The Scribbler is back with a 5* review: Luke Blackmon's Rose by Mary Patterson Thornburg (@MikiThornburg)

I always say reading shouldn't be a passive occupation.  A good writer, and/or a good story is one that nudges those cogs in the brain into life and makes them do a bit of extra work. That's why I like Mary Patterson Thornburg so much.  She's a modern American author whose stories always give my brain a good workout. Her latest story is an absolute treasure.  Take a look first at the clever cover:

What does it lead you to expect?  I'll be surprised if you get it in one.  Would you say it's a story about race?  About personal struggles?  About romantic love?  About trust and friendship? A story set in the past, present or future? Would you be surprised if I said it's about all of those - yes, even the last?

Luke Blackmon's Rose is one of those stories that refuses to be confined to one particular genre, and that's its beauty.  And it's about all those things and so much more.  I wanted to share my review of it by way of recommending it to you as a seriously good read.  Needless to say, it earned five well deserved stars.

Here is my review:

This author’s writing dazzles me. Her characterisation and descriptions transport me into her fictional worlds so thoroughly that when I stop reading, I have to give myself a little shake to remind myself where I am. This is real literary talent, and I felt it especially strongly with this story.

The plot of ‘Luke Blackmon’s Rose’ is unusual and contains innovative ideas that kept me guessing all the way through. Sci-fi fans will most likely figure it out more quickly than me, but essentially Luke Blackmon, a gifted and talented actor, singer and athlete from the early twentieth century has been cloned and brought forward in time to the present day. The original Luke was the son of a slave, so the cloned Luke’s struggle to adjust to life in modern-day America provides a social commentary that is captivating and poignant. As if there are not enough riches in the plot, the powerful chemistry between Luke and Rose results in a romance that is quite breath-taking.

It isn't a long story, but it is an apt and moving story for our times, and one that should appeal to a very broad range of readers, leaving them with sufficient food for thought to satisfy them for a very long time. It will make you think long and hard, and I strongly recommend it.

Luke Blackmon's Rose is available from your usual retail outlets, including:

Amazon U.S.

Amazon U.K.

About the author:

Mary Patterson Thornburg has lived in California, Washington, Montana, Indiana, and again, finally, in Montana. She was educated at Holy Names College, Montana State University, and Ball State University, where she then taught for many years. Thornburg writes mostly in the genre that some people call “science fantasy,” within as wide a range as possible, but almost always with a bit (or a lot) of romance. She believes that genre fiction – written for the pleasure of all readers in our literate world – can be every bit as serious and as important as so-called “literary” fiction, and that its genres often and increasingly provide the best vehicles for exploring life in its readers’ times. Her literary heroes are Mary Shelley, who gave us all a metaphor for technology alienated from its creators; Ursula K. Le Guin and Octavia E. Butler, inventors of worlds that shine their powerful searchlights on this one; and Stephen King, who persists very pleasingly in being Stephen King.

Hopefully I can persuade this talented author to visit my blog soon and talk more about this amazing story.

Review of a #mustread Thanksgiving story from @MaryPThornburg

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Of course, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK, but we know all about it from our friends across The Pond, and I'm sure many people here wish we shared this great tradition.  Perhaps the next best thing to experiencing it ourselves is reading about it, and I recently read a short story that immediately put me in the midst of celebrations with a wonderfully bizarre family.  

The story has the highly unusual title Uncle Spotted Turtle Entertains the Pilgrims and is written by Mary Patterson Thornburg, an author who has quickly risen to the top of my all-time favourite authors list.  Here is my review:

I’m totally hooked on this author, so when I saw a title I hadn’t come across before, I accepted Amazon’s invitation to “Look Inside” - and I didn’t have to read more than a dozen words before downloading it.  I read it immediately.

I love the way Thornburg wholeheartedly embraces her characters and settings, making them come alive, sounding, as they, do completely natural and utterly believable.  I’ve never even been to America, but I was there, with Jeremy, in the first and second grade, colouring in pictures of turkeys and singing about ‘wide and drifted snow’, and I was there at the family Thanksgiving feast, hating obnoxious Cousin Kevin, and loving Uncle Spotted Turtle so much, I wanted him to be part of my own family.  This excellent short story (far, far too short for my liking) painted an enormous picture in my mind of a time, place and people that could not have been made more real or more wonderful in any possible way.

I’ve raved about Mary Patterson Thornburg for long enough.  It’s about time the world sat up and took notice of her superb writing.  Start with this delightful short Thanksgiving story – very appropriate for this time of year, but well worth reading all year round - and I promise you, like me, you will be totally captivated by this supremely talented author.

From me, this highly entertaining short story could not possible earn less than 5 well-deserved stars.

The story Uncle Spotted Turtle Entertains the Pilgrims is available from Amazon (price 99c/£0.99), using these links:

Amazon U.S.

Amazon U.K.

and I highly recommend it wherever you are in the world this Thanksgiving - and to all our American friends                                

Review: A Glimmer of Guile by Mary Patterson Thornburg

I was first introduced to Mary Patterson Thornburg’s work by my excellent friend, Jenny Twist, so I already knew I was onto a winner.  I wasn’t wrong.  The author totally captivated me with her writing in Uncle Bud’s Health Mine and the Girl Who’s Going to Fix the World and I couldn’t wait to read more from this exceptionally talented writer.

When I received A Glimmer of Guile, I got stuck in immediately and lost myself in a new fictional world.  What an adventure.  Here is my review:

Having thoroughly enjoyed the short story ‘Uncle Bud's Health Mine and the Girl Who's Going to Fix the World’ by this author, I was delighted to receive ‘A Glimmer of Guile’ as a gift.

To start with, I found the title intriguing, as I’m sure was intended, and although I don’t read a great deal in the fantasy genre, this story held me entranced throughout.  This was partly due to Thornburg’s excellent writing, which has a beautiful lyricism to it compared to most modern writers, but without superfluity.  It makes me think of painting on silk as opposed to board or canvas – full of delicate and smoothly flowing lines.

It’s impossible not to love the colourful characters with their exotic names who parade the pages of the story.  Vivia, young heroine is sent out on a daunting quest which few would be brave enough to face.  The friends (and enemies) she meets on her journey are so interesting, they could each command their own story, but they all help move Vivia’s dangerous quest – and the story - forward to its satisfying and tightly-woven conclusion.  At its heart is a quiet, but sincere, love story complicated by the life decisions Vivia has to make involving her mentor, Raym. 

By the time I’d finished reading, I’d become so immersed in the fictional world and the characters, that I felt quite bereft to leave them.  There was a hint of sadness about the determined Vivia that made her endearing – a worthy heroine. I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying this story; it will appeal to readers of all ages, and I highly recommend it.

So no prizes for guessing how many cute cats I gave it!

About Mary Patterson Thornburg

Mary Patterson Thornburg has been a reader of science fiction and fantasy for decades, and her writing hero is Ursula K. Le Guin, who towers over those genres in her great gift of invention, her beautiful and lucid style, and her moral wisdom and courage. In addition to A Glimmer of Guile, Thornburg has published a second novel (The Kura), short fiction, poems, and literary criticism. Her short story Niam's Tale won the 2011 SCBWI Magazine Merit Honor Certificate, and two of her stories received honorable mention in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror (2006, 2008). 

She lives in Montana with her husband, Thomas Thornburg.