Illanthean

Rating:
Summary: Synopsis:
Review: Illanthean is an anthology of sci-fi/fantasy/speculative fiction presented as an experiment in 'fractal literature'. The book is comprised of 10 tales (9 short stories and a novella) intertwined within a poem. In the poem, a young man falls into a trance while gazing upon the moon and is transported to the realm of Illanthean (where all of the stories take place). Each story is preceded by a bit of verse and there is a stanza at the end of the book marking the traveler's return from his journey. A summary of each story follows:

rem:
A young dreamer has a vision about the impending destruction of his world, but no one believes him.

meat bubbles:
A traveler runs out of gas in New Paradigm, CA- and finds himself being proselytized into an unconventional world view.

time to go:
A group of boys attempt an experiment in time travel- that succeeds.

orb:
A sorcerer and his apprentice embark on a futile quest to deliver their world from an inexplicable bondage.

congruous incongruity:
A substitute teacher attempts to draw from his class a concise definition for 'irony'.

sapheera:
A beautiful enchantress bewitches a young man with a murderous spell- or does she?

the seven men of earth:
A billionaire commissions a secret project based upon the predictions found in an ancient book of prophecy.

the scar:
A young intern finds himself involved in a strange experiment probing a mysterious weight loss that occurs at the moment of death.

i:
A time travelling hermaphrodite learns that time travel is impossible.

bitwise or:
The elders of a bizarre computer religion make an unnerving discovery that causes them, one by one, to fall prey to murder.