MILLENNIUM MAGIC

MILLENNIUM MAGIC by Robin Bayne,
Jackie Bielowicz, Jane Bierce, Roberta Gellis, Diane Kirkle, Jane Toombs
Magical Tales for a New Century
Hard Shell Word Factory - November 2000
ISBN: 1582005648 – eBook
Paranormal

Reviewed by Brenda Weeaks, MyShelf.com

EBooks is a not-so-new trend that is finally catching on. HardShell creates their eBooks in HTML. I found this to be very convenient since I do not have a rocket book. The story comes on a very sturdy disc; it pops up in Netscape and gives me the options of page jumps to any of the anthology stories by the different authors. Because of the white screen, I did have to limit my reading to one short story at a sitting.

The first author and story presented is The Colored World by Roberta Gellis. A young boy, who lives in a gray world, wakes up in a colored world. It’s a very sweet, intelligent story about a boy and girl who meet periodically in her world, which leads to math and magic. This one has a futuristic feel about it. Enjoyed the kids being the lead characters.

The next one is Black Satin at Midnight by Robin Bayne. After a quick New Year’s kiss, Luke Carver of Carver Construction never again expected to see the petite lady in black satin that he grabbed at random from the crowd. He certainly didn’t expect to see her in his daughter’s homeroom class. Cara didn’t expect to see the man that grabbed and kissed her at a party, yet here he was in her class. When they do get together, a secret fear of the future may hold them apart. A very quick sweet read.

The Bride-Seeker by Jackie Kramer is a time travel tale. Sgt. Drake Fremont of the New Newark District Police enters Sara’s apartment through a portal she opens. He has come to find a wife to take back to the future – even if it’s against her will. I’m a sucker for time travel. It matters to me how the character’s travel through time, and it makes or breaks the story for me. In this case, it made the story. This story is a little more sensual than the others.

The First of Someday by Jane Bierce uses Doreen Madison, Lance Hoffman, and the new technology of a dot com company to remind us that we are never to old to fall in love, and the taboo of older, younger relationships can’t stop true love. I found this one to be an interesting high tech fairy tale.

The Love Bug by Diana Kirk is set up by time showing the count down to a virus invading a business. Katherine Trigarin O’Keefe is left in charge of a computer problem. A handsome computer whiz is sent to help her out. They find more than they bargain for when the millennium bug turns into the love bug. Sometimes the workplace and love can work for the better.

Ghost of Love by Jane Toombs offers readers a story about a young woman, an old flame, an old Hudson River mansion, and a ghost. Beth heads back to the family home to sell it, but the ghost trapped in the attic has other plans, and they include her old flame, who is also the caretaker of the mansion. This was a great short story. I was sorry to see it end.

Millennium Madness is a great New Year’s read.