Story Details
Categories Fantasy
"A Tale of Two Tarōs" by Marie Brennan delivers a variation on the 8th Century Japanese legend of Ursashima Taro. This version follows the journey of Tarō, an orphaned boy who survives through begging and petty theft. His life takes an unexpected turn with the arrival of a mysterious stranger, dressed unlike the local fishermen, sparking a series of events that intertwine their fates.
Author Details
Marie Brennan is a former anthropologist and folklorist who shamelessly leans on her academic fields for inspiration. She recently misapplied her professors' hard work to The Game of 100 Candles and the short novel Driftwood. She is the author of the Hugo Award-nominated Victorian adventure series The Memoirs of Lady Trent along with several other series, over eighty short stories, several poems, and the New Worlds series of worldbuilding guides; as half of M.A. Carrick, she has written the epic Rook and Rose trilogy, beginning with The Mask of Mirrors. For more information and social media, visit linktr.ee/swan_tower. Story Notes for "A Tale of Two Taros" The usual ending to the folktale this story is based on is a tragic one, but this retelling, placing it in the perspective of a new character, creates a situation where these events can lead him toward a better life.
A Tale of Two Tarōs by Marie Brennan
Author Details
Marie Brennan is a former anthropologist and folklorist who shamelessly leans on her academic fields for inspiration. She recently misapplied her professors' hard work to The Game of 100 Candles and the short novel Driftwood. She is the author of the Hugo Award-nominated Victorian adventure series The Memoirs of Lady Trent along with several other series, over eighty short stories, several poems, and the New Worlds series of worldbuilding guides; as half of M.A. Carrick, she has written the epic Rook and Rose trilogy, beginning with The Mask of Mirrors. For more information and social media, visit linktr.ee/swan_tower. Story Notes for "A Tale of Two Taros" The usual ending to the folktale this story is based on is a tragic one, but this retelling, placing it in the perspective of a new character, creates a situation where these events can lead him toward a better life.
