Challenge 844
Down the Dark Side
In Natan Dubovitsky’s Near Zero, chapter 7:
- “[Yegor] heard the triumphant laughter of primordial silence. It was flat and immovable, like Giotto’s frescoes.” What is “primordial silence”? How is Yegor’s “hearing crippled in a special way”?
- Why are Giotto’s frescoes singled out rather than frescoes in general or those of some other artist?
In Ken Poyner’s Forgotten Colony, how does the poem complement the analysis in Space Colonies: the Dark Side?
In Ajay Tulsiani’s Slow and Steady, is Jacob an agoraphobe or is he paranoid? Are there really any limits to Jacob’s compulsive anxiety disorder? What more might he be afraid of?
In Robert R. Brooks’ A Blanket of Well and Woe:
- Does even Dr. Sarey know what his own blankets can do?
- Is Alice wrong to reveal Dr. Sarey’s well-intentioned experiments to the authorities?
In Gary Clifton’s Homecoming Blues, how might the story have been written as a comedy? As a tragedy? What makes it a dark farce?
In Charles C. Cole’s Farewell, Solitary Loon:
- What symbolic function does the narrator discover while spreading his father’s ashes?
- What is the double function of the loon? How does the narrator redeem his estrangement from his father?
What is a Bewildering Stories Challenge?
