Each of the authors' work stand on its own merits, being read as individual stories with elements linking each of them to be considered a larger piece. Take, for example, the six shorts written by Tim Cooke. His section of the anthology kicks off with a tale entitled ‘The Priest’. The story begins with a man fixated with his roommate's moving out to the point that it's beginning to take over his life, paralysing him; then, out of the blue, his focus turns toward the neighbour only known as the Priest. He sets out to find out this mysterious man that has no other name, only to find that the man is some alternate version of himself.

Obsession seems to be a common thread in majority of the stories Comma accepted from Cooke for this collection. The title of Cooke's second story, ‘The Letter K’, is a dead give away to the focus of the character's obsession, but there is some hope for the narrator when he moves on to other letters of the alphabet. In ‘The Shopping List’, one of the other stories where obsessions run amuck, the obsession primarily results in the narrator pulling pranks on local establishments, including placing himself "on the market" and having himself rung up at the local supermarket where he worked. Outrunning the authorities is another fixation found in one of Cooke's stories; this time being ‘The Long Drive’. Although this section of the book also includes ‘Sweet Peas’, it is Cooke's last story that wraps up the threads that bind each of the stories in this particular portion of the anthology. In this final story, the narrator is tucked away in his apartment, working on several stories for an upcoming anthology. Among his belongs and other debris found there, he finds words, phrases like "Give Peas a Chance" and "K is for Cataclysm."

Finding the common link in Sprackland and O'Brien's work may not be as apparent as it was in Cooke's. Although most of their stories - like Cooke’s - were written in a more narrative voice, occasionally in the first person, though some in the third, Sprackland and O'Brien went in separate directions with the work they submitted.

Death, a sense of finite, kicks off the first two of Sprackland's five stories. ‘The Other Man’, the first of the two, is a bit misleading, but a nice touch to the otherwise creepy story. The piece depicts a man away on a business trip. Admiring the briefcase his wife had given him as a gift, he discovers that the briefcase isn't his. He finds human remains. ‘Three Villages’ is written unlike majority of the work found within Ellipsis in that it is broken down into three separate sections. Each section is written in a different point of view. The first is in the mother's, who has an interest in anthropology, yet, unlike her husband, has a deep concern for her son's future. The section part is in the father's view, and the last, from the son's. ‘Do You Read Swedish?’ is a rather bizarre story set within a department store. A woman befriends a man who is secretively living within the story, only, in the end, turns him in.

‘Rollercoaster Cowboy’ was one of a handful of stories I rather enjoyed. A part of it is largely due to areas mentioned within the piece; I grew up in an area not far from Pennsylvania and Margate, NJ, though I was never one for rollercoasters. But there is something more to this particular story. Even though it mirrors the two preceding stories, in that it, too, focuses on relationships and the dynamics of those said relationships, there is also something more than the bond between family members, or between two or more people. It's somewhat symbolic. This isn't to downplay that this story is, in part, about an amusement ride. The story could also be seen as a metaphor for how relationships can go up and down before they come to an end. ‘Blue Guitar’ is the final story written by Sprackland included in the collection. There isn't much to say about the piece other than it remotely reminded me of Cooke's ‘The Priest’. Instead of the narrator being obsessed with his roommate's move, it is this blue guitar that was taken when the relationship ended, even though it wasn't the other person's to take. Another similarity between the two is that music is involved. I could see both pieces included in another anthology placed consecutively in the collection.

Sean O'Brien's work concludes the anthology, though they are far from not leaving readers astonished, their minds spinning. The majority of his stories found within ‘Ellipsis’ are set within a library setting, except for ‘I Cannot Cross Over’, though poetry, writing and books play a vital role in this story. I love this first story's title – ‘I Cannot Cross Over’ - on multiple levels. For one, there seems to be a subtle religious innuendo, referring to not being able to "cross over." But there is also a matter of relationships. One of the characters in this story is involved to two different women; he is unwilling to commit to marrying. ‘Tabs’ deals with how things change. Establishments go smoke-free, for example, as did the library where this story takes place. People change. So do one's attitudes, beliefs. ‘The Custodian’, which also takes place within a library setting, starts off with a man doing research, but, in the end, he becomes the next custodian until the next one is chosen...Eerie piece, this one. Something you might expect to see on the Twilight Zone or woven into a Stephen King novel.

One thing I did notice among all of the work included in ‘Ellipsis’ is that many of the characters in his and the other two writers' works are artistic, being writers, researchers, musicians, and, in at least one of the stories, a former educator-turned typist.

O'Brien's two remaining stories are ‘Three Fevers’ and ‘Kiss Me Deadly on the Museum Island’.

Robin M. Buehler is a journalist in southern New Jersey. She's had poetry included in Taj Mahal Review, Byline Magazine, Poetic Hour, Writers Post Journal, Ancient Heart, Dark Walls, Gothic Revue, Canadian Zen Haiku, Sacred Twilight and, most currently, PW Review. She's also had short stories published in Fantasies, Collection of the World's Greatest Short Stories; Sacred Twillight and in soon-to-be released anthology, No Longer Dreams. Book reviews she has written have appeared in Sabledrake and Gothic Revue. Ms. Buehler has also had some of her photogrpahy published.

© 2006 Laura Hird All rights reserved.