Shadow Spinner: Collection 3: The Garden

by Andrew Leon

Tiberius has always thought of himself as a normal 10-year-old boy. Maybe he's a little smarter than everyone else, but that's still normal. He's scared of shadows, but everyone's scared of something, right? His mother's completely paranoid and called the cops the one time, just one time, he went over to a friend's house after school, but, still, he's normal even if his mother is not. At least, that's what he thinks until the day his mother finally decides to tell him about his father, and she tells him things that convince him that one of them is crazy, and he's pretty sure it's not him. That is until the Man with No Eyes shows up and his father falls out of the sky.

Michael and Tib have entered The Garden, the Center of... Creation? The Universe? Tib isn't sure, but it isn't like anywhere he's ever been before.

69 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 26, 2013

About the author

The author has often been told that he does things the wrong way. For instance, he could walk before he could crawl. His parents were also informed that he went about reading the wrong way. Already reading before kindergarten, he went on to delve into texts about dinosaurs and astronomy by 1st grade as opposed to the regular story books everyone else was reading. At least one school counselor labeled him as "delayed" because of this. Of course, this happened at the same time he was winning the school reading contest.

After years of wanting to, he's finally writing books of his own.

Reviews

[megHan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first collection and really liked it. I was given the second collection by the author for an r2r and LOVED it. I've been looking forward to reading this - the NEED to find out what happens - but, as often happens with life, I kept having to put off sitting down with it. When I found out that collection 4 will be out (like SOON!), I decided I needed to find the time.

I'm glad I did. What a great story this has turned into. The garden, light, dark, the forbidden fruit, the serpent, the tree of life ... everything is coming together nicely and we're starting to see where the story is going. That, plus a couple of appearances by the Man with No Eyes, an angel, some little creatures Tib isn't quite sure of and, as usual with fathers, the unanswered questions ... I can't wait to see what happens next. :)

[Ariel Hudnall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily my favorite part of the collections thus far. Collection 3 takes us to the Center, a pseudo-Christian-based Garden of Eden (complete with snake and forbidden fruit). The descriptions that hooked me in the first chapter finally make a comeback, truly breathing life and energy onto the page, and all of the emotional distance is closed, with Tib and Michael expressing their regrets and anger about a lost relationship. There is also a whole lot more of the story to read in this collection, which made it far more satisfying than previous collections.

The depictions of angels were also truly awesome. The Man with No Eyes and the Watcher return, in less antagonistic ways. The Man with No Eyes remains more "cartoony" than his initial appearance led me to believe, but as a YA villain, he's interesting enough.

The additional story, "A Nightmare Named Ricky", by Rusty Carl, is an interesting addition, but for the first time, I definitely enjoyed the "main dish" more than the bonus short. That isn't to say that "A Nghtmare Named Ricky" isn't good; I enjoyed it immensely, though the greasy, oily feeling that comes with a demented child story (think "The Good Son") is sort of hard to shake off.

All in all, a great part of the collection. I'm looking forward to Collection 4.

[Bryan Pedas · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this continuation, we find our heroes embroiled in a place that's somewhat like the Garden of Eden. This collection is a huge change of pace and of location, but it's a welcome change. It shows a ton of imagination, and a ton of heart.

Also, I loved the story at the end by Rusty Carl. It's dark, it's well told, and it's about werewolves. I won't say any more than that.