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Tallis writes to conquer her dyslexia and animate her Druid beliefs. Her short, charming stories certainly convey the modern-day Druid's thirst for continuous learning and self-improvement and their deep love and respect for nature. When you look at the stories through this ancient lens, the messages deepen. Instead of a science fiction piece about fleeing planetary destruction and separation of family, "Lost Sun" becomes a eulogy to hope and generational bonding. Instead of a how-to on surviving boredom, "Retirement" praises the energizing power of learning and taking chances. A dream about a blackbird in an ice cave becomes not a personal story, but instead a universal melding of human and animal spirits.
Druid adventures don't disappoint: a mystical journey to the Cauldron of the Underworld in a personally perilous quest for wisdom, a moonlight ceremony at Rollright Stones in England, and a moonlight-powered transport of a tiny alien. Where Tallis especially shines, though, is in her depiction of the nonmagical: a sympathetic day in the life of a flu-ridden, divorced mother of two; the rich inner life of a boy on life support before termination; an imaginative first-person adventure of a bunny lost in a killing field; and entrance into the mind of a woman with Alzheimer's.
Some beginner's stumbles in writer's techniques and proofreading errors don't detract greatly from an honest and original perspective on the power of nature and the search for knowledge. Tallis admirably fulfills her goals of overcoming her learning disability and shining a light on her spiritual beliefs with these charming, imaginative, and fascinating journeys into the mundane and the magical. Her stories successfully lead you into different worlds.