Capsule Review Archive – Sleepless, Burning Life by Mike Allen
This review originally appeared on Goodreads on December 17, 2012.
Sleepless, Burning Life
By Mike Allen – Mythic Delirium Books – June 23, 2012
Review by Robin Marx
Created for a lesbian steampunk anthology, this novella has an exciting premise, but the execution doesn't quite manage to do it justice. The plot involves a young woman, Jyshiu, sacrificing her life to rescue a goddess imprisoned in the afterlife. Driven by love, her quest leads her up the spinning, whirring clockwork tower underpinning the universe.
The Moorcockian setting and goddess/mortal romance are intriguing, but the novella falls down at the very end. The ambiguous “choose your own ending” climax is too clever for its own good. It appears the author's aim was to keep the reader wanting more, but rather than concluding with a pleasant tantalizing feeling I was left deflated and disappointed. The story could've been fleshed out more, too. As it stands, Jyshiu's journey doesn't seem like the ordeal it should be, it needed more trials and tribulations along the way.
This was an interesting read, but ultimately an unsatisfying one. I'd like to see the story reworked into a novel, fleshed out and given an appropriate resolution.
★★★☆☆
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