The Torturer’s Apprentice
July 20th, 2002by John Biguenet
ISBN: 0060198354
This book is an unusual collection of short stories. The settings and time periods span continents an centuries, but there is a striving for a bit of a twist at the end that the stories have in common. Sometimes the zinger at the end is more effective
than others.
Biguenet creates interesting scenarios. He has an nonbelieving stigmatic, a lunatic, and a shapeshifter, among others. The stories I enjoyed the most offered a combination of interesting ideas and a believable twist: “The Vulgar Soul” features the nonbelieving stigmatic and “Fatherhood” questions what the harm and limits of delusion are.
“A Plague of Toads” drove me crazy because in it, toads are repeatedly referred to as slimy, and they aren’t. This got on my nerves out of all proportion, probably because I like frogs and toads and it bugs me when they are maligned, even in fiction.
If you are looking for short stories that are a bit off the beaten path and that ask some interesting questions, you would probably like this collection.
