A collection of Christopher Mahon’s published fantasy fiction.
Summary
“Old No-Eyes” deals with Yute, an eccentric, ruthless necromancer with a talent for mathematics, and his former, backstabbing colleague named Tenza, who needs Yute’s help decoding a bizarre occult book written by an anonymous madman called Old No-Eyes, who claims that the text will teach the road to immortality to anyone who can decode it.
Read it on Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
Reviews
“…author Christopher Mahon does an excellent job of establishing character and tone at the start. At the famous Ozamashi teahouse, Yute is meeting his old colleague Tenza, who had betrayed him years before and caused his exile when they were both students of the art of immortality. Tenza wishes to apologize to Yute, but only because he needs Yute’s help understanding an arcane text that may hold the secrets they are both looking for. Mahon does an outstanding job of balancing the still simmering tension of their past conflict with the pair’s philosophical inquiries. “Old No-Eyes” makes a sharp left turn into nihilism near the end, a choice that doesn’t sit well in my stomach, even if it follows logically from the set-up.” – Goodreads
“I didn’t think I would care for Christopher Mahon’s “Old No-Eyes” at first, but the story grew on me the more I read it. It turned out to be quite powerful at the end.” – Amazon
“Old No-Eyes” by Christopher Mahon also features a pairing of adversaries, two quasi-immortals who meet at a tea house. Their meeting, infused with thoughts of revenge and power, winds up unsatisfying for both, though there is an unexpected beneficiary of their conflict.” – Locus
Summary
“Hypnotica” is about two destitute narcomancers who escape their bleak waking lives by putting on musical concerts in a surreal dream-version of their city, which is populated by the souls of the dead.
Serialized on The Fantasy Hive in multiple parts. Begin reading here.