The Keeper of the Plains by Allison Wall

Allison is one of the best authors I have ever read in my life. She creates a panoramic view of everything going on in a scene as if you are watching a movie. The characters are real and interesting.

The Keeper of the Plains is described as a sorcerer, mysterious and a loner. Although the coffee shop clerk is nondescript, she is also interesting and extremely believable.

I loved this passage: "Invisible traces of him hung around. Customers glanced at that table the rest of the day. No one sat at it."

I don't know, there is something poetic about that.

It is an exciting read and I highly recommend it.

I see Olivia as courageous, willing to sacrifice and risk anything to save her mother. Her meeting with Rich was taking a chance and I felt nervous for her as she sought him out not knowing what to expect or what he might do. I mean, he could have had a gun, or been a lunatic pretending to have special powers, but nevertheless, she had to know if he could heal her mother.

I'd like to read a novel length version of this story.

The author is a pro and I may look for more of her stories online.

Doug

[Lester Curtis]

Very well done, indeed, and with a delicately stated life-lesson. I think this one should be on the list for Year's Best.

Allison, I hope you'll be back with more.

A heart-warming story about a girl and her sick mother, but a sorcerer shows her friendship. He doesn’t help her sick mother, but counsels her by making her see that all things come to an end. At the end it suggests that she will become a ‘Keeper of the Plains’ possibly some day. There’s more to this story than what I mentioned, and I feel that two or three readings would be justified!

The mechanics of her writing followed accepted language usage. Good grammar with proper sentence lengths and word choices.

Allison’s story shows that themes about love and death will always survive. Good stories can always be centered on Romeo and Juliet and other classics that examine human emotions and conditions.

Good Job!!

First time visiting this site, and I really enjoyed this story. I liked the short punchy delivery, the brief but clear and visual descriptions, and I found the idea and approach to magic in this story was both subtle and inspiring.

Thank you for writing and sharing this

[kailhofer]

First time visiting this site, and I really enjoyed this story.

Welcome to the club!

[kailhofer]

Likewise, a welcome to Doug Minton and The Fisher of Men!

Always nice to see new faces.

Whoa, I cried at the end. Olivia didn't get what she asked for, but she got what she needed. I'm so glad I read this. It touched me and I can use it in my own life.

Thanks Allison

I see why so many people like this story.

I was interested in the Rich character, who endured pain in relation to his gift, and lived a solitary life not expecting anyone to be able to accept his lot in life. I loved how Olivia fearlessly ventured toward him in hopes of saving her mother, in her mind, risking her life not knowing what he was capable of doing.

I liked how he softened towards her.

Fun read and so many layers most people will never understand. Good job, and it must be said, inspirational...

Thanks all!! Glad you enjoyed the story. <3

This story was included in the reviews at www.exftc.com, check out the long reviews of short fiction section. This story and a story by Kali Wallace (two Walls...) were discussed as pieces of contemporary fantasy fiction.