"The Leafsmith in Love," by K.J. Kabza

[Scott H. Andrews]

This thread is to discuss "The Leafsmith in Love," by K.J. Kabza, which appears in BCS #39 (http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/toc.php?s=39) from Mar. 25, 2010.

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[mbrennan]

He was a Master Leafsmith, and in love, and at least one of these things was unstoppable.

This line made me grin. :-)

Given all the short stories out there about awful people and awful situations and awful events, I was really pleased to have one like this, where the happiness didn't get torn away at the last moment.

(Which is not to say BCS is full of downer stories; it isn't. I just realized, partway through, that a piece of me was afraid it was all going to go Terribly Wrong. And yes, that says something about what I've been reading lately.)

Some of the techno-magical terminology didn't really work for me, where it was odd variants on existing words (e.g. "Elementalor"). But I really enjoyed the concept, and the fact that Zuhanna ultimately proved to be both clever and proactive.