Title: Amina
Author: P.B. Cannon
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: April 2, 2019
Genres: Fantasy
Length: About 26 pages.
Source: I received a free copy from the author.
Rating: 4 Stars
Blurb:
He awakens with a task to perform. A lilac-hued woman dances in his forest clearing. She is human. He is not. It is… a beginning.
Content Warning: Climate change, slavery, a broken leg, brief references to previous rapes, and brief references to a whipping.
Review:
Hope can thrive in even the ugliest circumstances.
This short story included references to some difficult subject matters like slavery and sexual abuse. I appreciated the way it gave the audience the details about these terrible moments without dwelling on them any longer than necessary. These references were disturbing, of course, but not at all graphic. That’s exactly how I prefer to such things to be addressed, so I must tip my cap to the author for striking a balance between remaining true to the story she wanted to share without going into unnecessary detail.
I would have loved to see more world building in this novel. For example, knowing more about what sort of magical creature Ruzi was would have made it easier for me to imagine him and try to predict what he might do next. The snippets of information about his kind that were provided were fascinating and did provide a basic framework for what he was and wasn’t capable of doing as well as a description of his kind and gentle nature. Had this been included, I would have happily gone with a full five-star rating.
The ending was thoughtful, hopeful, and open to interpretation. It’s interesting for me as a reader to be given so much freedom to decide how I wish to interpret certain aspects of the plot, and I enjoy it when authors trust their audiences to come to our own conclusions about what probably happened next without feeling the need to fill in every crevice for us. That’s the sort of writing style that gently urges me to come back for more in the future.
Amina made me wish for a sequel.