Genre: Fantasy/Short
Story
Description:
Desmond McKenna returns home to England to finish out the final days
of his life. He’s sad and lonely and his long years on the earth have only
fueled his desperation. But a revelation could change all that as Desmond still
learns something after all this time.
Authors:
Jennifer Selzer and Daniel Huber have written three books together.
Selzer was born and raised in Los Angeles. She wrote her first book at 11 years
old. Huber grew up in on the Central California coast and currently lives in an
L.A. suburb with his wife.
You can learn more about them at their website.
Appraisal:
Return to
Bryn Mairwyn read like a preview, or perhaps an epilogue, of
a longer story. Perhaps that’s what the authors have in mind.
Immediately, there is a connection with Desmond McKenna. He’s returned
home after a long time away with the feelings that it’s time to end things
where they began. The desperation is there, the loss, the loneliness. He’s
ready to end his long, long life that has been filled with heartache and
struggle.
For Desmond, an issue is that no one understands his plight. He’s gone
through his life with no one else like him – or so he thought.
When Desmond meets a similar person, it adds doubt to his decision. Instead
of completely letting go, he turns into his true form of a dragon and feels the
joy that he was originally intended to feel.
What does he ultimately decide? That question is unfulfilled with the
story left open-ended for the reader to fill in the blanks.
The short story was compelling enough for me to want to know more and
find out if Desmond is able to find peace. So, if there is a novel-length book
to this short story, it’s likely I will read the rest of Desmond’s story
whether the tale is about what came before or after this story.
FYI:
Added for
Reprise Review: Return to
Bryn Mairwyn by Selzer and Huber was a nominee in the Short Story category
for B&P 2015 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran May 19, 2014
Format/Typo
Issues:
No issues.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: Sooz
Approximate
word count: 3,000-4,000 words
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