Author: Warren Nast

This is the story of a writer, David Thorne, recovering from guilt. A decade ago, he lost his fiancé, Emily, to a serial killer on a lonesome stretch of California highway. When David makes his annual trip back to California, he meets Maddison—a dead ringer for Emily.

I originally picked up this book because of the title; in essence, it asks, who is the other Emily?  When I started reading, I expected serial killer hijinks. But like the Sixth Sense, this story was not what I thought it was. Tension built throughout, and when Koontz tied all the threads together in the third act, I felt overjoyed. He swung for the fences and knocked out a home run. 

Koontz is at the top of his game here in this page-turning suspense novel. The first time David and Maddison meet at the café, the two characters exchange a snappy dialogue, and I squealed like a schoolgirl while immersed in the chemistry between these two characters. Koontz gives just enough information throughout the book to keep me wondering. 

Koontz also does an excellent job with setting, which I found distinct and memorable. This is my first time reading his work and I enjoyed getting lost in the locations. I have driven those highways in California—he got me feeling like I was there.

This book is for readers who like Harlan Coben, thrillers, and suspense. For us horror fans, there is a healthy dose. The Other Emily is the perfect summer beach book for 2021. Try not to learn too much about the plot before you start reading, and hopefully you will experience the same thrill I did.  I could not put this book down. It reads quickly, and you will root for David Thorne to see if he finds his true love again. 

5 out of 5 stars.

Available from Bookshop.org and Amazon.

Forestborn, by Elayne Audrey Becker, is the story about Rora, a shape-shifter. A dire prophecy surrounds her. Rora is an outsider who works for the king and happens to be best friends with Prince Finley. The prince gets stricken with a magical plague. The rest of the book involves Rora embarking on a quest to find stardust, the mythical element needed to save her friend.

This book is part of Tor Teen publishing for 13 – 18-year-olds. The writer has nice passages describing her characters. For example, “Turns out, solitude is lonely, but being surrounded by people who want nothing to do with you hurts even more.” Rora gives the reader great insight into what this character is struggling with at the beginning of the book. 

Becker, tasked with building a new mythical world, has neat imagery with the trees and the giants that I really enjoyed. In the “Acknowledgments”, Becker thanks her friend who drew a map which is supposed to be part of the book. My big criticism—my reviewer’s kindle edition did not include a map. All fantasy books need a map! I lose my car at the grocery store so I will admit I had trouble orienting myself with the character’s location within their world. 

Quest books are hard to write. The character must get from A to B and three hundred pages can feel a little long. There were places in the middle where I wanted more action. Fortunately, it picked up again at the climax but then ended with Rora recapping her growth and heading back into the forest for Book 2. While I generally enjoyed the book, the ending left me with a “meh” feeling. 3 out of 5 stars.

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Lafferty’s newest short story collection includes introductions by other notable science fiction writers, such as: Neil Gaiman, Samuel R. Delany, John Scalzi, and others.  

Raphael Aloysius Lafferty, from Tulsa Oklahoma, was known as the Bard of Tulsa. He worked as an electrical engineer, and his friends called him Ray. Upon retiring at 45 years old, he became a professional writer. A Catholic and an alcoholic, Ray says, “When I was younger I got a lot of pleasure and companionship out of drinking, but probably no creative impetus. Drinking has influenced my writing all in the wrong direction.”

“Day of the Glacier,” (sadly, not included in this anthology) was Lafferty’s first published science fiction story. He was 46 years old. “It didn’t put me on easy street, but it put me on easy alley,” said Lafferty of his writing. “I was moderately successful.”  Lafferty is what I would call a foundation writer. An influence on more famous writers but not a household name like Rodenberry, Asimov, or Gaiman.  His works draw from Irish and Native American tales to the writings of St. Theresa.

Lafferty’s distinctive style — he loves proper names and alliteration. Basil Bagelbaker, Maxwell Mouser, Willy McGilly, and Arpad Arkabaranan are but a few tongue twisters encountered in these stories. Lafferty employs tall telling, using deadpan humor and adding the surreal. Consider this passage from the “Narrow Valley.”

“He’s getting better at it, Mr. Dublin,” Mary Mabel said. “He was a twin till last week. His twins name was Skinny. Mamma left Skinny unguarded while she was tippling, and there were wild dogs in the neighborhood. When Mama got back, do you know what was left of Skinny? Two neck bones and an ankle bone. That was all.”

“Poor Skinny,” Dublin said, “Well, Rampart, this is the fence and the end of my land. Yours is just beyond.”  

“Is that ditch on my land?” Rampart asked.

“That ditch is your land.”

One thing I like about a book like this — it satisfies my itch for science fiction stories, and my writer’s itch. I love books that include the authors thought process, commentary, and in this case why and how these stories influenced them on their writing journey. This anthology also contains Lafferty’s Hugo winning story “Eurema’s Dam.”

Terry Bison said, “For Lafferty is that most tender. wretched, and essential of creatures, the writers’ writer: celebrated by, beloved of, but mostly visible only to his own proud, primitive tribe.”  I would encourage you to add The best of r.a. lafferty to your collection. 

I give this book 4 out of 5

Available from  Bookshop and Amazon.