The Peculiar Quandary of Simon Canopus Artyle
By Kevin Frane
FurPlanet

The Peculiar Quandary of Simon Artyle is the second in FurPlanet’s line of Cupcakes novellas. The Cupcakes series are intended to be “short and sweet” novellas, and for better or worse, this fits the bill. Those familiar with Kevin Frane’s longer works are likely expecting a whirlwind of action, political machinations, subtle manipulations, and a healthy dose of sturm und drang, but if that’s what you’re looking for here, you’ll be disappointed. The stories contained within are both fluffy and sweet.

I say stories because the title of the novella is a bit of a misnomer; it’s not really a novella, but a binding together of two tangentially related short stories, the eponymous “Simon Artyle” being the headliner. The second story, “Changes for the Better,” was originally published in New Fables, but it shares the setting, so it’s included as a bonus, and presumably to pad out the book.

“Simon Artyle” is the story of a somewhat disconnected wizard and his attempt to maintain his relationships with, and eventually choose between, a young vixen he is courting, and his middle-aged raccoon apprentice. The story opens with a rather dense narrative style crammed chock-full of parentheses; it serves well to set the stage, but is a bit forced, and so when it disappeared into Frane’s more comfortable prose by the third page, I wasn’t sad to see it go. The tale dithers a bit in a kind of courtship romance until magical things begin to happen, and this is where the story really becomes interesting. Artyle is disconnected from everyday emotion, and largely unflappable, so his mild-mannered, disaffected way of dealing with extraordinary circumstances, and his attitude toward his two much more affected objects of interest, serve to keep the story whimsical, but also prevent it from having much weight. Nonetheless, the aforementioned quandary itself is interesting, and I found myself reading primarily to see how it would be solved. The story shines most when focusing on its more magical elements, and when Simon is drawn out of his comfort zone and forced to deal with the conflicts in his life.

“Changes for the Better” is set in the same world as the first story, and passing references are made to those characters, but otherwise it is its own beast, and deals with Vanessa, a haughty weasel sorceress living alone in a tower in a rural town. The story revolves around her interactions with a raccoon who asks her to create a companion for him. She apparently loathes him, and seems at first glance to be motivated to help him by boredom. I found resolution to this story a bit iffy; while on subsequent rereads the ending is seeded, it didn’t feel like the surprise at the end was entirely earned.

The two stories do suit each other well, similar in theme, subject, and tone. Frane tells them using his easy, comfortable style that allows you to slip right in. He knows the stories he is trying to tell, and tells them well. His characters are distinct, recognizable, and maintain clear and persistent voices throughout, and his plots compel you to read through to the ending to see how everything turns up. But this Cupcake is a bit too sweet and light for my tastes. It may be a nice follow-up to a meatier novel, but on its own, I found it a bit cloying.