REVIEW: Tales from the Edge of Forever by Alexander Hammond

Tales from the Edge of Forever by Alexander Hammond
Publishing information: Paperback; 174 pages
Publisher: Nazca Plains; 16 December 2010
ISBN 10: 1610981715
ISBN 13: 978-1610981712
Anthology/Short Story Collection
Copy: Provided by Author
Reviewer: Tyson

Synopsis: "An anthology of mind bending imagination, Tales from the Edge of Forever offers a delicious collection of wildly original vignettes mixing fantasy, speculation, spirituality and science invention. Hammond has created stories with a depth and thoughtfulness that transcend their brevity. Whether on the streets of Manhattan or at the very edge of time and space itself the authors’ scenarios tease and intrigue in this stunningly unique collection. A total of twenty three creatively brilliant stories to captivate even the most jaded fantasy enthusiast, this book both challenges and enchants."

Tales From the Edge of Forever is a short story collection from Alexander Hammond and he does a fairly good job of delivering a wide gambit of genres. He tackles suicide in the story The Hotel at the Edge of Forever. Nuclear war and politics in the story The Button and UFO conspiracies in Top Secret. Every story contained in the collection reads as if it was written from a different author as Hammond finds a new voice for each story. There is at least one story for everyone regardless of your tastes.

The three stories that I enjoyed the most were The End of the World, My Special Guest Tonight, and Deity. The End of the World had a surprise ending. So did My Special Guest Tonight which takes a interesting look at violence in the media. The main character has a striking quality similar to Quentin Tarantino. Finally, in Deity we find a young man who must come to terms with his god-like powers.

There are a lot of stories contained in this collection and they read really quickly. I found myself continuing to read long after I should have taken a break. Tales from the Edge of Forever is quite an eclectic collection and I found that it was a lot of fun to read.

Plot 8
Characters 8
Style 8

Overall 8/10