Myrrha (short story)
"Myrrha" is a fantasy short story by Gary Jennings. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, in September 1962.
Synopsis[edit]
As Shirley Spencer lies catatonic, entries from her diary describe how a visit by an old school friend from Greece gradually destroyed her life — and indicate parallels with classical mythology. Myrrha very loosely draws parallels to the Greek myth of Myrrha, namely the name and references to Greece.
Reception[edit]
"Myrrha" was a finalist for the 1963 Hugo Award for Short Fiction.[1]
At Galactic Journey, Gideon Marcus found it to be "dreamy, humorless, (and) unpleasant", while conceding that he "might have liked it more had (he) understood it."[2] Piers Anthony considered it "an utterly savage story of revenge for a personal slight."[3]
References[edit]
- ^ 1963 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved October 1, 2021
- ^ Aug. 17, 1962: The 90% rule (September 1962 Fantasy and Science Fiction), by Gideon Marcus, at Galactic Journey, published August 17, 2017; retrieved October 1, 2021
- ^ Introduction to Myrrha, in One and Wonder: Piers Anthony's Remembered Stories, published 2013 by Fantastic Planet Books