A Water Matter

Green Universe

by Jay Lake

A tale of magic, revenge, and bitter death—on the rain-spattered streets of the great city. This is epic fantasy not "in the tradition of Tolkien," but, instead, sensual, ominous, shot through with the sweat of fear and the intoxication of power.One of the most prolific new writers of the decade, Lake won 2004's John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. His novels include Mainspring, Escapement, Pinion, and Green. The world of Green is also the setting for "A Water Matter."

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Ebooks, Magic, Fiction

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 14, 2010

About the author

Jay Lake lived in Portland, Oregon, where he worked on multiple writing and editing projects. His 2007 book Mainspring received a starred review in Booklist. His short fiction appeared regularly in literary and genre markets worldwide. Jay won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, Endeavour Award, and was a multiple nominee for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.

Reviews

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently, this is part of Jay Lake's 'Green Universe.' I think it might be appreciated more by fans of the books who are already familiar with the setting, as I felt rather 'plunked down' in medias res.

Here we meet a character known only as 'The Dancing Mistress.' She's a member of a feline, non-human species who are an endangered minority in a humans' world.

At a chaotic time of political transition, she encounters a shaman who seeks to compel her to help him with his shadowy agenda. The blood magician seems to know secrets of her people that no human should know - and is definitely a threat.

The world we get a glimpse of seems complex and fascinating, but the story presented here is a pretty simple "showdown" incident.

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Water Matter is about The Dancing Mistress who is non-human and has powers that humans don't know about. These non-human feline species live among the humans but their numbers aren't that great. Then one day, a Shaman who is a human calls for The Dancing Mistress and wants their power and he also knows the language and the ways of The Dancing Mistress' people.

It was an interesting premise but the writing wasn't very captivating. But a good short story nonetheless.

3.5 stars

[Badseedgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The term "Water Matter" is similar to a "debt of honor" to the aliens in this story. Have I ever mentioned how much I like a good revenge story?

[Jaffa Kintigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

To narrate through a non-human perspective with no-human senses, cultural givens and sensibilities is a difficult task, and yet it pays off beautifully and sensuously here.

The Dancing Mistress, who centers this tale, is one of the People, an ancient predatory non-human race that has suppressed its magic and instincts for the sake of living among the more populous humans. This unspoken truce is shattered when a human shaman hunts some of the people for their ancient wisdom and magic. He seeks the Dancing Mistress, but kidnaps their herbalist.

The Dancing Mistress enacts a hunt for the duo by entering a mesh-mind with 3 others of her race. This allows them to think and act as one leaning into the sensory strengths of each.

The moon glowed faintly through the low clouds, but the shadows outflanked the light at every turn. Torches burned at compound gates while lamps hung at intersections and in the squares. The nighttime streets of Copper Downs were streaked with smears of heat and scent.

The hunt slid through the evening like a single animal with four bodies. Her vision was complex, edges gleaming sharp at all distances and ranges. Odors told stories she could never read on her own, about the passage of time and the sweat of fear, passion, even the flat, watery smell of ennui. The very feel of the air on her skin as she ran had been magnified fourfold. She saw every door, every hiding place, every mule or person they passed, in terms of force and danger and claws moving close to the speed of thought.

The sheer power of the hunt was frightening in its intoxication.

They slipped through the city like a killing wind ...

This tale appears in Street Magicks edited by Paula Guran. I received this new anthology from Netgalley. The short story was originally published in Tor.com [29 October 2008]. I've previously reviewed this author's eye-opening Love in the Time of Metal and Flesh .

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly atmospheric, epic dark/fantasy by Lake. The world building set within this short story is nothing less than superb, and Lake's vivid descriptions of the dark magicks and environs of Copper Downs is deeply imagined and engrossing to read.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honour and vengeance often go hand in hand and the Dancing Mistress must stop a human from endangering her kind.

Jay Lake's short story (a side trip from his novel 'Green') is very good at presenting an alien species, but the story needs a wider understanding of this fictional world for the motivations to make sense.

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first exposure to Jay Lake, and I enjoyed it very much. The world he builds here is intriguing, and I particularly liked the hunt mind and the joining of these fantastical creatures in a weird mind-meld that reminded me of of the strange, hive-like creatues of "Fire in the Deep." I understand that several of his books are set in this world and I will definitely seek them out.

[Brenda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not get into, I love science fiction and fantasy, but I also like knowing what the lead character is, best I could gather, she was some fairy like insect..and they kept talking about a "water matter" like we were supposed to know what that was..if this goes with a series, that explains why it doesn't make sense to me.

[Jeremy Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done fantasy world with a catlike species mixed in with but feared by the humans.