EDITOR'S NOTE: Read our interview with Lucy Snyder.

Man, oh, man. I can't believe Lucy Snyder has flown under my radar for so long. Sure, I knew her name; but there are so many names on chat boards, internet flyers, and newsletters that you just can't get to everyone. Too many books, not enough time.

Well, I'm here to tell you that if you haven't already done it, make the time for Lucy Snyder. Her writing is smooth and soft, like a fresh-made bed at a five-star hotel; but it's also full of dark things that leap onto you and bite your flesh when you least expect it. When you finish one of the many stories in this collection (a lot of them are short enough to be considered flash fiction), you're likely to find yourself leaning back and doing something a lot of other stories don't make you do:

Thinking.

Lucy's dark fiction, sci-fi, and horror is provocative, and more than once had me wondering, "Damn, what if that really happened?" Many of her stories are grounded in scientific theory, modern-day politics, or both, which only adds to the feeling of realism you get when turning the pages of Sparks and Shadows.

There's no easy way to describe Lucy's style of writing. Toss Jack Ketchum, Robert Heinlein, and Mary Shelley in a blender, and you might get Lucy Snyder. Or at least a poor imitation of her, because she certainly has taken her influences and moved well beyond them.

The stories in Sparks and Shadows hit you from every direction. In 'A Preference for Silence,' it takes Lucy all of four pages to create a devastating space tale that would have Arthur C. Clarke soiling his underwear. In 'Sara and the Telecats,' (a great title!), she skewers present-day politicians and gives us all hope that with a little wishful thinking and some dark magic, we might really be capable of participating in the selection of our elected leaders, instead of just going through the motions. And in 'The Dogs of Summer,' we get a totally new twist on the ancient fable of the Hunt.

More than a few of the stories in this collection deal with women's rights, sexual relationships, and gender distinctions. Some are violent ('The Sheets Were Clean and Dry,' 'Feel the Love'), some are steamy ('Roses for Gomorrah'), and some are downright hilarious ('Menstruation for Men'). But she's at the top of her game when the stories are a mixture of futuristic science and cold, hard horror. The best example of this is 'From Thy Bounty, a chilling tale of alien invasion and revenge in the not too distant future.

But by far my favorite of them all was the last story in the book, 'Darwin's Children.' It's a warm-hearted tale that spoke to me more than the others for one simple reason - it involved snakes, and for once the snakes weren't evil creatures. They were just...snakes. Harmless reptiles. In writing the story, Lucy not only got her scientific facts right (something that people tend not to bother with when it comes to reptiles!), but she also captured perfectly the feelings I used to have when I worked as a zoo keeper and when I studied reptiles in graduate school. For that alone I applaud her!

However, no matter what kind of story you like - romantic, creepy, mildly pornographic, violently scary, Hitchcockian, devilishly clever, or packed with fantastic adventure, you'll find something in this book that will seem written just for you.

And along the way, you'll discover that you hold in your hands the works of a superior writer.

###

JG Faherty is a writer of dark fiction. His short stories have appeared in many magazines and ezines, most recently in Cemetery Dance #58, MagusZine, All Possible Worlds, and the Garden State Horror Writers Association 2007 anthology, Dark Territories. He's also the Fiction Editor at Doorways Magazine, and writes regular columns for the Horror Writers Association monthly newsletter and Doorways Magazine. You can visit him at www.jgfaherty.com.