The Road of Things to Come by Benson Phillip Lott

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The Road of Things to Come by Benson Phillip Lott
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Short Story (38 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When Sheriff Keylee discovers escaped mental patient Simon Fielding wandering down the desolate road of Shepherd’s Pass in a sleepwalking trance, he takes him into custody with the intent of returning him to Jessup County Hospital with few questions asked.

The sheriff’s dispatcher Debbie is a bit more curious. She has looked into the matter of Mr. Fielding’s escapes and come across some unsettling information regarding Jessup County Hospital and a former psychologist who was believed to be involved in a patient’s escape attempt from the hospital twenty years earlier.

Dr. Douglas Grover, a clinical psychiatrist on the ward, is a particularly strong advocate for Simon’s discharge. He meets with him for sessions on a weekly basis where they continually discuss the haunting dreams that Simon has convinced himself are glimpses of the future. These visions involve an illuminate figure that appears on a brightly lit path and produces a series of images, the most disturbing of which involves a terrible car accident on Shepherd’s Pass, which Simon believes is the revelation of his death.

Dr. Grover is suspicious of the images and wants to know more. He reveals to Simon his own personal investigation into the history of Shepherd’s Pass and even admits to having remarkably lucid dreams where he too is confronted with his own demise. He further confesses to have encountered a bizarre book, detailing several accounts of complex dreams similar to the ones that both of them are experiencing. The common denominator is, of course, the road: Shepherd’s Pass.

As the doctor and patient continue to exchange theories, a decision is made to return to the Pass for further investigation. What happens next will forever alter the men’s lives.

How do you know you’re not dreaming right now?

I started The Road of Things to Come confident that I knew what was going on and more or less what was happening to each one of the characters. I was wrong. No sooner would I formulate a new hypothesis based on the latest twist than I’d realize that I still hadn’t figured anything out. It isn’t always easy to blend the scifi and mystery genres but Mr. Lott combined the best elements of both effortlessly in his latest work.

It’s difficult to talk about Sheriff Keylee, Simon Fielding, Dr. Grover and everyone else without giving away spoilers but sufficed to say these guys kept me on my toes. First impressions here are about as likely to be correct as they are in real life. Some folks are exactly whom they appear to be. Others may surprise you.

The concept of this book is intriguing. It reminds me of a vivid dream that follows you into the waking world. In the moment everything in it appears to make sense and you’re eager to find out what the unusual imagery or unexpected plot twists actually meant. Unfortunately certain loose ends never quite come together again and I walked away confused about which scenes were real and what actually happened in a few of them. By no means do I expect a tale like this to answer every question for us but it would have been helpful for this reader to have a little more guidance on which narrators can be relied upon to tell the truth.

To be honest this isn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever read and I wouldn’t recommend it for people who prefer more easily digestible fodder. Follow the plot to the end, though, and you’ll find a story that cannot be forgotten. Ultimately this is where The Road of Things to Come shines. There’s something to be said for fiction that pops back into your mind days or weeks later and even with the questions that have yet to be answered about these characters I’m so glad I met them.

The Boy Who Called God “She” by Nancy Springer

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The Boy Who Called God “She” by Nancy Springer
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (10 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Derek relishes being the bully of his Catholic school, and when Julian arrives with his purple hair, he seems like an easy target. When Julian starts asserting that God might actually be a woman, Derek is immediately enraged and becomes determined to get Julian to recant his thought, no matter the price. It soon becomes apparent that perhaps Julian has some strength Derek isn’t quite prepared for, and that the boy with the purple hair knows something more than he’s telling.

Does God change? How can you know what he or she really thinks about humanity?

I’d never thought about viewing society through the eyes of a bully before. Derek is definitely not an easy guy to like. He seems to know exactly how to sniff out the weaknesses in others and manipulate them to to best suit his agenda. In Derek’s mind there is no space for vulnerability, creativity or admitting that you’re wrong in any circumstances. The world is a dualistic beast and the only way one survives is by staying one step ahead of everyone else. It must be terrible to be confronted with someone, then, who defies all of the rules you thought applied to everyone.

This is where the story grows even more interesting. A freethinker and budding intellectual, Julian disrupts all of Derek’s assumptions about how life should work. It is through the clash of their ideas that I ended up finding sympathy for Derek. Bullies gather strength through fear, silence and intimidation. It is only when this illusion of agreement is broken that everyone sees their true faces.

Derek’s eventual reaction to his interactions with Julian seemed disingenuous. In my experience most people retain the same personality, character strengths and flaws throughout their lives. Barring serious emotional trauma the core of who someone is and how he or she interacts with the world at fifteen is almost always the same twenty, forty or sixty years later. As much as I wanted to believe the ending I kept waiting for Derek’s true self to emerge once again.

The Boy Who Called God “She” contains more questions than answers. If you like asking questions and following each inquiry as far as it will go this is a good book to spark your imagination.

Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates by Pat Murphy

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Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates by Pat Murphy
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (9 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewer: Astilbe

The bombs have fallen, and the world as we know it has ended. In her final days, one robotics engineer works to ensure that life will go on, constructing the creatures that will inherit the earth. New times are coming. The future echoes with the rattle of metal claws.

When death stares at you from a dark corner of the room it’s only a matter of time before you must follow him. In the meantime would you prefer to seek out the companionship of loved ones or finish an extraordinary task?

One of the scariest things I can imagine is knowing when and how you will die and being powerless to prevent it. The individuals I’ve known who have received this knowledge reacted to it in a variety of ways. Some were so ill that they accepted it quietly and others raged until the end. The protagonist knows she’s absorbed too much radiation to survive longer than a few days. While she’s still alive she decides to use the skills she’s gained working as a scientist to create something marvelous.

What I found most interesting about her narrative is that clues are planted from the beginning that point to two different interpretations of what actually happens. I found myself drawn to the more pessimistic explanation of the two but I can also see how the happier theory could be the one the author prefers. In the end it’s up to the reader to decide which one he or she wants to believe in and for this story that tactic works well.

The narrator is described as someone who has spent her entire adult life preventing other people from getting too close to her. A few well-placed flashbacks provide concrete examples of this behaviour and explain why she’s all alone in her lab after everyone else has fled. Her talent for shutting others out made it difficult for me to sympathize with her, though, because she came across as a cold, unfeeling individual. We never even learn her name. Due to this I had trouble becoming emotionally invested in her and her mission.

Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates is a solid tale that kept me up past bedtime wondering how I’d react to the end of my species. I’d recommend it to anyone who has ever grown wistful in the presence of fossils or wished they could know what will happen to the earth after mankind’s reign is finished.

Kean’s Edge by Darby Krenshaw

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Kean’s Edge by Darby Krenshaw
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure
Length: Short Story (19 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Petty thieves Kean and Ozzy are recruited by an eccentric collector to smuggle outlawed treeware. When the pickup goes wrong, they are hunted through the streets of Morocco. Running for their lives, they discover what lengths each will go to to save the other.

When physical books are outlawed only outlaws will own them.

As children, Ozzy and Kean forged a bond so deep that as young adults they almost seem to share the same mind. When I started reading I honestly didn’t know if I’d like these characters because our moral codes are so dissimilar. They’re career criminals who will break almost any law if it benefits them or someone they love and I’ve never even had a traffic ticket. No sooner does the plot pick up speed, though, than the reader learns about a dark secret that one of them has hidden from the other. The exploration and aftermath of this secret humanizes a terrible decision and drew me even further into their world.

I would have liked to see a more detailed explanation for why the Central Information Council transitioned from preserving paper books to banning them. What could make a benevolent organization evolve totalitarian tendencies so rapidly? For what purpose was this change introduced? As much as I enjoyed learning what happened to Kean and Ozzy not having these questions answered was disappointing. There were also some paragraphs in the story that were a little hard to understand due to multiple punctuation errors.

The end of this tale was fairly predictable for the genre but it did leave ample room for a sequel. We say goodbye to Ozzy and Kean while they transition from finding answers to questions that have plagued them for a long time to encountering brand new challenges. While I don’t know if the author intends to revisit these characters I’m curious to know what happens to them next.

Despite these issues Kean’s Edge introduced me to a world I won’t soon forget. Imagine a society that so fears the written word it is attempting to stamp it out. Is it better to try to move elsewhere or fight for lasting change from within? Are these your only options? Why not read this book and find out!

In Search of Gwen Guattari by Hamilton Waymire

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In Search of Gwen Guattari by Hamilton Waymire
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (10 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When porn starlet Gwen Guattari fails to show up for the shooting of The Gwen Commandments, her shady husband and manager hires private eye Benson Keirstad to find her. Keirstad soon learns that none of the people around Gwen, from producer to husband to secretary, are quite what they seem.

It’s easy to assume the worst when someone you love goes missing. The definition of the term worst, though, depends on who you ask. Have they been kidnapped? Did they run off with someone? Was anyone else involved in their disappearance?

Benson Keirstand is a difficult guy to like. From the moment he meets Gwen’s husband Horace and the other porn stars at 1000 Volt he judges their body art, occupations and trustworthiness in the blink of an eye. To make matters worse, he lets his assumptions about their lives cloud how he interacts with them. Yet despite this I found myself rooting for Benson as he conducts his investigation. It’s not easy to confront prejudices you may not even be fully aware you possess. I’ve certainly been embarrassed by things I’ve said and done without thinking in the past, especially when I don’t realize until much later how they may have come across.

The premise of this story snagged my attention immediately. At first I assumed Benson’s prejudices were going to be challenged as he inched closer to the truth. It was disappointing to see how stereotypically the porn star characters in particular were portrayed. This tale could have easily earned a higher rating had Benson met even one porn star at 1000 Volt whose well-adjusted life pleasantly surprised him. The plot was quite engaging but I just couldn’t get past the fact that an otherwise great mystery was so predictable in its characterization.

In Search of Gwen Guattari kept me on my toes. It’s a good choice for anyone who has ever wished they could sit down and talk with a character in their favorite book. Benson’s biggest flaw turns out to also be what made this reader eventually sympathize with him. He’s definitely not a perfect person. Then again, neither am I or you!

The Humpty Dumpty Tragedy by Herschel Cozine

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The Humpty Dumpty Tragedy by Herschel Cozine

Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (8 pages)
Rating: Best Book
Reviewed by Astilbe

Now, for the first time, the true story behind Humpty Dumpty’s fall. Was it an accident? Did the Nurseryland government try to cover it up? Nathaniel P. Osgood III, working as his own client, delves into the old tragedy and makes a startling discovery.

Once upon a time an egg sat on a wall. When the king’s men found his body poor Humpty Dumpty was too broken to be fixed. Did he fall? Was he pushed? What was an egg doing perched on a wall in the first place? Come peer behind the headlines and discover what really happened that fateful day.

Nathaniel P. Osgoode III has seen everything. As a private investigator his passion in life is digging until he discovers the truth. In a few strokes of the pen a portrait emerges of a highly intelligent, thoughtful, trustworthy and empathetic man emerges. I can easily see how the author could bring him back for future adventures. There’s so much we haven’t learned yet about Nathaniel’s life and I for one sincerely hope that this isn’t the last we hear from him.

The setting of this story was almost more intriguing than the plot itself. Imagine a society populated entirely by characters from nursery rhymes and children’s books! Whispers of personality conflicts between the most unlikely individuals and the politics of governing mystical and human subjects whetted my appetite for more information about this world.

What surprised me the most about this tale, though, was how effortlessly so much humor was packed into a handful of pages. From slightly dark wisecracks – scrambled eggs, anyone? – to clever wordplay I giggled from beginning to end.

Whether you’re a fan of mysteries, fantasy worlds or nursery rhyme humor The Humpty Dumpty Tragedy has something to pique the interest of almost any reader.

Mrs. Jingles by Vickie Britton & Loretta Jackson

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Mrs. Jingles by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (13 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Cassie humors her fragile sister, Mia, who is recovering from a nervous breakdown, by purchasing two Harlequin dolls at a local antique store. The two dolls, one light-haired and the other dark, are a matching pair—like sisters!

Sibling rivalries from childhood begin to surface, as well as jealousy over Jason, who has married Mia, but was once Cassie’s boyfriend. Cassie soon fears for her life when she receives a disturbing phone call in the eerie voice of Mrs. Jingles, her sister’s doll. Is the toy bent on revenge for a sister scorned, or is Cassie about to encounter something even more sinister in the form of someone she’s loved for years?

The best part about visiting antique shops is that no one ever really knows what they’ll find there. A one-of-a-kind treasure could be just around the corner. Of course not all surprises are good as the woman who spies two dolls sitting on a shelf is about to discover.

The relationship between Cassie and Mia was so well thought out. Like many adult siblings their bond has been strengthened over a lifetime of memories. Yet as much as they love one another sometimes old childhood rivalries cannot help but to creep into the present.

At first I was impatient to know the history of the dolls Mia purchased. Who knows how many other homes they’ve lived in or what they’ve witnessed? By the time I reached the climax, though, I was glad that this information wasn’t revealed. It leaves room for me to imagine my own prequels or sequels without bogging down the real plot.

Unfortunately this story’s portrayal of someone living with a mental illness left something to be desired. Mia’s exact diagnosis is never revealed but she is painted as an extremely emotionally fragile person who must be protected from the truth at any cost. As someone who has lived with mentally ill relatives I wish Mia could have been written in a less stereotypical manner. The reader learns a lot about her social and emotional dysfunctions but not very much about Mia the individual and I think the ending suffers because of it. Empathizing with someone who has only been described in some fairly negative ways isn’t easy after all.

After reading Mrs. Jingles I’ll never look at antique toys the same way. Why not give this book a try and see if it changes your opinion, too?

Silent End by Nancy Springer

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Silent End by Nancy Springer
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Short Story (11 pgs)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Stephanotis

When Judith discovers a dead body in the kiln of her pottery store, she’s convinced it’s the work of her ex-husband in an attempt to cause her trouble. After discussing the incident with members of her Scrabble Club, Judith soon learns that her ex may be off the hook, and that sticks and stones may break bones, but words can definitely get you killed.

This is the second mystery I’ve read by Nancy Springer and like the first one, Silent End kept me entertained from start to finish.

This is a short read but the author did a great job throwing us into the action with the discovery of a body in a kiln. The dialogue is snappy, Judith, the main character, is part quirky, part resourceful business woman, and best of all, amateur sleuth.

I loved the way the story unfolded and how the clues were set out but yet still kept me guessing. If you enjoy mysteries but don’t have time for a full-length novel, Silent End is perfect for you.

A Cartographic Analysis of the Dream State by Pat Murphy

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A Cartographic Analysis of the Dream State by Pat Murphy
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery, Action/Adventure
Length: Short Story (17 pages)
Rating: Best Book
Reviewed by Astilbe

Traveling across the Martian polar cap, the second TransPolar Expedition is tracing the shape of the hidden lands beneath the ice and snow. Sita, the expedition’s cartographer, has a talent for interpreting the shades and squiggles that the computer produces from satellite photos and sonic recordings. She takes ambiguous data and makes a clear and precise map of lands no one has ever seen.

But Sita knows that maps are black-and-white portraits of a world that exists in shades of gray and, like cartographers before her, she knows that dragons lurk beyond the edges of every map. At night, in the darkness of her dreams, she believes in the yeti, the messengers from the secret lands, the dark-eyed dream beasts that haunt the crevasses and move as softly as the blowing snow.

The world is not all that it seems on the surface. Beneath the polar ice lies danger and discovery.

Sita knew the Martian TransPolar Expedition would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It isn’t every day one has the opportunity to explore places that no human being has ever visited before. What she couldn’t predict, though, was how dangerous it would become or how quickly she’d be pushed to her limits.

This is science fiction at its best. Peel away the technology, otherworldly setting and burgeoning mystery and the reader is left with a close-knit band of resourceful humans charting an unforgiving land. In order to achieve their goals and keep the group safe they’ll muster strength they never knew dwelt within them.

I was pleasantly surprised to see an all-female crew on this expedition. Hard science fiction in particular tends to be dominated by men. It was even nicer to quickly realize that the gender identities of these characters have nothing to do with their story arcs. Sita, Nan, Yukiko and Maria were simply the finest professionals in their respective fields available at the time.

One subplots wasn’t resolved in the manner I had assumed it would be when I first started reading. Ultimately it didn’t detract from the ending but if the author ever revisits these characters I would be interested in a sequel that revisits the difference between how the protagonist experiences these events and what actually took place.

A Cartographic Analysis of the Dream State kept me guessing until the final sentence. This is the perfect book for anyone who has ever looked up at the night sky and wondered what adventures await the next person to fly up there.

Becoming the Butlers by Penny Jackson

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Becoming the Butlers by Penny Jackson
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (142 pages)
Age Recommendation: 12+
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Quince

When Rachel Harris’s mother runs off to Spain with the super of their New York City apartment building, Rachel’s life takes a bizarre turn. Her eccentric father becomes obsessed with George Vasquez, the man who stole his wife: He wears George’s clothes, he shaves with his razor, and, to top it off, he moves George’s family into their apartment. The poignant and often funny journey Rachel and her father take to Madrid to hunt down her mother further cements her desire to shake her more than unusual family situation and find a new identity.

And who has a more perfect life than Olivio and Edwin Butler? So gorgeous and popular, they don’t really have friends, just hangers-on. And though Rachel doesn’t remember ever having spoken a word to them, her resolve becomes clear. She must find a way into the Butlers’ home and into their family.

In this marvelously compassionate first novel, Penny Jackson deftly depicts a young girl’s search for family – and her discovery that family is a state of mind.

Can a destroyed family be replaced with a new, perfect one? If wrecked car can, then a family surely can as well. Following this idea, author Penny Jackson showed that the other people also have their problems. And that even if they seem perfect, their life may not be.

I really like to read straight contemporary YA novels in which the author is dealing with the serious issues (e.g. dysfunctional families, bullying, being different, etc.). I also like the books that have strong and intelligent heroine. Becoming the Butlers had all of the above mentioned. The main character is fourteen-year-old Rachel Harris with whom I empathize through the story. Her parents were always a little bit eccentric and not very happy with their lives. Because of the wrong decisions they made in the past Rachel suddenly found herself in the situation where she was the one who was acting mature, while her parents continued to act like selfish and spoiled little kids. I really liked her proactive approach in trying to resolve the problems and the conclusions that she reached in the end.

Unfortunately Becoming the Butlers, also has a few problems. The author raised a lot of issues, but some of them were not resolved while, on the other hand those resolved ones were resolved too easily. In both cases what was missing is the process, which left the story with a few loose ends and made the happy end a bit unrealistic.

Regardless of these shortcomings, the author succeeded to follow the main idea of the book. The characters grew and changed, and in the end they became better versions of themselves. Although the issues raised here were difficult ones (alcoholism, dysfunctional family, child negligence) this is not a dark book and the story flows nicely. All in all, Becoming the Butlers was a satisfying read that I would recommend to all of you who like straight contemporary YA books.

Final Note: the first edition of this book was published in 1990, this is not a revised version, and because of that contain some scenes that some readers may find unbelievable, like for example, smoking on the plane.