Since the beginning of human interaction, there have been storytellers who have spun tales to inspire and capture the imagination. In homage to Golding's Lord of the Flies and the act of flinging a gauntlet before a duel, these two writers, Gordon Bonnet, and Marlon S. Hayes, have shown their multi-genre talents.

Two guys in a bar, grandmas, fathers and sons, and myths are a few of the themes in this collection, and the results are noteworthy, entertaining, and soul filling. What if an opportunity arose to have a conversation with one's younger self? Or, what if the pictures on the wall started whispering warnings? Ever imagined how an orc might view humans? What about an epic road trip across America's heartland where anger and grief also ride along? Exactly.

It's a duel of well-written short stories, with each writer inspiring the other to continue to ascend with their storytelling skills. It's not a competition, simply an acknowledgement of each other's talents.

Marlon Hayes