Imaginings

The twenty-two wide-ranging, illustrated stories, in this debut collection, are as chillingly inventive as they are emotionally provoking. The opening story, "A FANCIFUL INTERPRETATION," tells of a farmworker, who keeps a literary journal, in which he writes of a real life encounter his mother deems imaginative fiction. A treasured family garment in "THE OVERCOAT" serves to cover more than just its wearer. A country walk in "BOWSEY WOOD" affects relationships as it mystifyingly shocks them. In "JESSE JAMES," a young boy is challenged by his infamous outlaw idol. In "ACROSS THE CRYSTAL SEA," inmates-weary of an institution-yearn to go to sea. In "A DESIRABLE FARE," a deprived taxi driver's competing obsessions catch the throat. An irrational teacher poses an 'impossible question' in "ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-SIX THOUSAND MILES PER SECOND," setting alight the mind of a young pupil. "INCIDENT ON THE ROAD TO KABUL," tells of the plight of a man under interrogation by the conquerors of his village. "THE CHATTERER" is set in a dimly lit barn, in which a lowly farmhand-who converses with his flock-craves more than the owner's demand for a weekly kill. In "THEY CAME RUNNING," a four-man team of commandos-inexperienced and psychologically unprepared for combat-are dropped behind enemy lines. "A MISJUDGED APPROACH" tells of an unhappy man, bent on retribution, finding himself in a coastal restaurant. "THE REPLACEMENT" is set in a future when household robots are commonplace and are routinely eliminated for newer types-much to the dismay of those destined to be affected. Growing mistrust of travel passengers' intent in "PARANOIA," drives a man to frantic lengths to expose the reason for it. "AN ALLURING ENIGMA" tells of a blocked writer's stimulating experience at a neighborhood party. In "RABANUS," attendees at a magic presentation find themselves skeptical of a wizard's credentials. An infantryman is condemned to a punishment so unspeakably dreadful in "THE SENTENCE," he can do no other but plan ways to escape it. Dreams of a vengeful act drive a man in "A RETALIATORY MEASURE." In "THE INTRUDERS," the resolve of an elderly man is put to the test when he and his wife are awakened in the night to the sound of something downstairs. The vignette "BEAR ATTACK" recounts the plight of a group of hikers who have blundered into a Grizzly's territory. "A SHORT-LIVED AFFAIR" tells of a woman who witnesses her extramarital fling encounter a calamitous convergence. In "THE FAKER," an invading US infantryman agonizingly tries to gain protection of a bank of shingle. A woman takes up residence in a derelict cottage, in "MRS. CROUCH," threatening the sanctuary of a vagrant already living there. Nuances of tenderness and romantic yearning touch characters' lives in Stanley Jones' tales-even when fearful occurrences turn normality on its head. Clearly, Jones is an exciting new writing talent. A life shared between England, where he was born and grew up, and the United States where he's worked and lived for many years, provide a trove of life experience with which to enrich his creative flair.