MANNA FROM HEAVEN - Roger Zelazny

DNA Publications/Wildside Press
Virginia - (c)2003 - 255pp
ISBN: 1-59224-199-9

A collection of short stories.

Introduction - Steven Brust
"Godson"
"Mana from Heaven"
"Corrida"
"Prince of the Powers of this World"
"The Furies"
"The Deadliest Game"
"Kalifriki of the Thread"
"Come Back to the Killing Ground, Alice, My Love"
"Lady of Steel"
"Come to Me Not in Winter's White" - with Harlan Ellison
"The New Pleasure"
"The House of the Hanged Man"
"Epithalamium"
"The Last Inn on the Road" - with Danny Plachta
"Stowaway"
"Angel, Dark Angel"

• Six from Amber

"Prologue From The Trumps of Doom"
"Blue Horse, Dancing Mountains"
"The Salesman's Tale"
"Coming to a Cord"
"Hall of Mirrors"
"The Shroudling and the Guisel"

Previously uncollected stories by a true master of the genre. Some of these stories actually took my breath away, I was so drawn in by the writing. "The Furies" in particular was a real gem. Unless someone discovers a chest full of unfinished/unsubmitted fiction, this is likely the last collection that will see print by this remarkable talent. highly recommended if you can find it.

CANDYFREAK: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE CHOCOLATE UNDERBELLY OF AMERICA - Steve Almond

Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America -- Steve Almond
A Harvest Book -- Harcourt, Inc.
Orlando, FL (c)2004 256pp
ISBN: 0-15-603293-7

Author Steve Almond travels the country, visiting a number of the small candy makers. Part biography, part history, part economics, part self help.

A wonderfully, funny book. The information is interesting and the telling of it delicious. A highly recommended book. There should be something here to interest nearly any reader.

THE ZENITH ANGLE - Bruce Sterling

The Zenith Angle -- Bruce Sterling
A Del Rey Book, New York
(c)2004, 306 pp
ISBN: 0-345-46061-8

After the 9/11 disaster and the declaration of war on terrorism, internet and dot-com companies face a new reality -- that a major portion of the war on terrorism is actual a "cyber" war on terrorism. One of the leading researchers and developers of the internet and internet security becomes enlisted in the United States' cyber war. His work to fix a faulty spy satellite leads him to some unexpected foes and an honest-to-god death ray machine.

Bruce Sterling is one of the few writers whose work I will buy, new, in hardcover when I see it on the shelves. I generally find his work fresh and interesting, and it is always intelligent and accessible. Sterling's name is usually mentioned in conjunction with William Gibson as the leading authors of the "cyber punk" genre. I prefer Sterling's style over Gibson's.

Sadly, I think this is one of Sterling's weakest books to date. The technology described was sound, as expected with a Sterling novel, but trying to follow the main character's leaps of logic were difficult, and the relationships between the characters (which took up a major portion of the story) were muddy.

If I had read only the last 50 pages I would not have missed out on much of the back story, would have caught all the action/excitement contained in the book, and wouldn't have been any more or less confused as to who the peope were and what their associations with each other might be.

If you've never read a Bruce Sterling book, don't let this be your first, or it'll likely be your last as well.

BEST GHOST STORIES OF ALGERNON BLACKWOOD - E.F. Bleiler, editor

"The Willows"

I picked up this book because I had read, more than once, that "The Willows" is considered by many to be the best ghost story ever written. I'm not sure that I would agree. A well-written tale that had me feeling a little "edgy" at times, it didn't really sustain itself for me. I realize that many might confuse the "ghost" story with a "horror" story, and they are not necessarily the same (though they can be), but a ghostly presence ought to run a shivver up my spine, and this didn't, though perhaps it came close.

SKELLIG - David Almond

Skellig -- David Almond
Delacorte Press, New York
(c) 1998, 182 pp
ISBN: 0-385-32653-X
A middle grade novel

A young boy's family moves to a new, old, house. The boy's infant sister is very sick and will undergo heart surgery. In the decrepit shed/garage on the new property, the boy discovers an old man, apparently a vagrant eating bugs and wasting away. When the boy tries to help the man, he discovers a pair of very frail wings folded on the man's back.

This was a wonderful, lyrical story...the kind that shows that writing for children can be very strong and powerful. There is some wonderful subtext going on, and an incredible sense of magic/fantasy, which is never treated as anything too far-fetched to be real for the children in the story. Is Skellig a man? An owl? An angel? He is never explained outright, leaving the reader to make certain decisions about him.

The character of Michael, the narrator of the story, is a wonderful change of pace. He is not the nerdy, bookish, often-picked-on child that we so often find as heroes in these sorts of books. Rather, he is the average student but star of the football (soccer) field during recess. His chums bemoan his absence and then his lack of skill on the field when he misses school. Michael's change of demeanor is attributed to the family concerns over the baby girl, and certainly this plays a major role in Michael's behavior.

Another compellng character is Mina, Michael's new, home-schooled, free-spirited friend whom he trusts with the secret of Skellig. Mina lives by the motto of William Blake's quote: "How can a bird that is born for joy / Sit in a cage and sing?"

Really a remarkable story for it's targeted age group. Should only take the adult reader a day or so of casual reading and the experience will be worth the trip.