![]() For years, Sylvie reveled in the dry heat and quiet, estranged from her childhood home. Gone was the endless sound of waves breaking on the beach it was replaced with the glorious stillness of the desert. She was never happier than when she left that seaside fishing village. For Sylvie, it wasn’t a song so much as a constant drone. Many locals insist that so-called Brides of Brine sing their siren songs to earth-bound mortals. I’m a translator I work with and think about textual representation a lot and that gave me a huge appreciation for James’ vision with this short story. ![]() And as the MC is finally convinced the way to appease the sound to is follow the instructions he believes are reflected in the sound, the representation of that sound changes again. At first, the MC believes the sound is a kind of code, so instead of a “sound” or a “tone” or a “whirr,” it becomes “RR28” or “Y.6c.” As he starts to decipher the code, the MC sort of translates that back into English. I thought James’ solution to showing the sound in English text was pretty brilliant. But to “appease” the sound, the MC first has to understand it. At first, the sound is pure annoyance and by the end of the book, the MC is desperate to appease it. His focus is always on the sound, but James does a fabulous job describing how that focus changes. The main character is nameless until one brief, flashback kind of mention halfway through the story. What I loved about this story is how creative it is. Because how could there be anything other than peace as long as he obeys and satisfies the sound? And when he finally discovers what he thinks it wants, it’s no small matter to engage in a little “body modification” for the sake of finally getting some peace. More and more, he focuses on the sound, on trying to appease it. He starts paying attention, much to the chagrin of his young children and partner. Then it gets even worse, but he realizes the sounds are almost like language. Then it gets worse and his doctors say it’s because of the metal plate they put in his head after the accident. At first, his doctors told him it would go away on its own, that’s what usually happens with trauma-induced audio hallucinations. And when he finally woke up, there was a grating sound, a whining whirr that never went away. He survived a traumatic car accident that left him hospitalized for weeks. And when that curse seems to target Theo, I loved the struggle he faces between what he knows and wants versus what the curse knows and wants (and is willing to use whoever has the phonograph to get it). He quickly ratchets it up by having the characters discover that selling the phonograph coincides with one or another grisly sort of event befalling the most recent owner. Harker does a great job building suspense by how often the phonograph is bought and sold. Their relationship gets thwarted by the cursed phonograph, which compels Theo to get to the bottom of the curse to save his chance at happiness. There’s a get-together element going strong between Theo and Cillian. This story closely resembles the average romance novel. He must work fast if he hopes to solve the mystery of the phonograph before he puts the life of the man he loves in danger. Soon, Theo finds himself at the mercy of the wicked phonograph. At the same time, Theo begins to realize tragic events befall whoever buys the device. Theo sells it one day, and it mysteriously reappears on the shop step the next. ![]() Suddenly, however, there’s a hot ticket item at the shop: a phonograph. Knowing that Cillian has to support his sister and infant nephew, Theo wants to save Cillian from the hardship. The economy is struggling and their boss has made it clear one of them has to go. Theo and Cillian work in a secondhand shop. I read all but two of the stories, so the rating is based on those I read. This was how I discovered that many (if not all) the stories are own-voices. The blurbs at the end gave a brief introduction to the authors. Personally, I like knowing what’s coming in an abstract sense like this because it whets my appetite. Before each story, there were content warnings that sensitive readers should find helpful. The anthology’s format was also very good. This is a great collection to sample different authors’ works. This collection has something for everyone! There are historical pieces (Kill Your Darlings), gay and lesbian MCs (Her Little Joke, The Knocking Bird, Haunt), transgender (maybe questioning) MCs (Holy Water), and more. Each tale of horror and unease features themes of sound and portrays (to varying degrees) the lives of queer people. Listen: The Sound of Fear is a collection of ten stories from nine different authors.
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