Falling Night and Rising Day: Book of Swords

by Rachel Strayer

For hundreds of years, fortune tellers and commoners alike have used tarot cards as tools to predict the future. Rife with symbols of divine beings and the power of the stars, an air of mystery and superstition has long surrounded these elaborately crafted decks. When the past and the future melt together in a chaotic mind, however, they can be the only path out of a place where reality clashes with fantasies and nightmares alike. A modern day oracle, fearing the rapid approach of madness within her unquiet thoughts, dives into Olympian dreamscapes and psychological battlegrounds in a journal that serves as a road map through insanity. When she is engulfed in the darkness of the suit of swords, however, the only light to be found is fire. 

138 pages, Paperback

First published December 26, 2013

About the author

Rachel Strayer was raised in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina on a steady diet of modern fairy tales and small town theatrics. She dreamed of writing epic poetry as she grew up, but got lost in undergraduate psychology and the food service industry along the way. She recently abandoned an illustrious career delivering sandwiches in favor of a whirlwind romance with creative writing. Rachel currently resides in a Greensboro tree with her best friend and their three cats.

Reviews

[Marla Josephs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um, after reading this book I am left at both a loss for words and so much to say I don't know where to start. There is a beauty about the writing that drew me yet I was totally confused in the beginning. But, as I continued to read, I felt that I was reading someone's personal experiences written in poetry. The author isn't saying, "Oh, I was so angry today when someone did this or at today or hurt my feelings," she actually wrote it out in poetry describing how she felt. There's everything it seems, from anger, hurt, vulnerability, etc.
I can't honestly say I've ever read anything like it, yet I would classify it as creative writing worthy of analysis in a college literature class. It's like watching a contemporary dance on "Dancing with the Stars" and you just marvel at some of the creativity and choreography in using dance to tell a story. Only, in this you only seem to know the emotions behind the story and the true story, you only guess at. It's really brilliantly done and I don't know how else to describe it besides you'd have to read it to understand it. It looks like a simple quick read, but it's not. It's one of those that makes you stop and contemplate what you just read one line or story at a time.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an intriguing mix of poetry and narrative that I was drawn from page to page on a lyrical ride. My initial confusion and sense of dislocation was quickly replaced with a feeling of hard-won knowledge akin to the moment when a secret is entrusted. This is an intimate personal journey filled with insight and introspection and a shining example of what happens when imagination and writing flair combine. By the end, I felt the story had been written for me personally so well is the tale woven. Kudos also to the artist, the many drawings throughout are beautifully rendered and compliment the story so well. Filled with mythology, love, pain and hope; fine story telling and a unique voice have ensured this is a book I'll not soon forget.

[The Reading Writing Puppet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't understand this for a long time, but I kept reading. And on page 121, there's some beautiful music suggestions.