Tales of the Talisman Vol 5, Issue 1 Review

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The Trouble with Tansy
F.T. McKinstry
This is a strong fantasy story, concerning a reclusive gardener and the magic disruptions in her garden. Liked it.

A Minor Miracle
Michelle D. Sonnier
This is a cute ‘rural fantasy’ story, predictable but good.

A Tale of Two Prophecies
W.A. Hoffman
Another good fantasy tale, delving a little into how prophecies can be misinterpreted and the resulting implicatons.

Jake and Russel Take a Peek
Wayne Faust
Two miners walking home one evening have a rather disconcerting evening. A fun tale.

Vette Fever
Ken Goldman
What does a man do when he hits his midlife crisis? Buys a sportscar, of course. Though this car, in the grand tradition of other spook-mobiles, has its own agenda.

Pegged
D.W. Manning
A man finds a strange box with pegs on it and soon comes to realize he can control people, even kill them, using it. This was one of the strongest stories in the issues, and I particularly enjoyed it, both for the mystery of the box and the personalities of the characters caught up in its magic.

Friends to the End
Dawn Calclasure
A girl’s best friend is her car. A solid story.

Your Honeymoon will be ending in…5…4…
C.J. Henderson
This is an ambitious story about ‘dimensional explorers’. While I enjoyed it, I was struggling at times to understand what was going on, not sure if the author was intentionally keeping me off balance or not. The core premise, which I won’t reveal’, was a bit far fetched for me but it made for an interesting read.

Flight of Angels
Mark Rich
An intriguing story of a society crumbling as many embrace a digital religious afterlife.

22
Joe Sharcoff
A man is chosen for some very important work, and as he devotes himself to his training he comes to grip with what sacrifices he will have to make. A good read.

A Nice Day for a Walk
Rick Novy
A pilot has to take a space walk under the worst of conditions else her ship and crew will die. Liked it.

Overall
Another good issue of Tales of the Talisman, I’m looking forward to the next. If you like a magazine with quite a variety of stories (sci-fi, modern, and fantasy), you should check it out.