Reviewed by Rod MacDonald
Being an old alchemist myself
who took some time to get over the phlogiston theory, I was intrigued to see
what was going on at The Alchemy Press. If you have not encountered them
before, I would check out the website. This isn’t a weird and wonderful collection
of 1960s hippies with crystals, wind chimes and astrology charts. Nothing like
that here! Rather, it’s a site where you’ll find lots of interesting
collections of stories and articles which have as a basis our past, our culture
and the more mysterious aspects of our lives. I was actually quite impressed!
This particular collection
contains 14 stories which have as their basis our history, sometimes with
archaeological connections and stone circles with Celtic beginnings. You’ll be travelling back to ancient Rome, New York and
even an Ithaca in space. However, the main link between all the stories is the
quality of the writing which is very good. In selecting the works, the editors
must have looked to readability as a major facet. They are all certainly very
readable.
To give an example, “If Street”
by James Brogden is all about a couple of childhood friends living near the
site of a Roman settlement in Britain. As boys who investigated everything,
they were intrigued by an old Roman road. One of the characters disappeared, to
come back many years later. He had been living in the past as a Roman soldier
fighting against invaders.
Bryn Forley’s “Ithaca Or Bust”
is a parody of the legend of Troy, only the characters are vastly different.
Taking place in a stellar empire, the beings have two heads, four arms and legs
and are about five metres tall. Much of the conversation is between the two
heads, one logical and thoughtful with the other forthright and adventurous. It
makes for interesting reading.
It would be difficult to pick
out a favourite story from out of the 14 available due to the fact that they
are distinctly different despite having a common theme as their basis. Alchemy
Press seem to have a large number of anthologies and according to their
website, they are actively looking for new writers. This may represent a good
opportunity for aspiring and established writers. I’m not sure what terms and
conditions apply, so it would be best to make enquiries first. They do,
however, have a comprehensive list of writing requirements.
This volume was produced in
hardcopy a few months ago and now it’s available in Kindle and other formats.
Being available from Amazon, it should probably sell reasonably well. It’s a
sort of book you could carry about and dip into at any time and if you like
this type of fiction, it represents a good purchase and one to recommend.
Originally published on SFCrowsnest website, February 2013. Reprinted by permission.
For more information on Ancient Wonders click here.
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