Tales of Real and Dream Worlds

Bart Stewart is, apparantly, an author who is very uncomfortable with the idea of the contraction. Consquently his dialog is almost unbearably stiff and formal in all of the pieces in this short story collection. The one story where the staid language style is actually an asset is "The Jingle", which I found to be probably the best work in the book.

"The Jingle" takes place in Washington, D.C. amidst a crisis that threatens to overwhelm humanity stemming from the creation of a commercial jingle that literally drives the majority of the population insane. It's a great artistic retaliation against the kinds of commercials that crop up, especially during the Super Bowl, and seem to overtake a person's brain. All of the military dialog that takes place fits well with Stewart's peculiar speech writing.

The concepts of the other stories in the anthology are interesting and despite the awkward dialog, I was motivated to keep reading. A cycle of three stories, beginning with "The Statuary Cats" and ending with "The Kittens of the Statuary Cats" revels in a sort of B-horror movie feel that is unapologetically cheesy and still manages to entertain. A pair of stone cats are purchased or end up in the possession of various unwitting people. It's no surprise that the cats come alive and kill people but it seems that the point of the stories is not surprise or shock or even vague uneasiness. It's just a pure melding of horror and mystery that is meant to be enjoyed. The period piece "Theater on the Air" which takes place during Orson Welle's famous "War of the Worlds" broadcast seems a little out of place since there's no underlying fantasy element to it. It's a little bit of a psychology story and seems contrived and dull.

The later stories in the book, which include the aforementioned "The Jingle", are superior to the earlier stories. It feels like a chronological overview of the author's stories to date and the stories do get better towards the end of the book. "Dumpster of the Mind" was worthy of being an episode on "Outer Limits" or "the Twilight Zone", as was "The Brick Worker." These stories were more concise and play to Stewart's descriptive strengths, rather than allowing themselves to be hampered by people trying to speak.

Granted, taking out the less satisfactory pieces would make for a very slim book, which would probably make it harder to justify the cover price. I truly don't think the collection should be outright condemned. The story plots and the ideas most certainly weren't faulty and Stewart seems to have a real gift for pacing, but he really needs to have a little help with the dialog, as it breaks the rhythm and flow of his stories almost to the point of unreadability.

If you can, definitely try to read "The Jingle", "Dumpster of the Mind", "The Brick Worker", and "Condemned to Repeat It." Stewart really hits a stride in those stories that show real potential as a storyteller. As for the other stories, they might well be left to the Dream World, rather than the Real one.