Grave Predictions

While I found this an interesting book to read, I can't say I enjoyed it. It did give me a lot to think about. This is a compilation of short stories about the end of the world as we know it. There are a couple that were written in the late 1800's, one written in 1872 about global warming that is prescient. W.E.B DuBois' story of the last white woman and black man left in the world breaks my heart. Several other stories are written by acknowledged masters of sci fi and fantasy literature. There is not one ray of hope in this stories, but they are all remarkable stories.

Michael Swanick's Not so much, said the Cat

I truly enjoy this man's work. His brain provides points of view from so many odd angles. This is a compilation of his short stories, of which I think he handles masterfully. These stories have been previously published in other venues of Science Fiction, like Tor, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Asimov's Science Fiction to name a few. I particularly liked An Empty House with Many Doors that speaks of heartbreak and parallel dimensions. And Of Finest Scarlet was her Gown where a daughter travels to Hell to bargain with the Devil for her father's soul. And the Man in Grey is incredibly interesting to think about, in a way illustrating Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage. And men and women merely players" the poem from As You Like It. Good fun. Interesting reading. Don't miss it.

Brunonia Berry's Fifth Petal - a perfect Halloween Read

Barry certainly has a way with telling a story. Here we have modern Salem, touting witchery and the Witch Trials to build tourism. And it's Halloween, perfect for an other worldly murder mystery....maybe. There's the crazy old homeless lady who rails of banshees coming for the dead. And there's the little girl, now grown, the only surviving victim of a gruesome murder when she was only 5. There are hints of the mystic throughout the story, but what else would one expect of such a place setting. Barry's storytelling voice draws one in and wraps one in a blanket of suspended belief. 

If you are a fan of Sarah Addison Allen, you're going to like Barry's taletelling.