Thursday, June 07, 2007

Light at the Edge of Darkness edited by Cynthia MacKinnon

"When forced to the edge of darkness, there’s only one way back: embrace the Light."-from the editor's introduction.

I thought editor Cynthia MacKinnon's quote from the introduction did a good job of summarizing this collection. She(and the Lost Genre Guild) did a great job with this anthology. I enjoy the variety of stories. It is rare to find an anthology containing horror, fantasy, far future fiction, alien worlds and more.

Undeniable by A. P. Fuchs is not for the squeamish. Duncan James and his son are captured and tortured for their faith. The author wanted to explore how much he would be willing to endure for his faith. He does a great job conveying this to the reader. Any parent will get chills reading about Duncan's trials.

Credo features the origin of Stephen L. Rice's character-Martin. He is one of the Heralds(divinely appointed lawmen who deal with demonic attacks). Fans of westerns will be looking for more adventures after reading this story.

With the popularity of Dr. Who, it is the perfect time for Joseph Ficor's The Timeship of Semak. This touching tale of a young boy running away from his foster home and his meeting with 'Ol Bill was a favorite of mine. The writing reminds me of the work of the great science fiction writer Clifford Simak. Look up Simak's Way Station and I think you will see what I mean. I wonder if the name Semak is a tribute to Clifford? I will definitely be looking for more stories by this author.

Fans of speculative fiction will be excited by Light at the Edge of Darkness. Visit the publisher's(The Writer's Cafe) and check out their other publications.

Please visit the following sites for more information/reviews...

Wayfarer's Journal
Unseen Worlds
Just a Minute
Dorsey Publications
Virtual Book Tour de 'Net
Fiction Fanatics Only
The Bedford Review
Never Ceese
Timothy Hicks - Fantasy Thyme
Christian Fiction Review Blog
Grace Bridges
Casual Cogitation
Write and Whine
S.P. Hibbs' Journal & Musings
Lost Genre Guild Blog

5 comments:

A.P. Fuchs said...

This is a terrific anthology. I was/am thrilled to be a part of it.

Frank Creed said...

Fuchs tore my heart out, Rice kept it pumping, and Ficor laid it back in my chest cavity. I hope to see more from these guys. Scads-o-thanks for your review. *tip hat*

Faith,
f

SteveDoyle said...

Thank you for posting your review and for being part of the blog tour.

cyn said...

Jim,

Thank you for posting your review! Now any- and everyone can read it. I really like how you selected a couple of stories to highlightand give the reader a better idea of what the book contains.

--cyn

cyn said...

Jim,

Thank you for reposting your review; we all appreciate it!

--cyn