This Great Divide
Eric Prochaska
(Guest Reviewer - Chris Allis)
2006 Halo Forge Press
ISBN: 0977234908

Thirteen short stories of on different characters, each with their unique tale to tell. Published separately over the past decade these stories have been collected in one edition.

Guest Reviewer Chris Allis writes:

I got an advance of This Great Divide through the publisher's website. I wasn't even sure if I was going to read it, but when it arrived within days, I had some time, so I cracked it open to the title story “This Great Divide”. (I figured it would be the best, since the book was named after it).

I have to admit, it drew me in immediately & I read it without putting the book down. That weekend I read several more stories, & finished the book a week later.

The stories are packed with emotion! Each has a different character, but you get the feeling that they are all are connected. I didn't read them in order, but they still added up by the time I was done.

One of the things I liked about the writing is that it isn't the same old Hemingway-is-God copycat terse prose. Eric Prochaska has his own style. & it's perfect for his characters & stories.

My favorites are: This Great Divide in which a teenage boy suffers watching his father sacrifice himself to make the boy's life better.
Indoor Plumbing for Posterity: gotta love the kid's self-righteous angst!
Study in Darkness: this one seems like it must be an allegory or something, & I need to read it again to really examine it closely.
Interred with the Bones: I could really see this as a screenplay with Tim Robbins starring.
OK... I could keep going & list all of the stories, but I won't. There isn't a “weak” one in the bunch although some really made an impression on me.

I didn't know who the author was when I got this book, now I'm going to get his Reading for the Real World Intro. I'm really glad I decided to read This Great Divide!
(05/07/06)

Guest Reviewer - Chris Allis
2006©Chris Allis