By Sandy Amazeen Feb 12, 2007, 2:55 GMT
Editors Czerneda and Paniccia do a commendable job of bringing together 14 fresh, often inventive stories with a “guardian at the gate” flavor penned by the likes of Tanya Huff, Larry Niven and Douglas Smith. From Doranna Durgin comes a tales of outcasts, banded together for mutual protection and a young woman’s ultimate sacrifice, given to assure the survival of “The Scoria”. Weaving the Freemasons, the Lone Ranger, and Knights Templar to name a few, Nick Pollotta’s “Falling like Gentle Rain” is a rollicking, light-hearted showdown between a Guardian and the Big Evil that manages to recreate the world. Sworn to secrecy, Jessian better known to her coworkers as Susan undertakes a mission which will forever change her life and give her a new appreciation for a ‘backward”, aboriginal people in Janny Wurts “The Sundering Star”. Enjoy this bright collection of short stories and the tantalizing peeks into they offer into an all too frequently tired genre.
Your Talkback on this Story