Fourtold [Hardcover]

When I preordered FORETOLD, I knew it was going to be special. I knew I liked Michael Stone's work since I read his short story THE DEVIL'S FAUNA on a webzine, and I knew that I had to order his debut collection.

Let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed.

FORETOLD is a collection that brings together all that is best of Michael Stone. Michael has a talent for creating believable while bizarre situations that his characters go through. From the surreal war story of SAN FERRY ANNE to the mythical wonder that is LEMON MAN, we see that Michael Stone is capable of taking your mind on an adventure.

SAN FERRY ANNE is the story that begins FORETOLD, and it's also a story that's able to deeply-impact its reader on a subconscious level. What strikes me with SAN FERRY ANNE is the reality of it. Here, we view two men who are in the midst of war, and we are able to see how the war has affected each of them. One is distraught over being away from his wife, while the other is ashamed because he could not save his brother. What I liked about SAN FERRY ANNE was the tone it had. It wasn't a story that could be perceived as a fantasy; it was raw and real, and that's what I liked about this story.

THE RECONSTRUCTION OF KASPER CLARK is the story that follows SAN FERRY ANNE, and it's one of my favorites in the collection. A few of my favorite shows are on the Discovery Health Channel (Mystery Diagnoses, Doctor G: Medical Examiner, Skeleton Stories to name a few,) and medical mysteries and abnormalities, no matter how strange or bizarre, always fascinate me. Kasper Clark is a man who has a mouth in his forehead, and he goes away to a clinic to get it fixed. Of course, the bizarre way in which the clinic `treats' their patients is something Kasper quickly comes to realize. I liked this story so much because of the way Kasper was developed and the way he interacted with the characters. The bizarreness of the piece is what makes it stand out between the other stories.

THE TERRACOTTA WARRIOR is much like SAN FERRY ANNE, but it has a more strange and supernatural element to it. The way Michael works with the characters and mythology in this piece is amazing. I could see the creature he used in this story in so many different ways in different parts of the story, and that's what I admire in a piece that primarily focuses around a strange creature of being. The uniqueness of the creature in this story is what I liked about THE TERRACOTTA WARRIOR.

And finally, the collection closes with LEMON MAN, and it was the perfect story to end the collection. By far the most bizarre story, LEMON MAN takes us on two journeys. One is through Russell, in which we learn of his love and his troubles with sleep paralysis. He sees a being that chokes him, that haunts his dreams. This creature scares Russell so much that the man is unable to sleep, which leads him to take drugs to keep him from sleeping. This ultimately causes him and his wife to break up, and ultimately brings Russell to buy the bike that Maria noticed him for. Our other character is a man named John, who is dead and in heaven. A principality of the First Choir leads him through the bizarre heaven-world and reveals to him that he is dead by suicide.

FORETOLD is a collection that is amazingly well done. Gary Kilworth said it best when he said that Michael Stone was a special talent, and coming from an award-winning author such as himself, Kilworth knows what he's talking about.

FORETOLD is a book you'll want to add to your bookshelf, because it's a collection that deserves to be recognized for its masterful storytelling.

As the title indicates, Fourtold is a collection of four stories with a forward by Gary Kilworth. The stories carry the reader from one extreme to another, but they are all entertaining on multiple levels, from horror, to action, to twistedly funny.

In SAN FERRY ANNE two soldiers struggle with how the war affected them as they struggle to save a young girl who is dying of hypothermia. One of the men fights to save her in place of loosing his brother in the war, while the other begins to believe in fate/god again after loosing it in his struggles.

THE RECONSTRUCTION OF KASPER KLARK is a bizarre tale of a man who's mouth is located in the center of his forehead instead of where it rightly should be. This story is at times funny and at other times horrifying as Kasper goes to the devil's 'plastic surgery clinic' to get his condition fixed.

THE TERRACOTTA WARRIOR is the tale of a monster who is released when an ancient Terracotta Warrior 'statue' is broken, releasing it to reak havok on an insurance fellow and a retired soldier and his staff. It's the story of bravery found in the most unlikely places.

Finally, THE LEMON MAN, is a disturbing tale of heaven, love, family, and friendship. Half of the story is of a man who's longtime marriage is in shambles and the way he horribly deals with the situation. The other half of the story is his revelations as he deals with celestial beings in a strange corner of heaven. The story ended with an incredible twist that left my jaw open.

Fourtold is a thinking person's book. Not that the reader has to stop and consider every point in the story, but that when the book is put down you continue to consider the tales, finding new and disturbing aspects of them even once the story is finished. As I read the book I liked the next tale even more than the last one, and when the last story was read I regretted not having just one more tale to read, though if there had been another one I imagine I would have just wanted one more after that.

Hey People,

If you haven't had a chance to check out FOURTOLD yet and those awesome blurbs aren't enough to entice you, then let me tell you what you're missing...

First off, let's start with the book itself: you get a nice 6X9 hardback with dust jacket, featuring some disturbingly beautiful artwork made from Mike's own schoze and choppers. You can't get more personal than that! Inside you're going to find 197 pages awaiting your eyes. And starting things off is an incredible foreword by author Gary Kilworth. Gary is a master in his field, and it's no surprise Mike's talent earned a full introduction from this amazing writer.

Now, the stories. Each is a unique cross-genre journey that will entertain you from start to finish.

San Ferry Ann: Set to the backdrop of World War I, this story follows two soldiers as they cross war-torn Belgium in an effort to be free of the fighting. But their trek is quickly sidetracked when they discover a young girl lying forgotten in a field, desperately in need of help. The two travel to a nearby estate, where food, medicine, and profound self-discovery awaits. Mike shows off his incredible ability to capture the ambiance of the period, and draws you further into each of the characters' emotions with every turn of the page.

The Reconstruction of Kasper Clark: Follow Kasper Clark on a surreal journey into a medical clinic where Kasper's facial disfigurement is nothing compared to the horrors and revelations he'll discover inside. Here Mike's imagination is unleashed and you'll encounter scenes that are dreamlike, exotic, frightening, and just plain weird, which are what makes this story so much fun.

The Terracotta Warrior: Enter Solomon Barley, an insurance assessor summoned to the great estate of Mister Charles Morris, a retired army major and collector of rare antiquities. Among the Major's latest acquisitions is a terracotta statue, one of the thousands built to defend the First Emperor of China in the afterlife. But Sol soon finds that the statue is hollow...and there's more than the dust of long-lost ages hiding inside. This is another example of Mike's skill at crafting an adventure set in the past. TW is action-packed, and full of genuinely creepy moments.

Lemon Man: Something is happening to Russel Hamilton, something he can't quite explain. He sees the Lemon Man, a gold-skinned creature who appears in Russel's dreams...but are they dreams or nightmares? Mike spins another fantastic tale of phantasmal strangeness and dramatic character development that leaves you feeling like you've been to the Twilight Zone and back. A nice counterpoint to Kasper Clark, and a fine finish for the book, Lemon Man has become my favorite Michael Stone story to date.