Thursday, October 05, 2006

Short Takes-"The Watchman" by Stoney M. Setzer


The first short story I chose to review is "The Watchman" by Stoney M. Setzer. It appeared in Dragons, Knights, and Angels(August edition, Issue 35).


From the summary page...


Glenn Sanders is a small-town newspaper editor who longs for the "big story." He gets his wish when his town is besieged by swarms of biting gnats, but it turns out to be more than he bargained for when he learns the reason for the plague.


Stoney does an excellent job of writing about life in a small Southern town. I would be surprised if he did not live in a small town. Sometimes it is hard to establish the atmosphere in a short story. Stoney makes it look easy.


Another thing I liked about "The Watchman" was the way that the Bible was refered to in the story. It was not stuck in to make it a Christian tale. Stoney made the Bible references an important and necessary part of the story.


The way this story is set up, he could easily do a series of "Watchman" stories. I would like to see the situations the different Watchmen encounter.


I will definitely keep watch for more stories by this talented author.

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