Thursday, February 20, 2020

THERE WAS A SILENCE - The Novelettes of T. E. Mark - Vol IVTHERE WAS A SILENCE - The Novelettes of T. E. Mark - Vol IV by T.E. Mark
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fans of Sci-Fi will love this!

Forty-some years ago my uncle gave me a science fiction anthology. It was a thick red hardback that I read from cover to cover. It inspired a lifelong love of the genre. The stories in that book made me think outside the box. They filled me with awe for the imagination it took to write them. That book still remains in my collection today. The title is OMNIBUS OF SCIENCE FICTION, edited by Groff Conklin, a well-known and prolific editor of the genre. It was published in 1952, the Golden Age of Science Fiction. It's a substantial volume, 562 pages, with 43 stories divided into sections relating to a common theme. Some stories are fun, some are thought-provoking, and some are adventurous. I love them all.

Author T. E. Mark weaves another first-class collection of sci-fi stories with intriguing twists and turns that will easily captivate the reader from the first page to the last. The author paints a series of engaging and thought-provoking stories from a chilling Orwellian tale to alternate futures in a very vivid and convincing way. In addition, the characters are drawn with great credibility and integrity.

THERE WAS A SILENCE: The Novelettes of T. E. Mark - Vol IV will grab readers and hurl them far beyond the boundaries of our limited world. Step into other times and places with this collection of 4 short stories: THE 3rd DEGREE OF CONSCIOUSNESS, THERE WAS A SILENCE, BORDERS and PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

The book synopsis gives a sneak preview: ‘A University of Chicago Neuroscientist, plagued since childhood with visions of a post-apocalyptic Earth, explores the 3rd degree of consciousness to confirm her belief that our world ended in a nuclear holocaust nearly 100 years earlier. THE 3rd DEGREE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Peyton Webb is unknowingly creating alternate futures with his newest novel. And the survivors of one of those futures are desperately trying to conquer time travel in an effort to send someone back to 2019 to stop him from finishing it. THERE WAS A SILENCE

Capitoline-E is the world’s largest, most illustrious city-state. For those in the restricted sectors, it’s a vast open-air prison and an Orwellian nightmare. When Jin Cress’ family is targeted by the ruling elite, he must choose between his comfortable existence and a battle for the right to control his own mind. BORDERS

In this sensitive, often amusing tale of a failed screenwriter faced with execution over a drug debt, we are invited into Michael Lemont’s world of dreams, inadequacies and his struggle to remain a 17-year-old party guy. Along the way to understanding the supernatural forces which intervened in his murder, Michael will uncover the difference between what is fun and what is important. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.’

I enjoyed the stories, character development, and dialogue. There were plenty of plot twists that I didn’t see coming and that added to the book’s mystique. When I stopped reading to work, I found myself wondering what happened in the book, and replaying parts of a particular story in my head to see if I could figure more out. It has been a while since I enjoyed a book this much. It’s a well written short story collection with perfect pacing. Not much is as it appears here, which is just the way fans of the Sci-Fi genre will want it.

This was a fascinating and captivating read that had me immersed from the beginning. The stories flowed from scene to scene with ease, and the author shows exceptional ability when it comes to storytelling. There are plenty of attention-grabbing moments in this page turner that will take the reader on a truly mesmerizing journey.

There is something very magical about reading fantasy fiction. It speaks to the very thread of my imagination, jolting it to life and transporting it on an exhilarating journey. This book did exactly that. Fans of the Sci-Fi genre will not be disappointed. I’ll be looking forward to reading more from this author in the future. Highly recommended and a well-deserved five stars from me.

Finally, it’s well worth checking out the other books in this series: THE FAR SIGHTED and DREAMS INC. Great writing and great storytelling. Fans of Sci-Fi will love these also!

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