The Stars Must Wait by Carmelo Rafalà

The Stars Must Wait by Carmelo Rafalà
Publisher: Guardbridge Books, Scotland
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Carmelo Rafalà writes stories that are profound, surprising, and beautifully realised. He imagines fantastic worlds and protagonists of immense complexity, subtlety and depth. His stories do not give easy answers, but stimulate and absorb the reader.
In this collection of science fiction and fantasy stories you will find:

A zealous convert, a woman of rumour and myth, and a dangerous pilgrimage across pirate filled seas.
A warrior travels to a far land to mourn and put his violent past behind him, but strange gods of an even stranger people intrude.
Abandoned in the Ozarks, sisters face a malevolent presence reaching out from the darkness.
Two friends struggle with their strained relationship, but reconciliation may literally require other realities. These are stories of identity and belonging, and our deep-seated desire to control our own narratives.

Everyone deserves to tell their own tales.

Lord Banning had spent nearly his entire adulthood in battle, and now that he was growing older it was time for him to reflect on his choices in “Heart of the City, Heart of the Sea.” The character development in this piece was what drew me so deeply into it. Some of Lord Banning’s decisions were difficult to understand until I got to know him better and discovered a few of the secrets surrounding his life. I only wish I could know what happened to him next.

I did struggle to connect to with some of the short stories in this collection due to some confusion I had about their world and character building. “The Clarity of Ice” was one such example of this. Performing what were essentially farming and terraforming duties while in outer space was a unique way to introduce Karlyn to the audience, but I struggled to understand what motivated her to choose this career and what she hoped to gain from it. I also had some trouble understanding the project she was working on, especially when she made references to possibly bio-engineering humans to better suit certain environments. Had this scene and similar ones in other tales been given more detailed explanations, I would have happily chosen a higher rating as I thought Mr. Rafalà had a vivid imagination and a fresh take on some common tropes in this genre.

My favorite instalment was “Slipping Sideways” which explored Džemo and Leo’s grief after the death of their friend Rachel. The science fiction spin to such a common but heartbreaking part of life made me smile. I’ve often wished for the same solution that these characters talked about as they mourned her passing, and I thought the ending fit the themes beautifully. This was a short piece which only made it all that more powerful.

The Stars Must Wait was memorable.