McAllister's Mates Eight
It’s that time again! A special treat this week as a review a whole poetry anthology.
An ongoing series of reviews of some of the wonderful articles, poems, and stories I’ve discovered on Substack (and other places) and more importantly the beautiful souls behind the works.
Please take a few moments to read the works of these authors and if you find their work as life-affirming and life changing as I do, then please let them know. We need to support and cherish these voices.
You can meet some of my other friends in the previous instalments: 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
If you want to keep me in caffeine (and keep the ghostly voices whispering for the poetry side of things) - consider clicking below. For any who do so, you have my deepest gratitude.
As a rule I tend to seek out the hidden gems on substack, as I like to think these articles bring some attention to the pieces that deserve so much more. But! This is an important article that has been (deservedly) gaining quite a bit of attention, and carries an important message for both writers and artists alike.
The (supposed) constant message of the online world is faster, faster, more, more, more. Even with these review pieces I’ve been opening with an apology where I didn’t hit the “at least one per week” target. A standard that is being further reinforced by the instant delivery of AI. But as Johnny rightly points out (and elaborates elegantly upon), quantity and speed does NOT equal quality.
We are not industrial production lines churning out product, neither are we factory furnaces requiring constant literary fuel delivered rapidly. For me (and I think I’m far from alone in this), reading and for that matter writing a piece of work is only satisfying and worthy where it has stopped me in my tracks and made me reflect. If it doesn’t take me at least as long to integrate the work (both my own and others) as it does to read it, then it goes firmly in the discarded pile.
Take a step back from the gurus, the algorithms, and your peers running at a thousand miles per minute. Trust the audience, trust yourself. While consistency and regular output are important, that does not mean an article every twelve hours, and if it’s going to take you an extra day to get your piece just so - TAKE YOUR DAY!
Johnny Truant’s article covers this topic and other aspects of the self publishing journey in much greater detail - have a read, it’s worth your time.
Flinch - By Ellie Rose McKee
Ellie Rose McKee's book Flinch is a captivating exploration of the space between fantasy and memory. The poems Intelligently weave mythological and faerie-tale references with personal monologues and the tribulations of everyday life.
The poems move between structured incantations, romantic whimsy, and defiant chants. They form clever snares that charm and appease the Gods (and our subconscious spirits), calling them down to our earthly level. Then the trap springs! The elusive gnomes and pixies are pulled into our world of interpersonal conflicts and insecurities. Now, they must bear witness to our everyday quests and battles. The power of Ellie's words and their turn from the reverential to the dramatic steal the dragon’s fire and the goblin’s flute and gives their power to us!
Flinch deals with important themes like phobias, grief, and family conflict. Personal intimate moments are shot through with scenes from legend and myth to illustrate their power to change the personal universe. If another person can colour our view of the entire world (even in their absence), are they not Gods? If we can grasp their gifts or defeat their challenges with grace, courage, and patience, are we not our own sorcerers and heroes?
Do we live in a world of our personal interconnected Asgardian realms? I believe so. A book like Flinch holds the treasure maps, spell tomes, and secret passwords to guide us to a momentary Valhalla.
This is a fine piece of work! A fantastical fairy tale poem in the tradition of “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” and “The Forsaken Merman”, this tells the story of an aging magician surrendering to the one thing his powers cannot defeat - time. While rich with mythological and fantastical imagery, the poem is very much grounded in the human experiences that magic (dare I add technology and science) can never replace or conceal us from in the end. The evocative memories of battling dark sorcerers and shapeshifting into other forms are equalled and often surpassed by rich poignant meditations on lost love and abandoned friendships.
The poetry has a beautiful soft cadence with the use of soft syllables and deliberate use of “o” sounds on every line to create a hushed whisper like an old man’s voice. Even the retelling of his most exciting adventures is cleverly delivered with gentle phonetics to remind us of our narrator’s weariness.
The most emotional part of the poem is his reflection on his lost love - Shasta. Whether she left the wizard voluntarily or was lost to some tragedy is left to our imaginations, what is clear is that his absence is fully to blame. Now lest our hero be seen as vain and power hungry, we are told that his brave deeds were in service to his country and an indifferent monarch. This lends a further tragic and a subtly political aspect to the poem however the metaphysical and romantic elements are in no way compromised by this, and remain the beating heart of the poem.
I normally take pains to avoid spoilers in my reviews, but this poem is much more about the experience than the plot. The gentle swaying lyricism, the rich fantasy setting, and the depth of the emotions go far beyond this review. As a side note the accompanying painting is an exquisite match to the story.
I've reviewed Derek's work before on this page, truth be told I'm very much a card-carrying fan of his writing in general. If you haven't read any of his stories yet, then you're missing out, and this is an excellent place to start.
This story unites his ongoing fascinations of the futility of war and the vain political egos that drive it, the fantastical and likely dangerous possibilities of the body meeting technology, and how the human soul buckles under or transcends the forces of technological overload. All shot through with his warm yet caustic sense of humour.
We open on the meditations of an android endued with a human consciousness. Gifted with an immortal lifespan his weary reflections on his past triumphs and failures are woven through fascinating and humorous descriptions of his physical form, other characters in the story are just as delightfully rendered. His recollections raise the two key questions explored throughout the story - “Are we a product of our circumstances?” and “Would we REALLY self actualise if we had enough time?”.
The descriptions of the world are beautiful, detailed, and mine the same rich vein of humour and poignancy as the dialogue. To say more would be to spoil the story, I’ll just reiterate that Derek is a gem of a science fiction author that deserves much more attention.
The world and his missus is compared to Phillip K Dick, and I would love to have a penny for every - time jumping, paradox waving story I’ve read that piles weird on weird on weird. All missing the point. Now to be clear, Derek is very much his own writer, a lot more character focused and less frenetic than Dick. What they have in common is the wisdom to know that the paradoxes, the computer readouts bordering on mockery, and the parallel universes are there to illustrate what it FEELS like to live in the 21st century! It doesn't really matter whether Deckard is a replicant or not, the point is that he is so lost he doubts his own humanity (as we all perhaps do from time to time). Derek's writing is elegant because while he is VERY capable of piling on Sci-Fi spectacle and evocative imagery, he never loses sight of his tragically damaged but beautifully courageous characters.
This story is an astonishing otherworldly science fiction epic populated by fragile souls struggling against not only the mechanics of a cold society, but also against their flawed psyches with courage and dark humour. Recommended!
I hope you enjoy these beautiful works as much as I enjoyed reading them and writing about them.
You can meet some of my other friends in the previous instalments: 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Substack has proven to be a treasure trove and I already have a few more gifted writers lined up for my next review newsletter.
So many wonderful writers on here. Wonderful work as always, Mr. McAllister!