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I have never been very fond of love stories, but when I read Alan Brennert's Her Pilgrim Soul and Other Stories I found that the two stories I liked best -- "Sea Change" and "Her Pilgrim Soul" -- fell into that category. Brennert's stories are sensitive without being sentimental, and filled with compelling characters in interesting psychological situations. The
collection of eight short stories neatly showcases Brennert's talents as a writer as he tackles subjects as difficult and diverse as birth defects, dysfunctional families, and alternative sexuality. Brennert also has the ability to make the fantastic seem natural in his stories -- a man can crush broken glass to powder in his hands without sustaining a single cut, holograms play chess with people, and beings from ancient mythology perform in bars for a living. Overall, Brennert is an innovative, versatile writer and a name to watch for in bookstores.
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