Ward, Lord Greezstayne, in David Marshall’s “Saving Science Fiction City”? Are you now or have you ever been a card-carrying “troll of science fiction”? After the Golden Age, is science fiction now a genre where “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking,” and all the science is soft?

6. What points do Gabriel Timar’s autobiographical reminiscences make in “The Military Mind”? How does each anecdote contribute to a description of the author?

Responses welcome!

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