Gnome Improvement, by Rebecca Lickiss.

Short Review:

This delightful story will have you checking your garden dragon for a slight change in position and going in search of a lawn gnome to purchase.  Winsome and humorous by turns, this story feels like a modern fairy tale or fable in disguise.

Long Reveiw:

While there is very little of actual substance to Gnome Improvements, the story crafting is so fresh and the characters so life-like that you can no more stop yourself in the middle than you can resist smiling back at a baby.  Some questions, as to the nature of the Gnome Spa, and how their care enlivened the gnomes, were left unanswered in the end.  I would have enjoyed reading some hints as to the answers, but the story worked as it was.  This is the kind of story a whole family can enjoy.

 

A Hire Power, by J. Simon

Short Review:

In an office with demonic possession wards, carnivorous paperweights and dangerous mail, Monday morning can be extraoridinarily intimidating.

Long Review:

To be frank, this story was a bit of a let down after the line-up which preceded it.  The individual concepts were entertaining enough, and I can sympathize with the Monday morning drag, but the story felt like it had more bark than bite.  However, it was short, the aggressive resumes brought a chuckle, and the concept of a duct wizard will give me brain fuel on a long drive sometime in the near future.  And who knows, if I’d read this on Monday, I might have been laughing out loud.