The Literary Fiction Shelf

The Last Beekeeper
Julie Carrick Dalton
Forge Books
c/o Tor/Forge Books
www.tor-forge.com
9781250269218, $27.99, HC, 384pp

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Beekeeper-Julie-Carrick-Dalton/dp/1250269210

Synopsis: It's been more than a decade since the world has come undone, and=
Sasha Severn has returned to her childhood home with one goal in mind -- t=
o find the mythic research her father, the infamous Last Beekeeper, hid bef= ore he was incarcerated. There, Sasha is confronted with a group of squatte=
rs who have claimed the quiet, idyllic farm as their own. While she initial=
ly feels threatened, the group soon becomes her newfound family, offering w= hat she hasn't felt since her father was imprisoned: security and hope. May=
be it's time to forget the family secrets buried on the farm and focus on h=
er future.

But just as she settles into her new life, Sasha witnesses the impossible. = She sees a honey bee, presumed extinct. People who claim to see bees are ri= diculed and silenced for reasons Sasha doesn't understand, but she can't sh= ake the feeling that this impossible bee is connected to her father's missi=
ng research. Fighting to uncover the truth could shatter Sasha's fragile se= curity and threaten the lives of her newfound family -- or it could save th=
em all.

Critique: A celebration of found family, an exploration of truth versus pow= er, and the triumph of hope in the face of despair, Julie Carrick Dalton's = new novel, "The Last Beekeeper", is It is a deftly crafted meditation on fo= rgiveness and redemption and a reminder to cherish the beauty that still ex= ists in this fragile world. "The Last Beekeeper" will have a very special a= ppeal to readers with an interest in an all to plausible dystopian future. =
A remarkable work of original literary fiction, "The Last Beekeeper" is unr= eservedly recommended for community, and academic library collections. It s= hould be noted for personal reading lists that "The Last Beekeeper" is also=
available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: Julie Carrick Dalton (https://juliecarrickdalton.com) is a = journalist who has published more than a thousand articles in The Boston Gl= obe, BusinessWeek, The Hollywood Reporter, Orion Magazine, Electric Literat= ure, and other publications. Dalton holds a master's degree in literature a=
nd creative writing from Harvard Extension School. She is a frequent speake=
r on the topic of writing fiction in the age of climate crisis.

Don't Go
Abraham Aamidor
Stephen F. Austin University Press
https://www.sfasu.edu/sfapress
9781622889297, $18.00, PB, 188pp

https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Go-Abraham-Aamidor/dp/1622889290

Synopsis: With the publication of "Don't Go", journalist and author Abraham=
Aamidor showcases his extraordinary literary storytelling skills and maste=
ry of the short story form. "Don't Go" features speculative and realistic f= iction together, creating a balanced body of original stories.

In "John Gardner's Last Ride," the day famous writer John Gardner died in a=
motorcycle accident in 1982 is chronicled. "Siddhartha," inspired by the H= ermann Hesse classic, this quest for meaning begins in a trailer park with =
a pimply-faced young man. In "My Stupid Life Dot Com," a computer "nerd" tr= ies to get a date with the beautiful daughter of his landlord. In "Sacrific= ing Isaac," a religious boy protests the Biblical story; why would Isaac ha=
ve even submitted to his own prescribed death?

In "Best Jewtown Hot Dogs," a wisecracking Jewish newspaper reporter in Chi= cago knows the Windy City better than he knows himself. A Palestinian and a=
former Kibbutz volunteer meet at college in America and learn to see each = other with new eyes. In "Nietzsche's Dog," an earnest young man searches fo=
r truth and is disappointed; his hoped-for mentor may not even be real, and=
he knows he must fall back on his own resources. "In the Graveyard of Past=
Experience" documents an imperious psychiatrist and his failed career.

Critique: Comprised of eleven original and deftly crafted short stories and=
one Novella Aamidor's new anthology "Don't Go" is a truly memorable litera=
ry experience and is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to=
personal reading lists and community/academic library Contemporary America=
n Literary Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Abraham 'Abe' Aamidor is an award winning feature writer at=
The Indianapolis Star and the author of several books, including a biograp=
hy of basketball shoe legend Chuck Taylor and a history of the British moto= rcycle industry.

108 Dreams
Cheryl Wheeler
Independently Published
9798769929045, $10.80, PB, 119pp

https://www.amazon.com/108-Dreams-Cheryl-Wheeler/dp/B0BVCMM4R5

Synopsis: With the publication of "108 Dreams", author and poet Cheryl Whee= ler presents prose poetry insights into our collective human subconscious w= orlds while showcasing the deliciously absurd, the tragic, the bizarre mech= anics that our brains use to process our daily lives.

These succinctly crafted short stories render her captured dreams reflectin=
g twisting mundane daily concepts of reality into the dizzying shared human=
experiences of suffering, loss, shame, resignation, confusion, grief, humo=
r, love, compassion, perseverance, and strength.

Critique: Original, absorbing, reflective, contemplative, thoughtful and th= ought-provoking, and highly recommended for personal, community, and academ=
ic library Contemporary Literary Studies collections, "108 Dreams" is an ex= traordinary and compelling collection that will linger in the mind and memo=
ry of the reader long after this slim anthology is finished and set back up=
on the shelf.

Editorial Note: Cheryl Wheeler (https://sites.google.com/view/cheryllwheele= r/home) is a creative, experienced, purpose-driven cross-functional profess= ional with expertise in designing and implementing customized transformativ=
e educational programs at the University of Washington for diverse learners=
across multiple disciplines, continuously seeking opportunities to affect = positive change, particularly in environmental conservation and regeneratio=
n. She is an optimistic pessimist who creates, and sometimes writes about, = both reality and non-reality.

Ten Golden Fields: Secrets Unveiled
Wen E. Henagan
Yellow Bear Books
https://www.gogreatstory.com
9780578279701, $11.99, PB, 115pp

https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Golden-Fields-Secrets-Unveiled/dp/0578279703

Synopsis: With the publication of "Ten Golden Fields: Secrets Unvailed", au= thor Wen Henagan presented a collection of ten very short fiction tales, ea=
ch of which is between 7-10 pages in length.

Each deftly crafted short story is designed for maximum good reading. Chara= cters shine and speak to truth, as they see it. Time periods are the far pa= st, recent past, near present, or near future. Plots are geared to involve = readers very quickly. Endings surprise and are compelling. Genres are varie=
d and as readers move from story to story, there is no intended thread, exc= ept that stories are difficult to put down until readers know the ending. A=
t that point emotions may be boiled, roiled or coiled.

Critique: Having a very special appeal for readers with an interest in the = very short story format, "Ten Golden Fields: Secrets Unveiled" is a large c= offee-table style (8.5 x 0.26 x 11 inches) paperback anthology that is unre= servedly recommended for personal, community, and academic library Contempo= rary Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted further that "Ten Gol= den Fields: Secrets Unveiled" is also readily available in a digital book f= ormat (Kindle, $4.99).

Among the Fallen
Henry Mitchell
Creative James Media
http://creativejamesmedia.com
9781956183580, $16.99 Paper/$4.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/Among-Fallen-Henry-Mitchell/dp/1956183582

Among the Fallen focuses on a sleepy Appalachian village, but doesn't open = with the ordinary world. Instead, it introduces a milieu in which portents =
of change between the Two Worlds charge Wendl with introducing Gobnait (aka=
Abigail Trammel) back to the Stream from the world of the Fallen. Readers = come to realize that the Fallen's world is our own familiar one.

Abigail is no spring chicken. Well into her elder years, Abigail prides her= self in maintaining abilities her peers have not. Wendl VonTrier is just th=
e new renter in town -- or so she thinks! Why is a visitor coming off-seaso=
n and unannounced? It's none of her business, Abigail thinks -- but it turn=
s out to be entirely her concern, because the visitor lies at the heart of =
an edict to change worlds and her own future via the challenges Wendl intro= duces to Abigail's set life.

As crimes, victims, and puzzles mount, readers will find this story a speci=
al blend of magical realism, murder mystery, and a tale of evil, redemption=
, and other worlds that come to center on one small town and an aging woman=
who holds unexpected answers to odd circumstances and questions. "How perv= erse are the gods. More inscrutable, even than dragons." Given the keys to =
a special kind of kingdom, will Abigail use them?

Author Henry Mitchell mixes mystery, literary reflection, magical realism, = and discoveries with Appalachian community culture in a manner that lends t=
o the book's enjoyment by fantasy and novel readers alike. Its magic is roo= ted in two worlds, its characters operate on the edges of both, and its act= ion and psychological tension develop many surprises in the course of event=
s which draw all kinds of people into a transformative encounter.

Libraries will find Among the Fallen easily recommendable to patrons intere= sted in mystery, magical realism, fantasy, and small town rising forces ali= ke, creating a bridge between fantasy and fiction that, like its characters=
, operates equally powerfully in two genre worlds.

Society, Suspicious
Freeman Smith
https://freemansmith.com
Atmosphere Press
www.atmospherepress.com
9781639887064, $24.99 Hardcover/$16.99 Paper

https://www.amazon.com/Society-Suspicious-Freeman-Smith/dp/1639886877

Society, Suspicious represents political satire at its best, blending a fir= st-person observational style with experimental fiction in a manner designe=
d to challenge reader perceptions and ideals.

Freeman Smith's saga opens with a bang: "I faked my death in Paris, which p= roved far easier than I had imagined. The one time in my life I devoted my = mind and soul to planning. Real planning. France is not like America. A few=
hundred years older, maybe not wiser, but definitely too tired to deny or = regulate a man's personal freedoms."

A stolen citizenship card from a dying man leads the narrator into a life "= ....free of fame and chaos and forced narcissism." The self-professed "Mr. M= ojo Rising" has been a busy man in America, playing the 'victim/hero' in a = variety of scenarios that keeps testing his identity and fostering his part= icipation in the nation's "collective narcissism."

The poet/rebel narrator crafts so many observations and dialogues that read= ers ride a roller coaster ride of irony and social inspection that moves fr=
om money to madness around the world, juxtaposing a jaunt through others' l= ives with a wry sense of embellishment and commentary that runs over dispar= ate lives like a river of judgment. Whether attacking affirmative action an=
d prejudice, the love child of a seventeen-year-old's dalliance, or scenes = from a play that offer serious messages, the strobe light roller-skating fo= ray is certain to intrigue, offend, and give rise to all kinds of thoughts.=
Whether he's embedding poetry, play scenes, or nonfiction into his saga, o=
ne thing is for certain: this experimental work will challenge some and int= rigue others.

Ultimately, its romp and realizations deserve attention and discussion in b= ook groups interested in satirical experimental fiction firmly embedded in = social inspection. Society, Suspicious will do well in libraries that look = for contemporary satire, experimental literary fiction, and stories that re= verberate with contemporary angst.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promo= ting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no fund=
s from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these=
reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, inte= rnet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested indivi= duals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "Califo= rnia Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwat= ch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available=
for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview=
(dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal= muse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publish= er, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number=
, and list price).

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: ---:- FTN<->UseNet Gate -:--- (3:633/280.2@fidonet)