Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Flamecaller
AUTHOR: Caitlin Ricci
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 45 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2018
BLURB:
When the emperor has his father killed, it’s the breaking point for Haruo, who sets out from the island of dragon shifters where he lives in search of revenge. The tournament being held to marry off the emperor’s son seems a perfect opportunity—what better way to get close to the father than through the son, after all.
REVIEW:
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this story. I’ve read Caitlin Ricci before, but not her fantasy works, and the blurb kept the story details pretty vague. And to be honest, after reading, I’m not even sure how much of a story there actually was.
I really like “arranged marriage” types of stories, and the idea of Haruo, a commoner whose father is executed for trying to assassinate the emperor, battling for the hand of Kiyoshi, the enigmatic son of the emperor, makes for a story rife with political and romantic tension. But unfortunately, there is almost no romance in this! Haruo and Kiyoshi share little more than a passing look and possible feeling of attraction. And the blurb is a little misleading because Haruo does end up battling for Kiyoshi’s hand, but not for himself—for his female cousin Taka.
The setting and time is left pretty open-ended. It is modelled after imperial Japan and Haruo’s home/village seem to be set historically, but then modern apartments and appliances are mentioned in relation to Kiyoshi, throwing me off the story’s atmosphere. The backstory to the “island” is left vague, too—it is given female pronouns like it is a living entity, yet that’s never expanded on, either. I tend to take fantasy settings at face value, provided they’re well-written, but this one just left me with way too many questions. It’s like this is a setting I’m supposed to already recognize but definitely do not. Even the shifter elements are mentioned so casually that I had to re-read—wait, these characters are shifters? Now he’s a dragon? What is happening?
The pacing in this story is also an issue. Too much plotting and talking in circles. And I love plotting and deep conversation in fantasy, when it serves a means to an end. The balance between talking and action in this story was way off, and there never seemed to be a logical climax or boiling point.
I will say that there is a pretty decent plot twist for a short story—one that I really wasn’t expecting. It asks us to rethink how we see the main characters and their relationship. A believable plot twist is difficult for even longer works, so to have one here was a nice touch.
Perhaps fans of Ricci’s fantasy works will get something more out of this, but it just didn’t work for me. I had more questions than answers by the end, and the almost non-existence romance wasn’t at all satisfying.
RATING: 
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