Strange Tidings
Jim Stein
Fantasy/Science Fiction
Ed Johnson knows a secret…
Music is power…
Unfortunately, power attracts trouble…
The apocalypse didn’t arrive with nuclear war or a plague of zombies, just a quiet virus that sterilized most everyone and put humanity’s future in jeopardy.
Fifty years later, seventeen-year-old Ed Johnson plies his musical talents in New Philadelphia, jumping at the chance to help launch a coworker’s band. But Quinn, their beautiful bassist, is inexplicably cold toward him, and other strange things are afoot.
In spite of a growing unease, Ed shrugs off being stalked by a crazy, old Native American and a frightening crone. But when nightmare creatures threaten his sister, Ed discovers he is bound to the strangers. To get out of this mess, he must enlist the help of his friends and Quinn, who harbors her own dark secret.
But there is little time for Ed to discover the true power of music and save them, himself, and perhaps the future of the human race.
Uncaged Review: This is a bit of a surprising read, once you get past the first part. It’s a very slow starter – and to be honest, I struggled in the beginning. But it does jump into gear pretty well after Ed’s sister goes missing. The apocalyptic part of the book is the experimentation on a birth control medication that actually sterilized a majority of the population. Now, years later the population of the whole planet is under a million. Another very interesting part of this book is the Native American mythology brought in.
If you manage to get through the first 20% of the book, there is a pretty good story awaiting and it definitely picks up the pace. Tying it all together with the power of music, it makes for a good read.
Reviewed by Cyrene
4 Stars
