REVIEW: Triangulation: Dark Glass

Title: Triangulation: Dark Glass
Editor: Pete Butler
Genre: science fiction, anthology
Price: $12 (trade) $4 (download)
Publisher: PARSEC Ink
ISBN: 978-0-578-03103-3
Point of Sale: Lulu
Reviewed by: Chris Gerrib

I recently attended Confluence, a small literary science fiction convention in Pittsburgh. There I discovered that the folks that put out the Con also put out a short story anthology. For $12, I bought a copy and gave it a whirl. I’m really glad I did.

This dense little book packs 16 stories of science fiction and fantasy into a mere 152 pages, and it’s well worth the cover price. The folks at PARSEC Ink have been doing this annual anthology for six years, and for the past couple of years opened things up to writers nationwide. As a result, a number of “up and coming” authors are featured in the pages of Dark Glass. A few of the more memorable stories were:

The Milton Feinhoff Problem (Mark Onspaugh) – Any story that begins with “One bright spring, Milton Feinhoff came downstairs to find himself eating an enormous stack of waffles” is sure to offer entertaining weirdness. Onspaugh does not disappoint.

St. Darwin’s Spirituals (D. K. Thompson) – offers a very unusual alternative reality of 19th Century England. In this world ghosts are real, and Jack The Ripper is out of his world!

Imaginal Friend (Kenneth B. Chiacchia) – here’s another unusual tale, about some really paranoid aliens and a kid who’s not paranoid enough. This one sent a chill down my spine when I finished it.

Deadglass (Lon Prater) – in this story, the author delivers a compelling cross between fantasy, science fiction and alternative history.

Perchance to Dream (D. J. Cockburn) – The author’s hero, Pongo Ponsonby, discovers that it was a good idea after all to stay awake during his Greek mythology class. It was even better to stay awake during the Ancient Greek language classes!

Broken Things ( Kathryn Board) – We’ve all heard of genies, right? Well, here’s an unusual twist on the concept. Be careful what you wish for – you just may get it!

Souls on Display (Kurt Kirchmeier) - this is an interesting coming of age story, with a hint of fantasy.

Seeing Is (Craig Wolf) – Seeing may be believing, but maybe you don’t want to believe?

Overall, this is a very good collection of short fiction, and I highly encourage you to order a copy!


RATING 10/10