TALES OF A SPIRITUAL SUN
Kiritsis begins with a creation myth, “To Propitiate the Earth,” in which the beginning of one world necessitates the end of another, which priestesses try in vain to stop; the end of the story, however, offers a sliver of hope for the future. This opening work effectively shows the author’s ability to balance the dreamlike elements of myths with a modern-feeling narrative structure. Other stories, such as “A Golden Moment,” about King Midas, and “Eros and Psyche,” about the titular mythic lovers, retell other myths in an entertaining way. “The Therapist” is a creative recasting of the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, swapping its theme of love to one of horror, and its present-day framing makes the ancient story feel more relatable. “The Magic Room” puts a new spin on the story of Narcissus, imagining him as a scientific experiment who, upon seeing himself for the first time in a mirror, falls in love with himself, despite the mistreatment of those who have created him. “Phantasia: The Story of Proteus” takes a different route, telling a tale of a new sort of god; in it, Kiritsis uses SF and thriller genre elements to develop the concept of a shape-shifting deity. Overall, Kiritsis’ stories are skillfully written and introduce an array of memorable players. Sometimes, the dialogue is more preoccupied with relating concepts than developing characters or moving the plot along, but these conversations are often engaging.
