EX CATHEDRA

Rebecca Maines

Twilight Tales 2006

165 Pages

ISBN# 0-9779856-0-1
 

Like speculative stories? How about ones with messages eerily possible? If you don’t have enough time or the desire to read a novel try Rebecca Maines’ anthology.  It’s especially for readers who enjoy speculative fiction with moral flavor.  Each of the eleven tales within whispers a truth, hailing emotion and interest.  All contain worthy hooks, interesting settings, smooth pacing, and characters to care about.  There is also a pleasing variety to establish Maines as a woman to keep an eye on.  This author holds insight to the human condition with her lively collection.  Ex Cathedra is a terrific blend of achingly real possibilities and of fiction.

Two especially good stories are “Sarah, Who Speaks to the Lord’ and ‘Returned Mail from Ealtgeld.’  In the first, we re-visit an old tale from the Bible.  As with the Bible, God tests Abraham’s faith by asking him to kill his only son.  This son is Isaac, Abraham and his wife Sarah’s miracle child.  God gave Isaac to them in their old age even after Sarah’s menses ended.  Isaac was precious and dearly loved by his parents, so following God’s orders wasn’t easy.  In both the Bible and Maines’ versions Abraham fully intends to follow God’s will even though he doesn’t want to.  At the very moment Abraham is about to plunge the knife into his son’s chest on an alter God stops him.  He tells Abraham not to kill Isaac.  God tells Abraham he’d passed the test of faith.  In Maines’ adaptation we hear Sarah’s version of what happened.  She speaks with God and when realizing what Abraham is about to do, does what any good mother would.  The ending is surprising and most satisfying.  Most female readers will find themselves smiling and possibly chuckling.

In ‘Returned Mail from Ealtgeld’ Maines examines possible results to human’s obsession with technology.  Technology provides conveniences, but also isolates.  With computers and the Internet connecting everyone with every place, there is little need to leave the house to speak in person.  What happens if a shy, and sensitive girl never goes out? She talks with multiple people and has friends through holography, but doesn’t speak face-to-face.  This girl is called Fippy, and she grows into a young woman who doesn’t experience life outside her home or human touch.  One day her sister finds and reads a story that Fippy hadn’t published yet.  It’s based on a real woman who grew up without holography, is afraid of technology, and likes real people.  The story and what happens to Fippy speaks volumes.  Maines drives home a point that makes readers realize Ex Cathedra is not only entertainment, but messages worth weighing.

The book’s 5.5” x 8.4 is the perfect size to carry along.  The stories contain unforgettable scenes, characters and messages.  At moments Ex Cathedra is disturbing because the tales address life, yet are captivating, thoughtful, and compelling.  Definitely attractive reading.
 

Christina Francine Whitcher