MILTON’S CHILDREN

By Jason V Brock

Bad Moon Books

Reviewed by Trever Nordgren 

Former Dark Discoveries Managing Editor and Designer Jason Brock is a busy guy. Besides making documentaries on SF and Horror luminaries, publishing landmark limited edition anthologies and editing and publishing his own magazine, Nameless, he also finds time to write a bit here and there. He’s had a number of short stories published in various venues (including a couple of excellent ones I ran in DD a while back) and now he’s done something a bit longer in the novella Milton’s Children.

An interesting fusion of Paradise Lost and Lovecraft, it focuses on a team of military personnel who assemble for a trek deep into Antartcia to explore something amazing recently discovered. The incorporation of the main protagonist’s beliefs into the plot at the start is an interesting move and helps to bolster both the scientific background as well as the irony of the following events in the story. It’s easy to become preachy with this kind of thing, but Brock succeeds in avoiding that quite well.

Milton’s Children is a brisk, action-filled read – a nod to the classic ecological monster movies of the 50s, 60s and 70s with modern day knowledge and scientific information factored in. It really gives the reader food for thought about our own actions and presumed domination of the planet. In reality, there is a lot we still don’t understand and our grasp of being the “head” species is tenuous at best. I enjoyed it very much and with the issues brought up and the possible implications and outcome, I could easily see this becoming a much longer piece. (Or a sequel? Word is that might well be on the horizon actually).

Recommened!

 

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