Here is the cover for the new issue of “Tales of the Talisman” that contains my story “The Great Basilisk Race.” I also discovered that I’m sharing a table of contents with fellow Codex writer Gray Rinehart. Gray’s story, “Above the Event Horizon at the End of Time” covers similar territory as my prize-winning story, “The Cosmology.” It was pretty cool to see what somebody else could do with the concept.
David Lee Summer, who edits the magazine, is a professional astronomer. He has a soft spot for stories like Gray’s that push the edges of cosmology and of the mind.
My story, as it turns out, couldn’t be more different from Gray’s. “The Great Basilisk Race” is my first real attempt at writing a fantasy story. I’ll let the readers be the judge of how well I did. (I know at least one guy with a copy of the magazine.)
I liked “The Great Basilisk Race,” Rick, especially in that you kept away from the formulaic, everybody-comes-away-happy kind of ending that it could’ve had. Were you tempted, after having Korak turn around to help Yrbo, to finagle a way for him to win the race? If so, I’m glad you didn’t. By having him live with the consequences of his actions — in both losing the race and losing the girl — it felt much more real than many stories do.
I did originally intend for Korak to win the race, but the story had other ideas. Once he saw Yrbo’s basilisk at the bottom, he did what any good person would do.
I honestly don’t recall much about writing this, but I think the way it ended says a lot about the characters.