Customer Reviews

Gunning for the Buddha

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The title story in this first print collection by Mr. Jasper is a tale of youth, chaos, time travel and the struggle of the individual to take control of their life and destiny. The protagonist, a young woman with a felony past (along with an international group of other young people) travels time lines and road ways to moments of heightened social discord. It is the woman's goal, the groups' goal, at these moments of chaos, to control the situation and thus lend order to their own chaotic lives. Along the way, lone individuals pretending to enlightenment spread their own form of reconciliation; Buddhas and shamen, medicine men and Jesus figures. This story, filled with rich detail, vivid imagery and historical situation, carries in it not only fast cars and blazing guns, but moments of loss, struggle and enlightenment--bridges we all must cross in our lives.

I read a few of these stories when they were first published, and enjoyed them all. I had a story in the anthology where "Goddamn Redneck Surfer Zombies" first appeared, and I remember feeling incredibly envious when I read Mike Jasper's contribution. He makes the rather off-the-wall premise plausible and fun, then brings the story together with a punch of genuine emotion.

Overall, the stories in this collection range from good to great. The book includes four tales of the Wannoshay, the alien species Mike Jasper has written and developed over the years. The Wannoshay are fascinating in and of themselves, but what makes these tales more powerful is the way Jasper uses the Wannoshay to explore and illuminate his human characters. He takes an unflinching look at both the beauty and ugliness of human nature. I only hope some publisher will eventually pay him to give the Wannoshay their own novel.

"The Disillusionist" is by far my favorite story. Jasper remarks in his comments that he was going for a Gaimanesque villain, and I think he nailed it. The Disillusionist is a wonderful character, as is the nameless protagonist who sets off to bring him in. The Disillusionist is basically a travelling showman with the ability to strip away the lies of our lives, and I loved watching his act, as well as the resulting chaos.

I would love to talk about every story, but I don't know how much space Amazon will give me. In brief, Jasper writes strong stories with a sense of gritty realism. His characters feel genuine, and while some stories have happier endings than others, those endings always feel true to the story.

As a writer, I also enjoyed reading the commentary in which Jasper talks about how the various stories came about, and his thoughts on each one. It adds a nice personal touch to the collection.

Michael Jasper's dedicated years to his craft and it shows in the breadth and variety of work here, from tongue-in-cheek zombie to provocative science fiction. Jasper's a worthy successor to his influences such as John Kessel.