Just as Avis Pabel only published one science fiction story, so, too, did Marianne Puxley. Puxley’s only sf short story, “Cronus,” appeared in the May 1989 issue of Interzone.

Rhea and Tyrrell area married and expecting a baby in a rather amorphous future. Tyrrell sees Rhea’s pregnancy as a chance to move into a Community called Cronus, which he sees as a beneficial place to live, safe from the “baneful Greenwomen” who are presented as some sort of bogeyman living outside the safe communities. Rhea isn’t sure it is the right choice, but eventually agrees.

Life for Rhea in the Community is anything but idyllic. She dislikes the regimentation and finds that being a woman means she is a second class citizen, expected to be a housekeeper and to take care of her husband who does useful work for the Community. Most of the women belong to the Wives’ Federation, but Rhea refuses to join, seeing it as a step toward giving permission to have her individuality taken from her.

One of the saving graces for Rhea is her friendship with Treza, who, while being part of the W.F. and caring for her four children, seems to have a realistic understanding of the limitations of being a wife in the Community. When Treza eventually becomes fully indoctrinated into the Community, however, Rhea sees a bleak future for herself and begins to consider living the Community to leave among the dreaded Greenwomen.

Puxley creates two cultures in “Cronus,” the society of the Community and the one of the Greenwomen. They are portrayed as two sides of the utopian/dystopian divide, but the way Puxley describes Cronus makes it appear to be a more workable, if less ideal civilization. The Greenwomen appear to offer more personal freedom and acceptance, but Puxley only offers an introduction to them, not really showing how their society would function.

As the story progresses, it becomes clear how carefully the nomenclature was selected for most of the characters and places and knowledge of the mythology behind those names helps add depth to the story, although Puxley doesn’t spell out that mythology for the reader who may not be familiar with the tales of the titans.

“Cronus” also demonstrates one of the problems with having a story based strongly on an idea without thinking through all of the implications or plotting out how the world works beyond those segments that are shown within the story. The reader can enjoy the story and accept (or reject) Puxley’s message on the surface, but as soon as the reader attempts to figure out how the various parts of Puxley’s world work, either on their own or in connection to each other, there are gaping holes in the story which tend to distract from any success it might otherwise have.

 

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Steven H Silver is a twenty-time Hugo Award nominee and was the publisher of the Hugo-nominated fanzine Argentus as well as the editor and publisher of ISFiC Press for eight years. He has also edited books for DAW, NESFA Press, and ZNB. His most recent anthology is Alternate Peace and his novel After Hastings was published in 2020. Steven has chaired the first Midwest Construction, Windycon three times, and the SFWA Nebula Conference six times. He was programming chair for Chicon 2000 and Vice Chair of Chicon 7.