Dreams vs. Memories

Desire will drive a man to do many things and make many mistakes. When magic and witch's brew are involved, however, those mistakes can have unimaginable consequences.

Dreams by Erik Lynd opens with a rather intriguing flashback, setting the main character, Gary, apart from the typical patron of psychics. He belongs to a coven and believes remembering his dreams will help him advance in his lessons. Unfortunately, Gary is obsessed with the coven's leader, Sheila. The means to the end become the end...of Gary.

I feel sorry for Gary in a way. I know what it's like to dream so vividly, for so long, and waking up with extra memories. I think anyone who is into lucid dreaming will really enjoy this short story. Gary's misfortune would make a great full-length novel.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Things That Make You Scream

When Benjamin is told he can't watch a movie he really wants to see because it's on past his bedtime, he's determined to disobey his mother and watch it anyway, knowing full well he's going to get into trouble if he gets caught. He will soon learn that there are things more fearsome in the house than his mother's wrath.

Benjamin by Michael J. Evans is something I read once before, but I can't for the life of me remember when or where. The ending still surprised me. For a moment, I was expecting something to come out from under the bed...maybe a battle between monsters. I would've been okay with Benjamin sacrificing his older brothers too.

The stories with children at the center always scare the crap out of me, and Evans knows just how to drag out the nightmare.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Prequel to Sodenia

They came in a blink of an eye and without warning, and intentions unknown. But when aliens made landfall, they began destroying everything in their path.

Fain was excited to see his dad who had been away from home for a long time. But instead of spending quality family time, they found themselves fleeing, running for their lives.

Hundreds of thousands tried to escape the alien wrath, but most did not survive.

Space Bound: Zero Hour by Luigi Robles is a prequel to a series about life after an alien invasion. The next installment is the novel, Sodenia. Fain, is a returning character. While the prequel held my interest from beginning to end, showing the invasion through multiple POVs of children, the reading level is definitely geared towards middle-schoolers. I'm not sure if this is intentional or not.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Phronk Is A New Fave

Brandon notices them at his grandpa’s funeral first: a pair of men in sunglasses who nobody seems to know. They’re not family, they're not friends, they’re just … there. No big deal, until they show up again at the next funeral. Drawn into a world of funeral selfies and burial crashers, Brandon needs to know what these strangers want from the dead.

Strangers at a Funeral by P.T. Phronk is a brilliant story! I love the author's writing style...I felt as though I was accompanying Brandon throughout his investigation into the strange funeral crashers. I wish Phronk would write a full-length novel about Brandon and his family, as well as the Strangers. At the very least, I'd love to see this story turned into a movie.

If you're a fan of movies like Silver Bullet or Phantasm, I strongly recommend this story to you.

As always,
AstraDaemon

The Blood Trilogy Continues

"SCARS", the second novella on the BLOOD Trilogy, takes off two years after the events of "BLOOD". Caius Nilsson is back to being a rock star, the search for his father forgotten now he is reunited with his twin brother. But a darkness lurks inside him, and threatens his life. Now the brothers must take up the search for Titus McFee again, to understand the disease taking over Cai and a find a way to save him. But how far is Marcus willing to go only to assure his brother is safe?

Scars by Ruth Miranda (read April 2018 interview here) takes a slightly different route from the first book in the trilogy. While both the first and second stories center on the family drama surrounding the twin brothers, Marcus and Caius, the storyline moves on from physical abuse and traumatic loss to issues such as self-cutting, depression and addiction.

The author once again addresses real-life issues using preternatural characters, giving both the supernatural and psychological aspects of the story far more depth than what would be possible with just one or the other. By mixing in the brothers' search for their negligent father, Miranda also incorporates the suspense of a mystery-thriller as well.

Unfortunately, I take issue with the writing style this time around. The inner-thoughts dialogue of Marcus and Caius, set apart by italics, are too long, often unnecessary and mostly disruptive to the overall flow. I also disliked the lack of growth displayed by the brothers. The second story jumps ahead two years, but there is not much in their interactions to suggest they've spent such a long period of time getting to know one another, aside from Marcus' concern for Caius' health.

I am still looking forward to the third book in the Blood trilogy. Miranda has a true talent for taking headlines, such as the battles with addiction and tragic overdose deaths of those in the music industry, and turning inner demons into supernatural creatures struggling with the same afflictions.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Sci-Fi Sunday Shorts

Three classic fairy tales with a sci-fi twist.

A Little Stroll through the Woods:

Little Red Riding Hood ventures in the woods in her house vicinity, headed to her granny. When she meets the wolf, something peculiar happens. Why he's saying he met the girl before?

Little Thumb:

Little Thumb is the younger member of a large family. When he realizes they have not enough food for everyone, he decides he will get rid of his parents.While doing that, he meets an Ogre that will completely change his plans.

Cat in a Box

Chi Bi has a package delivered at his door. When he opens it, a cat robot comes out of it. He says he comes from the future and Chi, himself, is his creator. Is that true? What does this peculiar creature want?

Tales of an Untold Past by Mark Russo is not simply a collection of classic stories retold with a science fiction theme:

A LITTLE STROLL THROUGH THE WOODS has a definite Twilight Zone twist to it and left me wanting a companion story told from the wolf's POV.

LITTLE THUMB has a post-apocalypse setting with a steampunk twist.

Last but not least, CAT IN A BOX includes time-travel.

The first story is the best one and I think the author should consider scrapping the other two and lengthening A Little Stroll into a novella. The wolf deserves more attention.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Get Serious, Please

Short fiction story about Katelyn, a college student, who is kidnapped by a serial killer from a bar in Portland, Oregon.

Katelyn Caged by Liz Livingston is a flash fiction mess...pieces thrown haphazardly together. The dialogue is basic, the characters flat and the POV switches are quite sloppy. Don't even get me started on the ridiculous time jump.

If Livingston wants to be taken seriously as a writer, she needs to get an editor to help transform this into something resembling an actual story.

As always,
AstraDaemon