Wildflower
By Carl Rafala
Great Unpublished - 2000
ISBN: 1-588-98-098-7 - Trade Paperback
Science Fiction

Reviewed by: David Leonhardt, MyShelf.com
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Wiildflower is a foreboding anthology, a collection of glimpses into a dark future when technology has run amuck. Each short story is a separate reality, but every one is fun, intriguing, and well written by author Carl Rafala.

One previously published story, "Boxboy," is a chilling, high-tech allegory of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (although Rafala denies the influence).

Another tale, "Nexus," tells the story of a hunt for supposedly vicious manoi beasts, already near extinction on a colonized planet. The ironic twist in this prescient tale will captivate anyone concerned about conservation or free speech … and terrify anyone thinking of protesting at the next world summit!

"The Invisible War" is the most mysterious of all his stories. If there is such a thing as abstract science fiction, this is it.

Although Rafala spins a good tale and uses some excellent tools in the process, he can do better. Like a good movie with too many special effects, Rafala's stories often get lost among all the futuristic tehno-lingo. This is his first book, and like all artists, he will probably learn how "less is more" as he matures.

Rafala also loves to keep readers guessing. This is what makes his imaginative stories so thrilling. However, he needs to give readers a little more information about characters up front. For instance, by the time we find out one character is a biobot, rather than a human, we may have to go back and reread some passages to grasp their significance in light of this new information.

Rafala's writing is unusual. Half the stories are written in the present tense, giving the reader the sense that he is following the scene with a live-eye camera. A couple of the stories are written in the first person, which can be a little unsettling … but that is the effect Rafala says he wants.

I like science fiction. I like short stories. I like authors with a good imagination. And, of course, I like good writing. Wildflower has all of these. Science fiction fans will enjoy this book.

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David Leonhardt is the author of Climb your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness.

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