Lit List Short Reviews: Deus Ex by Miles Watson; Echoes in the Dark by P.L. McMillan; Healthy Fashion: The Deeper Truth by Alyssa Couture

 Lit List Short Reviews: Deus Ex by Miles Watson; Echoes in the Dark by P.L. McMillan; Healthy Fashion: The Deeper Truth by Alyssa Couture

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Deus Ex by Miles Watson

Miles Watson, the current master of short fiction, is at it again. This time, he crafted a short story that reads like  a Greek Tragedy. It is about Magnus Antonius Magnus, a dictator that has conquered the world. Now he faces the inevitable rebellion and regime change as forces conspire against him.

Normally, I am a huge fan of expanding a work. In this case, letting us know how Magnus became a leader, what happened with the previous regime that he wanted toppled, and how Magnus became paranoiac against his competitors and former allies. There is enough of a potential backstory to make a three part novel series. 

It would be great but that's not what the story is about. It's not about Magnus' rise or what he did to become a dictator. It's about his fall. It's about the leader who realizes too late that they won but lost their soul. In fact, one doesn't have to read the entire story of Magnus' life to know what happened. We just have to read the biographies of real life dictators. They all had the exact same trajectories.

Speaking of dictators, it is nice that Magnus is based on the old Roman Imperial Leaders and not anyone specifically current or more like he is a composite of all of them. It's too easy to point at a leader from another country or political party or any following and say "This is him." It's much harder to say "In similar circumstances and mindset, that could be me." Anyone with even the best of intentions could later use them for selfish and malicious purposes and counter the ideals that they once held, becoming the thing that they despise. 

Then once that happens, they can see it all come crashing down around them.

Echoes in the Dark by P.L. McMillan

P.L. McMillan's Echoes in the Dark is a short 16 page horror anthology. It's like a nightmare. It gives you short scary fragments that you remember and those are usually the most memorable parts of the dream. You remember the scariest parts.

There are only four stories. They are:

 "Family Roots"-This is about that reclusive family that everyone in a small town spreads rumors about. Weird things happen like enemies ending up missing or dead, family members who might be a little too close to each other, and a history of suspicion and magic surrounding them.

In this case the family in question are the O'Mearas. In the 60's the mayor challenged them abd was later found dead of a heart attack. In the 80's five mem corners matriarch Molly O'Meara, a few days later all five fell in a two foot deep river and drowned.

 Mallory Shaw, the narrator, goes on a date with Mitch O'Meara. When her father protests their relationship by going on a shooting rampage, Mallory has to make an important decision over whose side she is on.

This a powerful story with a twist ending that shows that sometimes those who spread rumors can be just as monstrous as those they accuse. Sometimes family isn't always who you were born into,,it can be who you feel closest to.

"Unseen Cost" This is a very brief story about Kyle, a formerly visually impaired young man going through a surgery to give him sight. Throughout his life, his best friend ,Alex has been there to encourage him and now she is there during his surgery.

This story reveals the cost that comes with regaining ones senses. Sometimes they have to face the world the way everyone else does.  They may not like the world in which they are exposed to and are forced to accept as normal.

"Affirmations" -This story shows that affirmations and positive words have power of their own as sometimes they strengthen anembolden the person on the receiving end. But sometimes those ends are not always comforting.

Mary is unhappily married to Bob, an alcoholic. The chalkboard has messages like "You can do it," "Your life matters " and "Hello witch." Bob certainly did not do it as his abuse shows. He could care less about her feelings. Mary didn't do it. The words just…appear. But they are filled with strength and courage that help her stand up to Bob's cruelty.

Things become terrifying when she takes the words to a darker conclusion. It shows when someone is backed in the corner, they will do anything to get out.

"Warm"- The last story is a flash fiction, only a paragraph long about a man investigating a woman's grave

It's uncertain what is actually going on. But the setting description gives a creepy atmosphere. You just know something terrible happened or is about to happen.

Healthy Fashion The Deeper Truth by Alyssa Couture

Alyssa Couture 's Healthy Fashion: The Deeper Truth proves that if you are what you eat, then you are also what you wear. A person's clothing style can and should reflect their commitment to physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. It is an interesting concept and shows that the paths to holistic wellness don't always begin and end with diet and exercise.

The first part of the book discusses how fashion should be beneficial to the body, mind, emotion, and spirit. Mostly she encourages wearing plant based fabrics and naturals materials such as cotton, hemp, linen and so on. Encouraging plant based manufacturing welcomes textile manufacturers from around the world and creates a greener industry that protects rather than pollutes the environment.

This type of fashion gives back to the Earth what is taken from it by encouraging biomimicking or adapting to nature. 

Mentally, universal fashion encourages diversity and understanding and erases racism, prejudice, class, and hierarchy in fashion. Couture suggests adapting and changing fashion trends to encourage more diversity and thought into clothing rather than just appealing to wealthy buyers who encourage conformity. More archetypes reflecting personality, and less stereotypes reflecting societal expectations, she writes. (For instance someone with an innocent outlook may want to wear bright cheerful colors or a Sage personality wearing thoughtful colors.)

"Fabrics are like crystals," Couture writes. Like crystals, fashion is a reflection of a person's emotions. (Of course is it emotions that reflect the clothes or the other way around is the question. When a person is depressed, do they want to wear bright yellow or red?) Since fashion can be a form of visual art with its attention to color,ntextile, and style, it stands to reason that fashion could be a form of art therapy. Some of this therapy includes wearing clothing that invokes good memories, personal connections, and comfort. 

Spiritual fashion is not religion, Couture says. Instead it is wearing clothing that exudes a positive energy. Synthetics for example could exude more negative energy because of their mass production, and their form of holding too tightly to the skin and not allowing air to come inside. The clothes that are more spiritual wear allow for breathability, and are less restrictive in movement and size. In some ways, they reflect the individual wearer and not force the wearer to conform to a specific size and body type to fit the clothes. One of the ways to be more spiritually centered is to wear galactic inspired fashion and accessories, such as celestial and prismatic prints or galactic codes that reflect sacred geometry. It helps the wearer connect to a more universal level that goes beyond Earth and into the universe or metaverse.

Understanding what fashions help the body, mind, emotion and spirit shows that clothes really do make the person. They might make them whole.

Lit List Short Reviews Imagine, A Kinder Gentler Hitler: An Utter Fantasy by Rob Santana; Druidess: Gates of Eden by Theophilus Monroe

 Lit List Short Reviews Imagine, A Kinder Gentler Hitler: An Utter Fantasy by Rob Santana; Druidess: Gates of Eden by Theophilus Monroe

Imagine, A Kinder Gentler Hitler: An Utter Fantasy by Rob Santana

Spoilers: If you have read books by Rob Santana, you should know to expect the unexpected. An Academy Awards ceremony would be interrupted by the onstage public suicide of the Best Actress winner, like in his book, The Oscar Goes To. (Her ghost is laughing at Will Smith and Chris Rock and  calling them wusses.) An abandoned baby in a dumpster would lead to conflicts involving racism, drug addiction, poverty, and child trafficking, like in Little Blue Eyes. Yes, Santana knows how to make something innocent and disturbing exist side by side.

So it probably wouldn't be too weird for Santana to write an Alternate History or even that it would feature Adolf Hitler. Alternate Histories starring Adolf Hitler are actually quite common, such as if What If The Nazis won WWII, What if Britain and/or The U.S. were led by supporters of the German dictator. Phillip Roth's The Plot Against America, and Phillip K. Dick's The Man in High Castle are good examples of such works.

 One of the more haunting versions is the short story, "Painted Bridges" by Barbara Delaplace in which Hitler remained a painter but still retained his Antisemitism, insanity, and ability to control others, but through his art not his oration. 

So Alternate Hitler is not that unusual especially for an author with a style like Santana's to write. But what this author does to give his work that distinct Santana touch is to turn his version into a picture book!

Yes, you read that right. Santana writes an Alternate History with Adolf Hitler as a nice guy in the form of a picture book. It is strange. It's questionable. It leaves a lot of things open ended. It is completely insane, but the right kind of insane. It's impossible to look away from it. It's something that shouldn't work, but somehow it does.

The illustrations are bright collage style, that border on trippiness. I mean the cover shows Hitler with wings. It looks like something out of Terry Gilliam's animated sequences from Monty Python. It's like playing into someone's fever dream which makes sense since the initial idea does exactly that.

There are some interesting possibilities that are changed because of Hitler's personality shift from brutal Antisemitic dictator and personification of evil to nice guy. For one thing, the post-WWI depression in which Hitler and the Nazi Party used to scapegoat Communists and Jews ends prematurely by the kinder gentler version of Hitler introducing television and the Autobahn early. Hitler has a nice friendly phone chat with Roosevelt which results in them becoming allies and defending each other against their eventual enemies, Russia and Japan.

 In fact the German and American leader's phone conversation is amusing in and of itself. It seems to come out of Dr. Strangelove ("Hi, Adolf, yes I'm fine. You're fine. It's great that we're both fine, Adolf.") 

Tongue is planted firmly in cheek with this alternate scenario and if you get past the weirdness, it's kind of a strange humorous short read. 

This book opens up possibilities about how different the world could be if one slight change were made. However, because this version takes the form of a picture book, it only introduced the original germ or spark of this alternate scenario. Yes, Hitler is a nice guy. His Antisemitism has vanished. The Nazi Party isn't united by his rhetoric and the Holocaust doesn't happen. That's good news, but there are others concerns that this book's short form doesn't allow Santana to bring to surface.

Antisemitism did not begin and end with Hitler. It existed centuries before he was even born. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (1919) was a deplorable book of conspiracy theories that accused the Jewish people of being a secret cabal with intentions on ruling the world. Many read it and believed it. Henry Ford reportedly kept a copy by his bedside. There's more than a possibility that if Hitler hadn't had that hatred ingrained in him and the power to speak about it, someone else may have. For example, Josef Goebbels, his Minister of Propaganda, knew how to stretch the truth to fit his agenda. 

This book also still portrays Stalin as being a dictator and he had no conscience or qualms about imprisoning or executing enemies. If Hitler hadn't orchestrated the Holocaust, would he? He was certainly responsible for a lot of deaths. Maybe millions more would be on his hands. In fact, since the Nazis also initially targeted Communists as well as Jews, wouldn't making the Russians and Germans sworn enemies but on opposite sides not have changed things very much?

Speaking of Stalin, there are post-World War II questions to ask. Would the Cold War have begun sooner? In fact, if Hitler didn't commit suicide in this timeline would he have lived to see Germany separated? How would Nice Guy Alternate Hitler have handled the Soviet Union in subsequent years? Remember, the Nazis targeted Communists as well as Jews. They would certainly have no reason to ally with them and their scientists would have no reason to flee Nazi Germany and seek asylum in the U.S. If so, how terrifying is the prospect that two European countries fairly close together both have the ability to make nuclear weapons and are sworn enemies? The United States may not have become a superpower unless Germany shared that science but Europe would have a lot deadlier possibilities. 

What about the Middle East? Would Israel still be allied with the United States? Heck, would it even exist as a nation? How would the issues within those countries have changed or been altered?

These are all ideas that the frame of a picture book can't cover by itself. Santana just presents the original idea, but perhaps he could expand upon it in a novel or a series.

This is a strange book with a completely strange concept. But it definitely is humorous and might ask some intriguing questions.

 

Druidess: Gates of Eden by Theophilus Monroe

Spoilers: I must admit while reading the first chapters of Theophilus Monroe's Druidess: Gates of Eden, I had reservations and misgivings. When the first major conflict involves a young white Irish American woman who is descended from a long line of druids against the reincarnation of an African American former slave woman who practices voodoo in what appears to be a battle of good vs. evil, I admit that my first thought was, "Uh oh." I am glad my first impressions weren't warranted and that I stuck with it. Instead, what I found is a well written character driven fantasy in which different forms of cultural magic are practiced and given equal time and respect.

Joni Campbell is awakened by Isabella, the ghost of of a former slave, who needs her to help her fight Messalina, her older sister who in life made a pact with Baron Samedi, a voodoo loa (or spirit) to help her seek vengeance against her former masters and their descendants. This is important to Joni, who is not only the descendant of one of the sisters' former masters, but her mother and father's family lines come from powerful Irish druids. 

Joni barely has time to process this before Messalina arrives packing heat uh magic and puts Joni's mother in the hospital. So Joni, Isabella, and their new friend, Roger Thundershield, a Choctaw whose family has a historical connection with the Campbells, use their diverse tremendous powers to face Messalina and Samedi.

This is a very smart short novel with two memorable lead characters. 

Joni is a refreshing protagonist in the "Magical Girl" Fantasy Subgenre. She doesn't go through the obligatory "I just want to be normal" whine. It helps that her interest in her family history and reading her ancestor's journal means that she already knows who Isabella is after she introduces herself. Not to mention she already has a belief in the supernatural as evidenced by her comfortable ease with communicating with Isabella's ghost and her acceptance of her family's magical legacy. 

Of course, there are some more dramatic shocking things that throw a curve in her feelings towards her ancestors. They shake her and force her to see another darker more sinister side within her family that she has turned a blind eye towards but now must acknowledge.

However, Joni is determined to help others, especially when people around her are getting hurt. Joni recognizes that she is the heir to an important legacy and she owns it. She even aspires to improve upon the grave wrongs that her ancestors did.

On the other side is Messalina. Thankfully, Monroe makes her just as interesting a character as Joni. Sometimes, the Reader's sympathies shift towards her. She is driven by the rage of having been born and raised a slave. She was molested by a former master and even though the Campbells were kind to the sisters, Messalina has already been severely damaged so she couldn't trust them. (After all, how kind can a person be if they still profit from the buying and selling of human beings?)

 She is fueled by even more hatred at the racism she still sees around her in modern day. One can understand her perspective. However, like many good antagonists, she takes her anger a step too far and attacks innocent people. The truth is, all she wanted was freedom. However, in trying to obtain that she became bonded to another master who was more volatile and crueler than any human one.

There are other characters that are interesting as well. Isabella is wise beyond her youthful appearance and is a great guide to help Joni. Roger also follows his own family lineage and remains loyal towards Joni to the point where he staunchly refuses to give her up when he is being tortured. 

There are some very magical creatures that help and hinder these young people. Joni has a few conversations with some of the Celtic gods that offer suggestions and allow her to find things out for himself. Roger has a powerful relative who packs a surprising enchanting punch. Even Baton Samedi, who is shameless in devouring souls and using Messalina in furthering his agenda of getting more souls, has moments of charm and charisma. A passage where Messalina and Samedi are arguing in a hospital makes them seem more like a comedy team than a malicious duo bent on destroying souls and getting revenge.

Another compelling aspect to the book is how the various cultural magics are written. The book speaks of Celtic, Native American, and Haitian American lore. It's fascinating how these  magical practices bump into each other and how they are looked at by those who observe them. It shows that magic can wear many faces and can change through the eyes of the person observing it. For example, while one might assume that Voodoo is seen as an evil practice, this book shows that's not necessarily true. Isabella herself practices some aspects to it and another character shows a talent towards it. It's more of when a character is bent on hatred and destruction, they are going to attract a spirit who may not have their best interest in mind. 

The Celtic magic practiced by Joni may be seen as good in the book, but members of her family have used it for less altruistic reasons. They followed rigid restrictions to the letter without weighing the emotional consequences. Their hands certainly weren't clean when it came to using their rituals and magic for selfish ends either.

This book shows that no matter the form, magic itself is not evil. However, some using it might have more hateful or selfish intentions that could be turned towards evil purposes.

Druidess appears to be part of several different series written by Monroe as a shared universe. It definitely leaves some things open ended and reveals some other new characters that show magical aptitude. Druidess is definitely a great start.

New Book Alert: Saratoga (The Illustrated Colonials Book 3) by Tom Durwood; YA Series About Enlightened Young Royals Has A Satisfying Ending

 New Book Alert: Saratoga (The Illustrated Colonials Book 3) by Tom Durwood; YA Series About Enlightened Young Royals Ends On A High Note

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: So this is it.

We come to the last final volume in Tom Durwood's The Illustrated Colonials series. We reach the final adventures of Jaiyi Mei Ying, Prince Mahmoud, Sheyndil, Leo, Will O., And Gilbert du Motier and it ends on a high note. While the first book, The Pact is my personal favorite, Saratoga brings the characters forward allowing them to adapt and accept their roles in a new world. The teens are now ready to leave their youth, ascend into adulthood, and become the leaders that they were trained to become. 

The plot mostly focuses on Prince Mahmoud who apparently ties with Mei Ying as Durwood's favorite characters in the ensemble (since they receive the lion's share of attention in both this and Home Fronts). 

Mahmoud travels to the future United States to deliver documents of alliance and finance to Gilbert who is busy filling the role history and popular culture (such as a famous Tony Award winning Broadway hip hop musical) have bestowed upon him as "America's favorite fighting Frenchman," the Marquis De Lafayette.

 After enduring a very uncomfortable sea voyage Mahmoud encounters loyalist spy, Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne, a meeting that ends with him being kidnapped. Mahmoud manages to make his escape and is caught in the middle of the Battles of Beckman's Mill and Saratoga.

Meanwhile, Leo's military strategy and Will's business contacts end up becoming quite fruitful for them as people come directly to Will to work for him. Unfortunately, on his way to travel to Boston Harbor to join his buddies, Leo is threatened with a duel and subsequently betrayed. Sheyndil and Mei Ying take their lessons to the home front to battle local opposing forces with the same drive and dedication that their male counterparts possess.

It would be nice to see the Enlightenment Six reunite perhaps on American soil. One of the gifts that the first volume had was the ensemble cast. These were kids from different countries with diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, economic status, goals, and roles in society. Each one grew and adapted, becoming a close group of friends and better individuals. It would have been a nice payoff to see them reunite physically, perhaps in the United States during the American Revolution or back in Alsace-Lorraine after the war ended. Instead, they spend the book apart and only a few see each other again.

However, it also makes sense that Durwood would do this approach. It gives a chance for the characters to make individual contributions, using their various talents and contributions in their own way. Many of those contributions are made within their own countries but lead to the ultimate goal of uniting each other. They also are able to evolve into leaders on their own merits.

The one who benefited the most from this approach was certainly Mahmoud. I was not kidding when I speculated that he is probably Durwood's favorite character. He certainly has shown the most development in the three volumes.

In the first book, The Pact, he was a spoiled arrogant Prince certain of his own place as a royal and put everyone around him into little boxes of nobles, slaves, etc. Through his education, he learned different philosophies and looked at a larger world around him.

The second book , Home Fronts, featured Mahmoud verbally sparring with his family in Ottoman Turkey when he realizes that he has changed but they have not. His philosophies are spoken and theoretical. They are not yet practiced.

Saratoga is the completion of Mahmoud's journey. He is finally able to physically put what he learned into practice and become an accomplished freedom fighter. Throughout this book, he is able to use his strength and intelligence to outfight and outwit his enemies. He proves to be clever at escaping from captivity and active as he fights in battle. He has clearly changed a lot and it is wonderful watching him grow so much into a hero.

The other reason that it makes sense for the characters to have their stories come to an end on their own is to emphasize the international concerns of The Illustrated Colonials series as a whole. While part of the series is set in North America and the covers show an emphasis on the American Revolution, the series expands on that by taking on international concerns in France, China, Russia, The Netherlands, Germany, and Turkey later expanding into The United States and Africa. This is very important as it shows oppression and tyranny wears many faces and that there are many people who suffered under it. There were also people who fought against it and shared the same values of equality and loyalty. This isn't just an American struggle, it's a global struggle.

Of course, as with many final volumes, there is great loss. Some characters don't make it, leaving many tears from friends, family, and a few from the Reader. Some ascend and become well known in their own right. Years later, one character acknowledges the other's roles in the world that they helped to create. It is a very satisfactying ending as the character is addressing a college of young people, thereby recognizing the leadership that their friends took and passing the mantle to the next generation. 

Saratoga is a terrific ending to a wonderful YA series. Hopefully, young people will discover and read it, love the characters and setting, and maybe just learn a thing or two about friendship and equality along the way.