Review ~ First There Wasn't, Then There Was by Troy Blackford

First There Wasn't, Then There Was 

by Troy Blackford

Synopsis:

Four young men have noticed a peculiar man wandering around the streets downtown where they work, muttering to himself with a trashbag slung over his shoulder. After one of them hatches a plan to capture the strange old man's words, the group quickly realize that the fellow has seen and done things that defy the imagination.

A metaphysical tale of action and adventure that takes you beyond the bounds of normal human experience and into a world of secret colors and hidden doorways, of uncoiling panthers and recoiling nailguns, 'First There Wasn't, Then There Was' is a novella unlike any other.

My Review:
4 out of 5 stars

The Lansburne Leaners are a group of four men who work for Lansburne-Bradley.  They got their name because every day at 7:50a.m., 10a.m. and shortly after 3p.m., they go out and have a smoke and lean against the building.  One day, they start noticing a homeless man walking each day muttering words they can’t understand.  No matter what, they never can get the man to talk to them.  Curious as to what the man is muttering, they devise a plan to record the man throughout the day.  Once they get the recording device back, they never in their wildest dreams could imagine the story that was about to be unfold. In a clear and concise voice, the homeless man re-tales a story that will change how the group looks at the old man………and at life.

First There Wasn't, Then There Was takes the reader on an incredibly imaginative journey into one man’s mind as he coped with unimaginable terror.  What started off as a story told by someone with a normal frame of mind at the beginning, quickly turned into a story told by someone who clearly had lost touch with reality in an effort to save himself from the horror that was taking place around him on that terrifying day back in 1980.  Although you really can’t believe what you are reading at times, you can’t help but feel for the old man telling the story.  The story within the story is truly amazing and really had something important to tell the four men who were engrossed by the man’s words.  In the end, the tears started falling from my eyes and I just wanted to give the old man a hug. Mr. Blackford is an amazing story teller and although this story was short, it was packed full with emotion and action that one might find in a full-blown novel.  Thank you Mr. Blackford for writing a well-written and thought-provoking story that will stay with me for quite some time.

Buy Link:

Amazon