Title: The Wizard of Ashes and Rain
Author: David Sandner
In: The Mammoth Book of Dark Magic (Mike Ashley)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Dark fantasy
Dates read: 2nd April 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2001
5th sentence, 74th page: Amanda had stood in the upstairs hallway looking at herself in the full-length mirror.

Sarah just wants to save her sister from the monster in her dreams. But she has an interfering mother and a whole set of complications as she hunts down the wizard who could help her solve it all.

This story was a little hard to follow at the very beginning. Not in a bad, what the hell is going on way. But there was just so much thrown at you from the very beginning, so it took a while for me to really get my head around what was going on. Yet, even taking that time was an incredibly fun adventure. It was something that swept me off my feet and completely enthralled me. And once I finally clicked as to what was happening? I was even happier.

As an older sister, I know the feeling of doing anything to protect my younger sister. So the fact that through this whole story, Sarah is just running around trying to find a way to keep her baby sister safe… I completely understand that drive. It’s probably why I enjoyed this story so much when it’s not really of the style of storyline that I normally throw myself into.

I enjoyed the short journey that this tale took me on. And the idea of everything coming full circle again and again works so damn well in a short story. There is just something about the sense of things repeating over time that makes me incredibly happy and only seriously works when it’s a short tale. It’s not a technique that I tend to enjoy in a longer length novel.

<- Forever

The Walker Behind ->

Image source: Hachette Australia