Phoenix Tales: Stories of Death & Life (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Allow me to get a wheeler for you, Mr. Myles," said Attendant 31415 of the Caring Hands Nursing Facility, whom Jory had nicknamed Pi..." (more)
Key Phrases: Uncle Rennie, Fifth World, Chief Priest (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"(When) I read Living with Mrs. Klase...I wept...Any book that can do that deserves the highest marks." -- Joe Murphy, reviewer DragonPage.com

"...(Has) the same ironic, bittersweet twist (of) The Twilight Zone mixed with the acidic musings attribute(d) to Harlan Ellison." -- Jennifer Murray, BookPleasures.com, May 3, 2005

"...For an experience in description and emotion, this is good." - Piers Anthony, Author the Xanth series. -- FeBlueberry 2005 Hipiers.com newsletter

"...stories about death could be troubling...(But) Greg Banks has written about it with hope, faith, (and) love..." -- Carole McDonnell, The Compulsive Reader, March 30, 2005

PHOENIX TALES by Gregory Bernard Banks is a one of a kind book anyone would enjoy reading. -- Kalaani, The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers, June 19, 2005

Product Description

Life, death, hope, faith, spirituality, love, and the deeper mysteries behind them all, are the best ways to sum up the overall theme for "Phoenix Tales: Stories of Death & Life." This collection of literary short stories blends fantasy with splashes of science fiction and horror to tell seventeen dark and unique tales. Each story in some way puts its lead character into situations where life or death choices must be made. Not only are the stories imaginative and compelling page-turners, but also timely tales which address many of the social and moral issues we face today.

The collection begins with "Escape Velocity," where an elderly man finds himself trapped in a robot-run government institution where he's resurrected repeatedly against his will, while ironically denied the experimental treatments that might cure him. "The Sacrifice" is about an ancient wizard from Atlantis whose fear of death drives him to feed off the life-force of babies, while "An Elysian Dream" explores a lost, living city that has evolved into a jealous and lonely god, and the young woman who is its lone subject and prisoner. "A Love Everlasting" is about a man whose decades-long journey around the world eventually reunites him with a lost love, and "Touched," about which author Piers Anthony says, "...(It) made me remember Olaf Stapleton’s Odd John...," is a genetically enhanced boy's search for self in a repressed, rural community of the future. "Fireflies" follows a man while he deals with the madness assaulting him after the tragic death of his wife and child.

Reviewer Kalaani for The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers describes "Living with Mrs. Klase" as "...another unique story that deals with a husband who will go to great lengths to please his wife who is suffering from Alzheimer's. She wants to relive Christmas over and over again, playing the role of Santa’s wife. When they help a young mother and her two children who are running from an abusive boyfriend and are stranded in the snow, their lives take on a new turn of events..." "A Cup of Time" is a humorous tale of a man who must recover the life stolen from him with the aid of the lucious looking "Death Angel" who's been mistakenly sent to claim his soul.

"The Soul Man" is a very short but poignant piece about a child being rescued from her abused life, while "Home Going" is about a man making a fateful return to the South, after a long estrangement from his family, to attend the funeral of someone very close to him. The story "Heartbeats" is an allegorical tale of fate and karma as a prison inmate faces the ultimate penalty for his horrific crimes, while the flash fiction piece "A Time for Rest" explores a mentally challenged woman trying to cope with the greatest of tragedies. "Kachina Dawn," which was once a quarter-finalist in The Writer's of the Future competition, takes us on an exploration of the Hopi culture in a post-apocalyptic world, and a returning son whose secret may determine the future of his people.

How violence can corrupt one's very soul is explored in the story, "Of Love and Blood," and in the former semi-finalist for The Writers of the Future Contest, "Avatar," a man with Osteogenesis Imperfecta seeks happiness by acquiring the body of his dreams. "An Old Friend" is another brief tale about a little girl as she sits at her dying friend's side. Finally, "The Last Living Thing" takes us to a remote planet where the last living being awaits the destiny that will take her beyond known space and time.

Reviewers have compared Banks' work to the likes of Roger Zelazny and Harlan Ellison, while the author himself cites such master storytellers as J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Heinlein, and Ray Bradbury as his greatest influences. As CD Moulton says, "I do not give five stars to anything. I give this one five stars. That says it all."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Lulu Press (March 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1411620356
• ISBN-13: 978-1411620353
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,650,079 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A truely stunning collection, July 18, 2005

By	Julie Ann Dawson "Bardsandsages.com" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Breaking the boundaries between literary and genre fiction, Gregory Bernard Banks' Phoenix Tales: Stories of Death and Life is a stunning collection of short stories that confronts the meaning of life and death with beautiful bravery. Part science fiction, part philosophy, with a little horror thrown in, this collection should be on everyone's reading list.

Each tale is a wonder in and of itself, and combined into a collection, creates a dramatic and insightful tool with which to uncover our own thoughts and fears on the subject matter.

Banks opens the collection with "Escape Velocity," a telling and frighteningly pertinent story of the price of heroic life saving efforts when the government, not the people themselves, decide if they should be allowed to die. With "Touched," he delivers a futuristic Pinocchio tale involving a genetically enhanced boy who learns what it means to be human. While the stories have a strong science fiction bent, the reader always feels they are in a familiar place.

"An Elysian Dream" tells the story of a young woman who quickly discovers that paradise without freedom is nothing more than a prettier version of hell. A man learns it's never too late to make amends with the past in "Home Going." In the hands of another writer, these stories may have come out as either empty nihilist tales or shallow reaffirmations. But Banks has a knack of taking what might otherwise be considered morose story concepts and turning them into uplifting, insightful, and poignant life lessons.

With "Living with Mrs. Klase," an abused woman and her children find Christmas with a retired farmer and his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. "The Soul Man," a story involving a person who seems to be the savior of abused children, is part flash fiction, part poetry, and part modern myth.

There are seventeen stories in this collection and every one of them elicited strong emotions in me as I read them. These are incredible stories that need to be read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Macabre Tales, July 23, 2005

By	The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

Supernatural and fantasy ultimately sums up PHOENIX TALES: Stories of Death and Life by Gregory Bernard Banks. The author has created a selection of short stories that feed into the sci-fi futuristic storytelling of life and death. Each original story is told in a style that keeps your attention page after page until the finale of each story.

Examples of some of the selections are "Escape Velocity", which is about a man in a nursing facility who doesn't seem to get it right when dying. He wants to go home to be with his granddaughter, but it is forbidden. When he finally does escape, with her help, his quest is finally fulfilled to the astonishment of his granddaughter. "Touched" is about a little boy who was genetically created and is shunned by the people of his town. What many come to realize is that this young boy has much to offer then just being different. A very touching story that really goes deep to the heart of being judgmental and hurting someone for no apparent reason. "Living with Mrs. Klase" is another unique story that deals with a husband who will go to great lengths to please his wife who is suffering from Alzheimer. She wants to relive Christmas over and over again, playing the role of Santa's wife. When they help a young mother and her two children who are running from an abusive boyfriend and are stranded in the snow, their lives take on a new turn of events.

Each story has a moral base that reaches into the heart of understanding the role of everyone when life or death comes knocking at the door. Overall, Mr. Banks put together a collection of stories that definitely went beyond anything we would attest to as being in our day and time.

I approached the reading of this book very carefully because I wanted to really understand where the author's style and depth was going to take me. The character development, the futuristic terms and sci-fi scenarios flowed well with each storyline. Although some readers may not enjoy reading supernatural/fantasy stories, those that do will welcome this particular genre. Regardless, PHOENIX TALES by Gregory Bernard Banks is a one of a kind book anyone would enjoy reading. (RAW Rating: 3.5)

Reviewed by Kalaani
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phoenix Tales-Stories of Death & Life, November 1, 2005

By	Sherry N. Brantley "Author / Speaker / Consul... (Chandler, AZ. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Wow! These stories are moving, thought-provoking and fresh! They give you a new perspective not only on the way we look at death, but also, how we look at life! I experienced a range of emotions while reading them. Each time I'd pick one out as my 'favorite' short story, I'd read the succeeding one and would fall in love with Gregory's style of writing all over again. His descriptive way of revealing his characters and their surroundings left me spellbound. A must read for you! If you also want to get a sense of his humor and wit, 'A Cup Of Time' cannot be overlooked! They don't make writers like this anymore!

Sherry Brantley, Author of "Best of Friends," and "Choices-The Power is Within You."