Book Review: Scarecrow edited by Rhonda Parrish
This anthology is part of the “Magical Menageries” series, each volume focusing on a different type of critter. A previous volume, Corvidae, dealt with crows of various types. Thus it’s not surprising that there’s a collection featuring their archenemies. While the aesthetic of humanoid beings of straw lends itself to horror, some of the stories are more fantasy and science fiction, working with a loose definition.
There are fifteen pieces, starting with “Scarecrow Hangs” by Jane Yolen, a short poem about conciliation, which references the Oz books. The final story is “If I Only Had an Autogenic Cognitive Decision Matrix” by Scott Burtness, which also references Oz, as the “scarecrow” is meant to cow winged aliens. Its Tin Man has been trying to educate the Scarecrow to impress their Dorothy, but the lesson might be a little too literal.
Standouts include “Judge and Jury” by Laura VanArendonk Baugh, a sequel to her story in Corvidae. Researcher Junsuke Hirata was murdered and hung up on a scarecrow post by an animal rights protestor gone horribly wrong. Now he’s a ghost that returns to that post every morning. He can only affect the living world in very small ways, and Junsuke doesn’t believe in murder, but with the help of the crows and a medium, he might be able to take a poetic revenge.
“The Straw Samurai” by Andrew Bud Adams takes place in a fantasy Japan inhabited by tribes of animal people and one outcast human child. Tengu children create the straw man as part of a bargain with her for a magic stick, but it turns out to be more dangerous than anyone had dreamed. The ending has the human child finding a home, of sorts.
“Only the Land Remembers” by Amanda Block is a dark tale set in a religious community periodically menaced by Crows, evil spirits who must be driven away by a volunteer. This year, a young woman named Grace Palmer is chosen from among those stepping forward. I caught the metaphor pretty early on in the story.
A couple of the stories have scarecrows as lovers, or people turning into scarecrows.
Content note: some of these stories do dip into the horror well, with all the usual cautions applying. High school and up readers should be okay.
This is a decent themed collection for fans of scarecrows and related topics. It might make a good Falloween gift for someone who likes spooky stories.
