At our root, we are all derivatives of atoms, part and parcel of a universal, cosmic story formulated by all the stories that make mankind what it is today. No one is left behind as remnants of the past are fused into the present and the present to the future, an intricate tapestry of atomic history that came to define Earth as a “star-crossed planet,” in the author’s words. In Toliver’s collection of tales, a profound sentiment is expressed with refreshing simplicity: from sunrise and sunsets to the moon hanging over a mountain, all things, even the most minute and seemingly meaningless, are energy-driven reminders of “the place of our species.”
Processing the world from a combination of protons, neutrons, and electrons, Toliver studies the continuum through a series of stories that, while all different, are unified in their energetic movements. For example, in Clayton and Madison’s life journey, they inherit Uncle Colter’s fortune and form a burning desire to scale mountains, weighing the desire to pay homage to Uncle Colter’s life savings while doing something meaningful and embarking on an adventure of storytelling lore. Similarly, while Clayton and Madison are on their own path, the sibling camaraderie depicted in “Brothers in Arms” is heartwarming, featuring Clark and his more clumsy brother. From a coed softball team to the depths of war, their relationship is one that goes to hell and back, a modern-age rendition of Steinbeck’s Lenny and George in Of Mice and Men.
Embedded within his stories, Tolliver’s commentary covers a gamut of historical and current events, depicting the treatment of Native Americans and speculating who the savage and civilized truly are in “The Interrupted Land Survey” while alluding to life-changing biohazards not dissimilar from Covid in the short story “King Rumpster.” Undoubtedly, “King Rumpster” is simultaneously a humorous parody of recent politics as well as an eye-opening survey of society’s state of affairs. Despite being technologically advanced, there is a serious disconnect between the welfare of the people and those at the top that threatens to cripple the fabric of society.
To call this work wide-ranging would be an understatement as there is literally something for everyone. Topics such as middle-aged romance, celestial events, town life (with its traffic, of course), the forests, seas, and eradicating predators like coyotes are just the tip of the iceberg. And while often unrelated, their paths intersect in this atomic history of the cosmos, all remnants of the greater whole. Toliver’s ability to keep the link connected from story to story is commendable, as is the ability to flesh out characters and their motivations despite the brevity of these stories. Further, a steady balance of exposition and dialogue keeps the reader engaged and maintains the balance of the syntax and sentence structure, yielding a well-flowing plot across the anthology of stories. In each tale, audiences can get an ever-so-slight glimpse of themselves, who they were, or who they seek to be. Above all else, Tolliver’s work is comprehensive and imaginative, a thoughtful discourse on the world—past, present, future, and the world of science fiction—from the lens of his experiences and observations.
