Title: The Bricks of Gelecek
Author: Matthew Kressel
In: Naked City (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Music, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 15th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Year: 2011
5th sentence, 74th page: But you have.
He is an annihilator. One who destroys cities, and then doesn’t remember them. Until he meets a young girl with a gift for songs… and he realises that maybe he shouldn’t forget what he’s destroyed.
Many mythologies have a creature of destruction woven into their stories somewhere… but I’ve never read a short story in which one such creature felt regret. Of any kind. Which made this incredibly enjoyable. I love when a story takes a slightly different spin. Instead of being the antagonist, the brother of destruction was simply doing what he’d been born to do. Until he found a conscience…
The power of music is something that has always fascinated me. And filled my life with happiness. Which meant that the use of music to bring a conscience to an annihilator hit a great chord with me. After all, music is often about memories. And love. All of which are eventually realised, and the course of one beings life changed for ever.
Cities come and go. That’s a part of history, and it’s not entirely ridiculous. Yet, this story really helps to drive home that when your city disappears, eventually no one will remember it… ever. It’s a little bit sad, a little bit nostalgic. But mostly, it’s a great reality check and reminder of reality.
Earth and Skye 
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