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Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #244, Special Double-Issue for BCS Science-Fantasy Month 4
Issue #244 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies online magazine, a special double-issue for BCS Science-Fantasy Month 4, featuring stories by Yoon Ha Lee, Maurice Broaddus, and Benjamin C. Kinney.
53 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 24, 2018
4 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Scott H. Andrews
469 books24 followersScott H. Andrews is a writer of science fiction. He teaches college chemistry. He is Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of the fantasy magazine Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
Andrews's short stories have appeared in Weird Tales, Space and Time, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, On Spec, Crossed Genres, and M-Brane SF.
Andrews's short stories have appeared in Weird Tales, Space and Time, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, On Spec, Crossed Genres, and M-Brane SF.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 30, 2019
Update: Full review added for "The Starship and the Temple Cat," about a brave ghost cat. Seriously, cat lovers need to go read this story! (link below) It's lovely.
There are three short stories in this issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies, free online here. I've read two so far:
4.5 stars for "The Starship and the Temple Cat" by Yoon Ha Lee: The Seventy-Eighth Temple Cat of the High Bells is a ghost cat … but then, everyone else in the City of High Bells is a ghost as well. Years ago the Fleet Lords’ spaceships bombed the City, which was actually a space station, though a very restful-sounding one. But after the bombing, the cat is the only remaining temple cat ghost, and gradually all of the peoples’ ghosts have left as well.
Stories of brave little cats are guaranteed to worm their way into my heart, but “The Starship and the Temple Cat” isn’t just a sentimental tale. Yoon Ha Lee deftly draws the temple cat’s character in a way that feels realistic and true to cats’ personalities, and fills this tale with evocative details about life in the peaceful temple, contrasting it with the vast destruction caused by the starships. This story deals with timeless themes of loyalty, courage and redemption in a way that feels fresh and new.
This story is more straightforward than some of the other Yoon Ha Lee stories I've read. Bonus points for such a lovely character in the brave and loyal temple cat! Cat lovers will be delighted with her.
4 stars for "Where the Anchor Lies" by Benjamin C. Kinney: Staff-General Eita is on a pilgrimage to a graveyard of warships, seeking the remains of the Vanguard, the ship with which she once shared a deep and devoted mental link. Eita is accompanied by two floating avatars, a journalist one and one for the Directorate. If the Chancellor realizes her true purpose in seeking out the Vanguard, she'll be in trouble. Some interesting political overtones to this one.
Full reviews to come.
There are three short stories in this issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies, free online here. I've read two so far:
4.5 stars for "The Starship and the Temple Cat" by Yoon Ha Lee: The Seventy-Eighth Temple Cat of the High Bells is a ghost cat … but then, everyone else in the City of High Bells is a ghost as well. Years ago the Fleet Lords’ spaceships bombed the City, which was actually a space station, though a very restful-sounding one. But after the bombing, the cat is the only remaining temple cat ghost, and gradually all of the peoples’ ghosts have left as well.
One by one the ghosts of her people departed, despite her efforts to get them to stay. She purred—ghost cats are just as good at purring as the living kind—and she coaxed and she cajoled, as cats do. But the ghosts wearied of their long vigil, and they slipped away nonetheless.So the cat is alone when the sentient starship Spectral Lance appears, seeking to find peace and do penance for its past misdeeds as part of the Fleet Lords’ forces. Unfortunately the Fleet Lords’ hunters are on the ship’s trail.
Stories of brave little cats are guaranteed to worm their way into my heart, but “The Starship and the Temple Cat” isn’t just a sentimental tale. Yoon Ha Lee deftly draws the temple cat’s character in a way that feels realistic and true to cats’ personalities, and fills this tale with evocative details about life in the peaceful temple, contrasting it with the vast destruction caused by the starships. This story deals with timeless themes of loyalty, courage and redemption in a way that feels fresh and new.
This story is more straightforward than some of the other Yoon Ha Lee stories I've read. Bonus points for such a lovely character in the brave and loyal temple cat! Cat lovers will be delighted with her.
4 stars for "Where the Anchor Lies" by Benjamin C. Kinney: Staff-General Eita is on a pilgrimage to a graveyard of warships, seeking the remains of the Vanguard, the ship with which she once shared a deep and devoted mental link. Eita is accompanied by two floating avatars, a journalist one and one for the Directorate. If the Chancellor realizes her true purpose in seeking out the Vanguard, she'll be in trouble. Some interesting political overtones to this one.
Full reviews to come.
February 4, 2018
The Starship and the Temple Cat by Yoon Ha Lee - 5 Stars
This magical and touching short story was a wonderful read and also and interesting take on just what it might mean to be dead and a cat!
El is a Spaceship Melody by Maurice Broaddus - 5 Stars
This story is thought-provoking, interesting and manage to get me teared up over something I would not have thought possible prior to reading it. The development of the characters was much more complex than I would have thought possible for such a short piece. I really loved it and the possibilities it suggests!
Where the Anchor Lies by Benjamin C. Kinney - 5 Stars
Wow... the concept of this story was unique, yet felt somehow familiar at the same time. Parts of it had a resonance that felt similar to some things that have been happening in our own country this last year. It really made me think.
This magical and touching short story was a wonderful read and also and interesting take on just what it might mean to be dead and a cat!
El is a Spaceship Melody by Maurice Broaddus - 5 Stars
This story is thought-provoking, interesting and manage to get me teared up over something I would not have thought possible prior to reading it. The development of the characters was much more complex than I would have thought possible for such a short piece. I really loved it and the possibilities it suggests!
Where the Anchor Lies by Benjamin C. Kinney - 5 Stars
Wow... the concept of this story was unique, yet felt somehow familiar at the same time. Parts of it had a resonance that felt similar to some things that have been happening in our own country this last year. It really made me think.
March 5, 2019
Rating and review only for Yoon Ha Lee's The Starship and the Temple Cat.
Okay, again I am biased since I have a cat (or is it the other way around?) and she was snuggling in my lap trying to eat my Kindle when I was reading this. But who does not like a nice, sweet story, starring a ghostly loyal cat and an abandoned starship? As always, I love the evocative names of places and starship Lee made up.
Okay, again I am biased since I have a cat (or is it the other way around?) and she was snuggling in my lap trying to eat my Kindle when I was reading this. But who does not like a nice, sweet story, starring a ghostly loyal cat and an abandoned starship? As always, I love the evocative names of places and starship Lee made up.
November 11, 2023
This review is for Yoon Ha Lee's The Starship and the Temple Cat. I'm a sucker for animal stories, a sucker for sentient ships , and I loved the glimpses the author gave of a rich imagined future culture among the stars. This one pinpricked my heart in very nice ways. I believe this may(?) be my first Yoon Ha Lee story, so I'll be seeking more out.
November 10, 2023
Rating and review only for Yoon Ha Lee's "The Starship and the Temple Cat."
A sweet new-to-me science-fantasy by Yoon Ha Lee, nominated for two awards in 2019. Specially recommended for cat-lovers. 4.5 stars: don't miss!
See Tadiana's full review nearby. As you will see, pretty much universal acclaim among GR readers for this story.
Direct story link: http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
A sweet new-to-me science-fantasy by Yoon Ha Lee, nominated for two awards in 2019. Specially recommended for cat-lovers. 4.5 stars: don't miss!
See Tadiana's full review nearby. As you will see, pretty much universal acclaim among GR readers for this story.
Direct story link: http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
own-but-unread
March 12, 2019Link to Podcast: http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
Link to Text: http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
Listened to audio podcast of "The Starship and the Template Cat" by Yoon Ha Lee on 3/12/2019 (4-4.5 stars). Possible candidate Hugo Award nomination for Best Short Story.
Link to Text: http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
Listened to audio podcast of "The Starship and the Template Cat" by Yoon Ha Lee on 3/12/2019 (4-4.5 stars). Possible candidate Hugo Award nomination for Best Short Story.
August 15, 2021
The Starship and the Temple Cat (a finalist for the Locus Award and the Sturgeon Award 2019) by Yoon Ha Lee published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue #244 (February 1, 2018). I listened to the audio podcast narrated by Michael J. DeLuca.
Properly, the cat's name was Seventy-Eighth Temple Cat of the High Bells, along with a number of ceremonial titles that needn't concern us. But the people who had called her that no longer lived in the station's ruins. Every day as she made her rounds in what had been the boundaries of the temple, she saw and smelled the artifacts they had left behind, from bloodstains to scorch marks, from decaying books to singed spacesuits, and yowled her grief.
The ghost cat remains at the ruined temple because if she ever leaves it for the world-of-stars it will truly be the end of it. Then a sentient space ship named Spectral Lance arrives, after her former captain – who had gone rogue - had died in battle. With the Fleet Lords’ hunters on her tail, Spectral Lance comes back to the City of High Bells, one of the places she obliterated in the past, to honor it with poems. To save the temple from a second ruin Temple Cat has to overcome her fears and ring the bells once more.
Such a wonderful story. You can read and or listen to it here: https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.c...
Themes: ghost cat, the Fleet Lords, a rogue war lord and her loyal ship, on the run, Spectral Lance sings poems to sooth the temple cat, travelling to the Stars-Our-Souls.
4 Stars
Properly, the cat's name was Seventy-Eighth Temple Cat of the High Bells, along with a number of ceremonial titles that needn't concern us. But the people who had called her that no longer lived in the station's ruins. Every day as she made her rounds in what had been the boundaries of the temple, she saw and smelled the artifacts they had left behind, from bloodstains to scorch marks, from decaying books to singed spacesuits, and yowled her grief.
The ghost cat remains at the ruined temple because if she ever leaves it for the world-of-stars it will truly be the end of it. Then a sentient space ship named Spectral Lance arrives, after her former captain – who had gone rogue - had died in battle. With the Fleet Lords’ hunters on her tail, Spectral Lance comes back to the City of High Bells, one of the places she obliterated in the past, to honor it with poems. To save the temple from a second ruin Temple Cat has to overcome her fears and ring the bells once more.
Such a wonderful story. You can read and or listen to it here: https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.c...
Themes: ghost cat, the Fleet Lords, a rogue war lord and her loyal ship, on the run, Spectral Lance sings poems to sooth the temple cat, travelling to the Stars-Our-Souls.
4 Stars
May 9, 2018
I picked up this issue after hearing about one of the stories (El is a Spaceship Melody by Maurice Broaddus) on an episode of Writing Excuses. It sounded like an interesting premise (slapping together sci-fi and jazz? tell me more, Maurice!), and did not disappoint.
I took my time getting around to the other two stories.
I enjoyed Where the Anchor Lies quite a bit - it worked some interesting tech, politics and character elements into a compelling story. The Spaceship and the Temple Cat didn't click with me at all, but based on other reviews I'm in the minority there :).
Overall, this issue was a good pickup!
I took my time getting around to the other two stories.
I enjoyed Where the Anchor Lies quite a bit - it worked some interesting tech, politics and character elements into a compelling story. The Spaceship and the Temple Cat didn't click with me at all, but based on other reviews I'm in the minority there :).
Overall, this issue was a good pickup!
May 18, 2023
Three stories involving sentient spaceships.
The Starship and the Temple Cat by Yoon Ha Lee is a story about a ghost cat on a destroyed space station and a poetry-writing starship. 4/5
El is a Spaceship Melody by Maurice Broaddus is about a journey to Titan on a ship powered by jazz. 4/5
Where the Anchor Lies by Benjamin C. Kinney is a story where a captain goes to visit the wreck of her old ship with a bunch of politics framing the event. 4/5
The Starship and the Temple Cat by Yoon Ha Lee is a story about a ghost cat on a destroyed space station and a poetry-writing starship. 4/5
El is a Spaceship Melody by Maurice Broaddus is about a journey to Titan on a ship powered by jazz. 4/5
Where the Anchor Lies by Benjamin C. Kinney is a story where a captain goes to visit the wreck of her old ship with a bunch of politics framing the event. 4/5
November 28, 2020
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Starship and the Temple Cat By Yoon Ha Lee http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ El is a Spaceship Melody By Maurice Broaddus http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Where the Anchor Lies By Benjamin C. Kinney http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ El is a Spaceship Melody By Maurice Broaddus http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Where the Anchor Lies By Benjamin C. Kinney http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
May 5, 2018
Another excellent issue with stories that harmonize well. I enjoyed all the stories, but I dare you not to love Lee's cat in his future fairy tale.
November 12, 2023
"The Starship and the Temple Cat," by Yoon Ha Lee. Poignant and sweet.
June 29, 2025
The Starship and the Temple Cat by Yoon Ha Lee 4★
January 2, 2020
This story is a tribute to the fealty of cats--odd for me, we own 3 and I believe their fealty to be much more ephemeral than what is depicted here. But the story itself is a nice fable, a good example of Lee's talent. I enjoyed it.
May 10, 2020
review for: "The Starship and the Temple Cat" by Yoon Ha Lee
December 28, 2020
"The Starship and the Temple Cat" by Yoon Ha Lee.
Cats, starships, quests and the dead. The story of a temple cat set amidst space opera.
Cats, starships, quests and the dead. The story of a temple cat set amidst space opera.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews