Review
An Anthology to Surprise and Delight
Various Authors, Edited by J. Richard Jacobs
ISBN-10: 1-55404-339-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-55404-339-2
Genre: Science Fiction - Fantasy/SF
eBook Length: 351 Pages
Published: April 2006
Imprint: Double Dragon Publishing
Review Twisted Tails
Twisted Tails, An Anthology to Surprise and Delight, isn’t so much between the cracks as it covers all the cracks. In this mammoth tomb (552 pages), every fan of fantasy, sci-fi and horror will find something to taste. It’s like a thirty-one course gourmet meal. Editor J. Richard Jacobs, introduces each story with a food themed metaphor. Of Steve Lazarowitz’s story "Dead Wrong," Jacobs writes, "Life is full of options. Like our menu. Some are of our own choosing. Some are . . . well, not. Some appear to be the work of destiny. This Lazarowitz offering is a tray filled with options. Hamburger or filet mignon? The choice is yours. Will you decision be yours, or will you be driven . . . by some other force?"
"Dead Wrong" is a sinister sci-fi look at what will happen when death gets a better marketing firm. Marilyn Peake’s "Tiger in the Plum Blossoms" is a chilling Japanese myth. "Throwing up Sashes" by Peter Prellwitz is a delightful tale of Christmas in a biodome. Jeremy Davies turns the kingdom on its head, when a dragon saves the knight in distress from an arm-wrestling princess in " . . . In Distress." Each of these stories and the others in this anthology come with a jolt at the end. Sometimes it’s a pleasant surprise, sometimes not, but it’s always worth reading to the end.
Twisted Tails is the first of three anthologies edited by J. Richard Jacobs and published by Double Dragon Press. Twisted Tails II, volumes 1 & 2 are time travel themed stories with that hallmark twist ending. Twisted Tails III: Pure Fear is coming in 2008.
