Review - A Past and a Future by Penny Ehrenkranz

Penny Lockwood Eherenhanz was my guest when her book "A Past and a Present" was released. I've had a chance to read the book and offer a brief review.

REVIEW:

It's difficult to evaluate an entire book of short stories, but I can say that I enjoyed them all to some degree. Unfortunately, this book is available only from one site for now, and in print to boot. We can only hope the publisher will get this out in ebook format to reach a wider audience.


Look for it here: http://sdpbookstore.com/anthologies.htm

Let me pick out my favorites for special mention.

ENCHANTRESS: Merlin knows the one he loves will be his downfall, but can he win in the end?

I enjoy re-tellings and add-ons to the Authurian legends. I'm not a purist who thinks a writer must follow the E.B. White classic. Learning more about the legendary characters just add to my experience. Some contradict each other (different ideas by different authors), but isn't history often have more than one interpretation? I just saw a History channel special on John Wilkes Booth. Three theories exist on what happened to Booth. Even for an event this close in our history, speculation is all over the place. That's why I love to see authors stretch their imagination when dealing with well-known tales.

THE BABY MAKERS – In a world where cloning is possible, will Reese be able to save his illegal newborn child from a government determined to make her a non-citizen?

In a completely different world than Merlin, we have a possible future already showing signs of coming to be. This is another one of my favorite imaginings. Not just the specific of cloning children, but I love the way Penny has come up with making this a fresh idea.

REBELS WITH A CAUSE – Shayleena is tired of living her life through holovision. She wants a real life with real people. Will she find it as a volunteer for juvenile offenders, or will she be mugged and left to die?

Again, Penny takes a social topic, and extrapolates a future in an original way. The disaffected rich and idle, given a steady diet of entertainment can become bored and wish something else. Shayleena tries for making herself relevant. I applaud her efforts since we need more people like her in the world.