"Cold Wind" by Nicola Griffith

[[deleted user]]

This is our discussion of the story:


"Cold Wind" by Nicola Griffith

This story can be read for free on-line @Tor.com,

This story is part of the The Best SF&F of the Year, vol 9 (2014) group anthology discussion.

[Andreas]

★★★★
Synopsis: In a Seattle lesbian bar the main protagonist is picked up one midwinter night by an ancient shapeshifter. The story explores the lust of predator vs. prey, lover vs. victim.

Review: Striking, intense narrative, crisp characters, great tension arc, beautiful nature scenery. The atmosphere reminds me a good bit of Poe. I haven't read Nicola Griffith's anthology. I'm missing the illustrations around it - but it is great that it is reposted @the author's blog - Beware: read the story first, because there are a couple of spoiler-drawings.

[[deleted user]]

Meh. Not that impressed. Hild author Griffith tells a suspense-style borderline horror story, one that obscures who is the hunter and who was the hunted. There's some flowery litcrap description, but what there isn't is anything that would cause me to care about either the narrator or her target.

Oh, a lesbian bar! So that's what a "woman's bar" is! Honestly, thanks to the first-person narration, lack of dialogue, and unusual name (Onca?), I wasn't entirely sure of the gender of the narrator.

★★