Little Sips, by Barbara J. Ferrenz

Short Review:

One of those unusual stories which manages to mix fantasy, horror, and humor.  Like a carefully made cake, each ingredient must go into the mix at the right time and be the right portion.  Barbara has baked this story into a tasty morsel.

Long Review:

The story begins with a charcter thread which is not picked up again until the end, and feels seperate from the middle.  The story would have been stronger had the thread been touched on throughout, or had the writer taken a little more time to re-orient the reader when tying this tangent thread back into the whole.  The writer also occasionally kept information from the reader which was known to the pov character.  This doesn’t bother me excessively, but I know some readers really feel cheated when a writer does this.  So the story had some crafting flaws, and was not as smooth as some of the stories preceding it, but was still a fun little tale.  It also served an interesting mix of a cautionary tale, warning against over-industrialism, and the resourcefulness of science.  Quite an ecclectic blend delivered in a small package.

 

Great Minds, by Edward M. Lerner

Short Reveiw:

Short and to the point, this tale was just the right size to deal with the concept and still pack punch.  The kind of story that’s fun to think on and discuss with friends.

Long Reveiw:

Have you ever wondered what the other you would do, if their were many dimensions to our world?  This is the question posed by Great Minds, but the writer goes one step further and examines who has the most to lose and who the most to gain from a multi-dimensional breakthrough.  Add a twist of ironic humor and you have a tale which, while not always smooth, is always thought provoking.  I’m sure this story will keep my mind turning over possibilities, and maybe prompt a second look at the person in the mirror.