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The Crossover Alliance Anthology - Volume 1
By traversing beyond the boundaries of Christian and secular fiction, this phenomenal collection of edgy Christian speculative pieces will transport you to the furthest reaches of space, the chilling snow-drenched plains of fantasy, and the deepest, darkest corridors of the human heart. While journeying through these fantastical worlds, let this prolific gathering of authors shine a glimmer of light your way and reveal Christ in a very dark, very real world.
146 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 22, 2014
2 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
David N. Alderman
29 books50 followersBorn at the tail end of the 70’s, David reveled in the pop culture of the 80’s and 90’s, building his childhood around the success of Star Wars, the jokes of Ace Ventura, and the adventure of The Goonies. His passion for writing began in the early 90’s, and he finished his first novel when he was 16. With the death of his grandmother - who was his biggest fan - he stopped writing and sought adventure, traveling constantly between California and Arizona as he fought to find a purpose while also walking the long-winding, and incredibly narrow, trail of faith.
Decades later, David finds himself here in Arizona, happily married, with a son to raise, and a long road of written stories behind him.
Decades later, David finds himself here in Arizona, happily married, with a son to raise, and a long road of written stories behind him.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 18, 2014
The Crossover Alliance Anthology Vol 1 brings together a wide variety of different stories from six different authors. You get a historical, several space-bound sci-fi, action adventure crossing time and dimensions, phsychological horror and even a modern-day parable.
These are stories that you'd not find on the shelves of a Christian bookstore. Some (not all) contain a bit of swearing. You'll experience violence and commentary on real-world issues such as alcoholism and marital infidelity.
Some of these stories tie in to other works by the authors. It was the story set in Allan and Aaron Reini's Flight of the Angels universe that first led me to this anthology.
There are a wide variety of moods set by these stories. Some will leave you feeling triumphant. Others will leave you in chilled contemplation.
If you are interested in stories that explore issues from a Christian world-view, but dare to move outside the safe confines of the norm then you'll enjoy this collection.
These are stories that you'd not find on the shelves of a Christian bookstore. Some (not all) contain a bit of swearing. You'll experience violence and commentary on real-world issues such as alcoholism and marital infidelity.
Some of these stories tie in to other works by the authors. It was the story set in Allan and Aaron Reini's Flight of the Angels universe that first led me to this anthology.
There are a wide variety of moods set by these stories. Some will leave you feeling triumphant. Others will leave you in chilled contemplation.
If you are interested in stories that explore issues from a Christian world-view, but dare to move outside the safe confines of the norm then you'll enjoy this collection.
May 11, 2017
Short stories are difficult for even the best of authors to pull off, seeing as how they have so little time to hook the reader and send him away satisfied. It's even harder in Christian fiction, where you're expected to convey an uplifting spiritual message to boot.
As much as it pains me to say, the stories in this anthology don't quite work for me. I love the concept of this book, I admire the publisher who released it, and I am enthused by the potential that the authors display here. That being said, I don't think their potential was fully tapped for this project. Of course, if I were grading these stories for a college writing class, I'd give each one an "A" without hesitation. As far as amateur fiction goes, these stories are top-notch. But can they compete with quality mainstream fiction from a major publisher? The answer, unfortunately, is no.
(Of course, keep in mind that I recently wrote a scathing review of a short story collection I later learned won several prestigious awards. In other words, take my opinion with a huge grain of salt.)
On the one hand, I love that this anthology gives Christian authors the freedom to be more "real" in their storytelling. Several of these stories explore some pretty dark terrain, and that is something I greatly appreciate. However, each author seems duty-bound to present an overtly Christian message regardless of whether the story actually calls for one. For me, that's a bug rather than a feature. Others will disagree.
I think part of my frustration with these stories is the editing. I'm not talking about typos; the publisher did a terrific job in that regard. I just get the feeling that, apart from proofreading, these stories were published "as is." There is a lot of fat needing to me trimmed, a lot of darlings needing to be killed, some awkward phrasing crying out to be re-worded... A ruthless editor and some judicious re-writing could have made all the difference here.
As much as it pains me to say, the stories in this anthology don't quite work for me. I love the concept of this book, I admire the publisher who released it, and I am enthused by the potential that the authors display here. That being said, I don't think their potential was fully tapped for this project. Of course, if I were grading these stories for a college writing class, I'd give each one an "A" without hesitation. As far as amateur fiction goes, these stories are top-notch. But can they compete with quality mainstream fiction from a major publisher? The answer, unfortunately, is no.
(Of course, keep in mind that I recently wrote a scathing review of a short story collection I later learned won several prestigious awards. In other words, take my opinion with a huge grain of salt.)
On the one hand, I love that this anthology gives Christian authors the freedom to be more "real" in their storytelling. Several of these stories explore some pretty dark terrain, and that is something I greatly appreciate. However, each author seems duty-bound to present an overtly Christian message regardless of whether the story actually calls for one. For me, that's a bug rather than a feature. Others will disagree.
I think part of my frustration with these stories is the editing. I'm not talking about typos; the publisher did a terrific job in that regard. I just get the feeling that, apart from proofreading, these stories were published "as is." There is a lot of fat needing to me trimmed, a lot of darlings needing to be killed, some awkward phrasing crying out to be re-worded... A ruthless editor and some judicious re-writing could have made all the difference here.
July 26, 2015
The Crossover Alliance Anthology
I love this collection of stories; they are edgy, but full of the redemptive power of Christ. My favorite stories were by Nathan James Norman; yes he knock it out of the box. The Other stories are good, but his are ones that will make you take a closer look at your relationship with Christ.
I love this collection of stories; they are edgy, but full of the redemptive power of Christ. My favorite stories were by Nathan James Norman; yes he knock it out of the box. The Other stories are good, but his are ones that will make you take a closer look at your relationship with Christ.
September 29, 2014
Amazing variety of short stories! I enjoyed my journey through this book!
March 28, 2018
Short stories are great. This is a pretty good compilation of horror, sci-fi, speculative, and just plain weird tales. They’re not all home runs, but for the low Kindle price, it’s definitely worth getting.
These ones I liked...
"Snow and Ash" - This was my favorite of all of them. It’s told by a viking who’s angry at God for what happened to him and his adopted daughter. Most of it is told by him, but its bookended by what’s happening in the “present.” It’s very touching and fleshed out so well.
"If It Causes You to Sin" - This is a horror story about a man driven by voices to take Matthew 5:30 literally. It’s not for the faint of heart. I had trouble getting through it, but it’s effective.
“Blood Ace” - This is about a space fighter pilot on the verge of reaching milestone in his career. I think it’s theme is pride. It’s part of the author’s larger universe, but it stands on its own pretty well.
"Sanguinem Inimicum" - This one’s not too long. It’s about a warrior going off to fight, but there’s a twist at the end. It has some relationship to a song, but as of this writing, I can’t quite figure out which one.
"Spellbound" - This is another horror story about a single woman getting pregnant and having to move back in with her controlling mother. Why is her mother so controlling? Well, you’ll find out by the end.
“Proverbs - A Fairy Tale” - This one is just so weird and creative, I can’t hate it even though it’s gross. It’s about a man who leaves his wife and children for a seductive woman he meets at work. It seems fairly straightforward until the night he finds her doing something really icky in the basement. It’s actually based on a number of Proverbs from the Old Testament, all of which are listed at the end.
These were just OK…
“Broken” - This is about the crew of a space station where things go wrong. It’s a little preachy, but not badly written.
“Blood Ace” - This is about a space fighter pilot on the verge of reaching milestone in his career. I think it’s theme is pride. It’s part of the author’s larger universe, but it stands on its own pretty well.
“The Spigot” - This a post-apocalyptic story about a man and his daughter trying to survive. It’s part of a larger universe that the author fleshes out in other stories, but it’s supposed to stand on its own. I think reading the other stories in the universe would probably make it mean more to me. I don’t really like post-apocalypse stories, though.
This one was not my cup of tea…
“Doors of Babel” - This one’s about a woman hiring a mercenary with a past to guard the portal in her tower, but there seems to be more to her motives than meets the eye. It starts well, but it gets really confusing and feels like there’s a lot missing, especially when characters go into the portal. There are apparently related stories out there that could help it make more sense, but I don’t think I’m that interested in looking them up right now.
By the way, you can listen to “Snow and Ash,” “If It Causes You to Sin,” “Blood Ace,” and “The Spigot” on The Untold Podcast right now, if you want. Just go to www.untoldpodcast.com and search for them.
These ones I liked...
"Snow and Ash" - This was my favorite of all of them. It’s told by a viking who’s angry at God for what happened to him and his adopted daughter. Most of it is told by him, but its bookended by what’s happening in the “present.” It’s very touching and fleshed out so well.
"If It Causes You to Sin" - This is a horror story about a man driven by voices to take Matthew 5:30 literally. It’s not for the faint of heart. I had trouble getting through it, but it’s effective.
“Blood Ace” - This is about a space fighter pilot on the verge of reaching milestone in his career. I think it’s theme is pride. It’s part of the author’s larger universe, but it stands on its own pretty well.
"Sanguinem Inimicum" - This one’s not too long. It’s about a warrior going off to fight, but there’s a twist at the end. It has some relationship to a song, but as of this writing, I can’t quite figure out which one.
"Spellbound" - This is another horror story about a single woman getting pregnant and having to move back in with her controlling mother. Why is her mother so controlling? Well, you’ll find out by the end.
“Proverbs - A Fairy Tale” - This one is just so weird and creative, I can’t hate it even though it’s gross. It’s about a man who leaves his wife and children for a seductive woman he meets at work. It seems fairly straightforward until the night he finds her doing something really icky in the basement. It’s actually based on a number of Proverbs from the Old Testament, all of which are listed at the end.
These were just OK…
“Broken” - This is about the crew of a space station where things go wrong. It’s a little preachy, but not badly written.
“Blood Ace” - This is about a space fighter pilot on the verge of reaching milestone in his career. I think it’s theme is pride. It’s part of the author’s larger universe, but it stands on its own pretty well.
“The Spigot” - This a post-apocalyptic story about a man and his daughter trying to survive. It’s part of a larger universe that the author fleshes out in other stories, but it’s supposed to stand on its own. I think reading the other stories in the universe would probably make it mean more to me. I don’t really like post-apocalypse stories, though.
This one was not my cup of tea…
“Doors of Babel” - This one’s about a woman hiring a mercenary with a past to guard the portal in her tower, but there seems to be more to her motives than meets the eye. It starts well, but it gets really confusing and feels like there’s a lot missing, especially when characters go into the portal. There are apparently related stories out there that could help it make more sense, but I don’t think I’m that interested in looking them up right now.
By the way, you can listen to “Snow and Ash,” “If It Causes You to Sin,” “Blood Ace,” and “The Spigot” on The Untold Podcast right now, if you want. Just go to www.untoldpodcast.com and search for them.
December 22, 2017
Some good, some bad. With a bit of editing and some rewriting, these could be really good. Promising for the world of edgy Christian literature, but still needs a bit of work.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews