Rebecca Maines

I love small press volumes of short stories by science fiction and fantasy writers whom I might otherwise not discover. This charming little book has a few stories that seem flat and amateurish, but there are a few gems, too. Even though I’m not a baseball fan, I loved “The Next Ted Williams,” in which a married couple decides to raise from birth a star baseball player to lead their beloved Boston Red Sox to a World Series win (the story was written in 2002, before the Red Sox show more surprised everyone with their 2004 championship). But DNA proves to be insufficient, and the parents are disappointed when their son chooses quite a different path, regardless of his achievements -- and what a comment on parenting this story is! Another baseball story, "They Still Play the Blues in Chicago," is a bit darker, and makes me feel sorry for my poor father, now almost 77, who still hasn't seen his beloved Cubs in the World Series. Will it happen in his lifetime? "Liquidation" tells the tale of the bankruptcy of a cryogenic facility in an amazingly touching manner, while "The Canterbury Path" is an interesting story about how Catholicism might be interpreted by alien species. An interesting collection by an author to watch. show less

This first collection of short stories by Rebecca Maines has some real gems, which by my definition are stories that are strong in plot, involve interesting characters, solid science fiction settings, and reach into your emotions. They don't necessarily introduce new technology, but they give you an peek into a different reality. I thought the title fitting but not a collection of religious stories. Instead, the stories present moral difficulties the characters face in the progress of the show more story.

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