"A Mask of Flesh"

Sitting alone in the green heat of the forest, far from the road and any observing eyes, Neniza began to craft her mask of flesh.

---

I have a bit of a personal crusade to open the fantasy field up to a broader range of cultures, but I've long been aware that there are hurdles in the way of that. One of the ways around those hurdles involves poking readers' minds a little bit further open with short stories, until there's enough space for you to cram a novel in.

Which is an abstract way of saying: Mesoamerican fantasy may go down better in small doses, at least to begin with.

So here's the first dose. The setting is based on some research I did a few years ago into Mesoamerican folklore; no one in it is precisely human. They're all roughly human-shaped, but there are different races/species locked into a rigid caste system modeled on pre-Columbian Mayan and Aztec society. This means I'm tossing around words like quetzalcoatl and ocelotlaca. Don't say I didn't warn you.

"A Mask of Flesh" can be found in Mike Allen's lovely anthology Clockwork Phoenix. That's the first volume of an ongoing series; my story "Once a Goddess" is in its successor. To whet your curiosity, here's the table of contents:

• Catherynne M. Valente, "The City of Blind Delight"
• David Sandner, "Old Foss is the Name of His Cat"
• John Grant, "All the Little Gods We Are"
• Cat Rambo, "The Dew Drop Coffee Lounge"
• Leah Bobet, "Bell, Book, and Candle"
• Michael J. DeLuca, "The Tarrying Messenger"
• Laird Barron, "The Occultation"
• Ekaterina Sedia, "There is a Monster Under Helen's Bed"
• Cat Sparks, "Palisade"
• Tanith Lee, "The Woman"
• Marie Brennan, "A Mask of Flesh"
• Jennifer Crow, "Seven Scenes from Harrai's Sacred Mountain"
• Vandana Singh, "Oblivion: A Journey"
• John C. Wright, "Choosers of the Slain"
• C.S. MacCath, "Akhila, Divided"
• Joanna Galbraith, "The Moon-Keeper's Friend"
• Deborah Biancotti, "The Tailor of Time"
• Erin Hoffman, "Root and Vein"

I'm pleased to say "A Mask of Flesh," along with eight other stories from this anthology, received an Honorable Mention in Gardner Dozois' twenty-sixth Year's Best Science Fiction.

Reviews

Deborah J. Brannon, Green Man Review -- "A Mask of Flesh" is a slow tale, relying on its mystery -- something it does very well. My lasting impressions of this piece by Marie Brennan are of a tight, fascinating, and gloriously straightforward revenge tale.

Michael Jones, SFSite -- Marie Brennan evokes the ancient, lost civilizations of the Mayans and Aztecs, and infuses them with an alien, mythic feel in her tale of a woman seeking revenge for her shattered caste, in "A Mask of Flesh." Brennan does an excellent job of creating a fascinating, complex society in a short period of time, and raising a number of questions along the way. I wouldn't mind seeing her return to this world at some point, to further flesh out things barely touched upon in this story.

Starlady38, LJ -- Marie Brennan's "A Mask of Flesh" might be my other favorite story in the collection--it's set in a fascinating version of ancient Mesoamerica and follows one young outcaste as she sets out for revenge. It was brilliant, and like always, brilliantly characterized.

Wolfen Moondaughter, Sequential Tart -- Marie Brennan was another reason I wanted to read this volume, and her "A Mask of Flesh" was an engaging tale on the whole, but I couldn't entirely enjoy it. I might have if I were more familiar with Mesoamerican mythos; I have no idea what the protagonist actually is, am not sure if the protagonist is actually evil or if Brennan is saying Quetzalcoatl (or rather, one of his breed) is evil. I'm rather fond of the historically benevolent Quetzalcoatl (and amphiteres, or winged serpents, in general), so this wasn't exactly the most pleasant of tales for me, and I was puzzled by the relation of human sacrifices to him (I've always heard that he was against them). All the same, Brennan told the story well.

Terry Weyna, SFRevu -- Marie Brennan's "Once a Goddess" is one answer to the question of what a child goddess does when she is no longer a child - and no longer a goddess. Being a god until one is grown is no preparation for adulthood.