Tag Archives: Alma T. C. Boykin

Baba Yaga is Back, and She’s not Happy

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51i9PlNNO8L._AA160_“The Sweeper and the Storm”
Alma T. C. Boykin
ebook short story $0.99

Alexi is back, but so is Baba Yaga. She’s a bit miffed about the way he ruined her plans in the previous story (reviewed here). This particular tale involves Alexi’s unit doing a disaster relief drill in rural Kansas in October. That’s not the season for either blizzards or tornados. But both show up.

Alexi finds that he has to stop more than just the old witch. There’s a darker power somewhere in the background. That’s where the real danger lies.

This is the second story in this series. It’s not a stand-alone, nor is everything resolved. There’s a bigger story-arc at play here. Boykin has obviously put some thought into where she’s going with her tale. In the previous story, we saw Alexi and his relationship to his Babushka. Now we see him interact with the rest of the men in his unit. We also see him struggle and overcome the situation in which he finds himself, although the resolution isn’t entirely happy.

There’s more than just Russian folklore involved. Native American elements show up as well, and I suspect that they will become more prominent with time.

Oh, and the last line made me want to read the next story in the series. I can’t wait to see how that plot line is going to develop.

Why Did the Chicken Footed House Cross the Road?

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chicken feetWhen Chicken Feet Cross the Highway
Alma T. C. Boykin
ebook only $0.99

The title of this post may sound like a joke, but when Alexander Zolnerovich saw the house with chicken feet cross the interstate while he was stuck in a Denver traffic jam, he didn’t find anything funny about it.

The poor guy, an Army sergeant, is on his way to visit his grandmother in Colorado.  He’s not looking to tangle with one of the worst characters from Russian folklore.  But when he gets to his grandmother’s house and finds it deserted, he realizes he doesn’t have much choice.

I found this to be an entertaining short story.  Boykin knows Russian folklore, and it shows in the story’s structure.  I don’t know much Russian folklore myself, but I know enough to follow most of the references here.

A modern, and less capable writer, would have a soldier come storming in, guns blazing, to rescue to the old woman.  Not so here.  Alex takes his time, listens to his grandmother’s cat (Ivan the Purrable), uses his wits, and basically enters a Russian folktale, where he ends up doing chores for Baba Yaga.  Only he doesn’t do them exactly as he’s told.  This was in many ways the most enjoyable part of the story.  In many folktales and fairy tales, the flow of time isn’t…I guess you could say isn’t linear.  Simple tasks take hours.  Events that should take great amounts of time pass quickly.  Something like that happens in the second part of the story.  It added a deliciously weird tone to things.

This is the first work by Boykin that I’ve read.  She  has a number of books out, and based on internal clues, I suspect this isn’t the first tale of Alex Zolnerovich.

Oh, and to answer to the question, why did the chicken footed house cross the road?  You’ll have to read the story to find out.