Review – Salt and Iron
Salt and Iron is a short story written by Gem Isherwood for the PodCastle, a fantasy fiction podcast.
It took me a little while to get into this story. It is a short story, so it wasn’t too long of a while. I think that’s because in the beginning the protagonist feels a little like a cliché that we’ve seen a little too often.
That said, it is a narrated short story so it’s not much effort to get to the good part. Overall, the story is interesting, building a drab fantasy world and a main character on a quest.
Although, now that I think about it, maybe one of the reasons the story didn’t really grip me is that the protagonist never deals with a difficult obstacle. I mean, the protagonist has led a harsh life and we are told about a particularly meaningful and difficult instance in her past that shapes her entire life. However, we know that she overcomes that obstacle and we don’t really get to experience the decision making process with her, we don’t get to experience the anguish that she must have felt.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that, it’s a nice story, but I wanted more connection with the main character. So, overall, it’s a meh.
