Book Reviews and More: The Twisted Breath of God

Monday, 7 October 2024

The Twisted Breath of God - Cedar Sanderson

The Twisted Breath of God

Cedar Sanderson

StonyCroft Publishing

ISBN 9781301163069

ASIN B007I4CZI6

The Twisted Breath of God - Cedar Sanderson

This is the twenty-third volume from the masterful pen of Sanderson that I have read. To start at the beginning I first encountered the works of Cedar several years back in Cracked: An Anthology of Eggsellent Chicken Stories, and after reading her piece there knew I had to track down and read more from her pen. I was asked recently why I keep mentioning this anthology in my reviews of Cedar’s books, in part it was just an excellent anthology, in part there are several contributors whom I am trying to read all their books now, and in part because I am so thankful to have stumbled upon Cedar’s works in it! To date everything I have read has been entertaining and some have just been amazing stories. I since found out that she is friends with a number of authors I love and respect. I am working my way through her back catalogue. This is another excellent story.

The description of this volume states:

“A short story of the second contact with an alien civilization. Trade is good, luring humans into rushing their translations and contact with the aliens. A young man and a classroom of alien children are caught in the misunderstandings that ensue.”

About Cedar at the back of this volume we are informed:

“Cedar Sanderson, mother of four and aspiring author, grew up without television in the Alaskan bush. This and learning to read at age four have skewed her world toward books. A house full of books and a part-time librarian job keep that going to this very day. She writes what she wants to read herself, and hopes someday her children will like her books. Until then, they all live together on a farm in New Hampshire and read late into the night. She writes because she can't help it, gets a story stuck in her head and has to write it out or it bothers her. Which has led to enjoying the crafting of stories over the years, but she didn't seek to become published for a long time - she was content just to write. Now, she'd like to share some of her work. She has been published in the ezine Something Wicked.”

And Cedar gives us the background to this story, she states:

“I have the pleasure of being a professional balloon twister and face painter in addition to everything else I do in life. I wrote this little tale years ago, when I first learned to twist balloons, and the idea of combining the light-heartedness of twisting with my love of science fiction seemed like a good idea. I do hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it, and then rediscovering it in my files almost a decade after I'd written it, long enough after writing that I looked at it and felt like I was reading someone else's work.”

This was a very moving little story. A young man is allowed to interact with Aliens during a second contact situation. The person they assume is the schoolmistress is as eager as he is for him to interact with the youth. But things go sideways quickly. And it is an experience none on the mission are likely to ever forget. To find out what happens you need to read this excellent story.

This was another excellent read from the pen of Sanderson. I have been very impressed with all of Sanderson’s writing that I have read including those published under the name of Lilania Begley. I can easily recommend this story if you like it a story told in a classic science fiction manner. In some ways in reminds me of Frank Herbert’s The Green Brain or The Eye's of Heisenberg. An excellent story I can easily recommend.

Books by Cedar Sanderson:

Lab Gremlins

Warp Resonance

The Dwarf's Dryad

One-Eyed Dragon

Memories of the Abyss

Little Red-Hood and the Wolf-man

The Violet Mouse

Stargazer

The Eternity Symbiote

Plant Life

Sugar Skull