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Phillip Leighton-Daly

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by Phillip Leighton-Daly

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Nov 03, 2025 02:20AM

Phillip Leighton-Daly is currently reading

The Boiling Toad

by Phillip Leighton-Daly

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Phillip Leighton-Daly said: " Here's part of a review written by Mirium from the Online Book Club. It was an unedited draft though the storyline accurately equates to this published book The Boiling Toad. The draft was called the Boiling Frog. The title was changed because people Here's part of a review written by Mirium from the Online Book Club. It was an unedited draft though the storyline accurately equates to this published book The Boiling Toad. The draft was called the Boiling Frog. The title was changed because people refused to read about a frog being boiled. The Boiling Toad is written figuratively about the cane toad. That animal now threatens to drive many Australian native animals into extinction. This part review is an accurate depiction of the Boiling Toad. The Boiling Toad was published in early February, 2020 by the renowned Canadian Company Tellwell and is available from all notable booksellers. This book has been lengthed to 4000 words and is illustrated. See the book's details on the internet."Lucidia, a blind and mute prophetess, has been banished to the Badlands by the president of Soot, The Grand Poffo. This was in response to the people’s clamor to stop her from pestering them with her heretical claims. You see, Lucidia has been coming to the marketplace and cooking live frogs in a pot. She was showing the people that a frog that is put in a pot of cold water will not notice the increasing temperature; The frog stays in the pot until it is cooked. This was her way of telling her people to stop destroying the environment by burning coal. In persistent dreams, she has been seeing prophetic visions of their planet Fossil dying out because of the consistent burning of coal and people perishing as a result. The people mocked and insulted her, branding her a heretic.

The Boiling Frog is a short story written by Phillip Leighton-Daly to conscientize young adults and even those much younger to the perils of abusing Mother Nature. The story comes at this opportune time. The world’s young people are awakening to the terrifying phenomenon of climate change. Many are emulating Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist. The author is himself a nature enthusiast who has spent many hours in the Bungonia wilderness in New South Wales, Australia.

The main character Lucidia is blind, but she can see better than those with perfect eyesight. Her urgent message to save the environment is ignored, though. This reaction mirrors the present scenario where many world leaders still deny the reality of climate change and even brand those overly concerned as alarmists. The choice of the book’s audience is excellent as the youth of today will be those who will inherit the troubles of nature’s revenge.

I like the author’s inclusion of the usefulness of flora and fauna in the wilderness; he may have personally concocted healthy and delicious meals using the same ingredients. I also appreciate the author’s allusion to popular literature like The Lord of the Rings and the Bible. The names used for the characters and locations are clever; for instance, the city is called Soot, and the villains are the twins Louse and Cur.

I find the use of a blind person effective, but I would have wanted Lucidia to be able to speak, like Helen Keller. Lucidia's inability to verbalize puts her in an extremely disadvantaged position. The author may have reasons for giving Lucidia a lot of hurdles, though. A preface or afterword may be needed to expound on those reasons.

The book title is appropriate. The fable of the boiling frog has been an effective metaphor used by climate activists, including Al Gore. However, illustrations could be incorporated to heighten the impact of the story. The copy I reviewed had none. This book’s message is an important one that would benefit from engaging visuals." ...more "

Mar 23, 2020 03:53AM · see review

Phillip’s Quotes

“...the worst aspect of our time is prejudice... In almost everything I've written, there is a thread of this - man's seemingly palpable need to dislike someone other than himself.”
― Rod Serling

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“According to the Bible, God created the heavens and the Earth. It is man’s prerogative - and woman’s - to create their own particular and private hell.”
― Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone: Complete Stories

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“Imagination... its limits are only those of the mind itself.”
― Rod Serling

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“The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices - to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own - for the children and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to The Twilight Zone.
[closing narration: "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", Twilight Zone episode aired March 4, 1960”
― Rod Serling

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“Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science Fiction is the improbable made possible.”
― Rod Serling

tags: fantasy, impossible, improbable, possible, probable, science-fiction

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