⋙ Download Free The Fall of Icarus The Elevator The Fall of Icarus and The Girl NR Bates 9780993190582 Books

The Fall of Icarus The Elevator The Fall of Icarus and The Girl NR Bates 9780993190582 Books

Download As PDF : The Fall of Icarus The Elevator The Fall of Icarus and The Girl NR Bates 9780993190582 Books

The Fall of Icarus The Elevator The Fall of Icarus and The Girl NR Bates 9780993190582 Books

We have a collection of three short stories of an author with an impeccable writing style, every word filtered, re-thought and arranged to give the reader the essence of his messages. The name of the collection, The Fall of Icarus gives us a hint of his objective: all three stories which he unfolds are interrelated and connected just like the universe is to man.

What is this wonderful glue this author has to tie the reader with his writings about the essence of life?
-- his knowledge of the universe, tales of antiquity and myth.
-- the ocean is the core of his universe, deep, wide, dynamic and magical.

In The Elevator he centres around confinement, movement and doorways to other realms, be it real or mystical, enchanting, capturing the essence of life in a landscape like that of Paris.

As a studied mind, in his second story, the author takes Icarus in mythology, tells the story of the flight from an island prison, when Icarus, alongside his father flew with wings his father had constructed with feathers and wax. But Icarus fell to his death because he did not heed the constraints the physical world contained. In rethinking the story for a successful escape flight, the author says: " I may not be able to alter the constraints of the world, but I can change my own limitations." You can excel following your own path to escape the imposed constraints of life, be it those of one's own making or those of others.

In the last story he tells about a girl who wanted to fly. She thought she had the talent and manifested it in spite of the facts known that "only angels and daemons can fly". As we can imagine, the author has a vision beyond reality. The girl "was loosened from gravity......In spite of the strict dogma and refinement of behaviour". The girl escaped defiantly shouting " I will not be caught". What followed was excitement as she launched herself in the air, contemplating the world from above. The enchantment of the flight and what she could see and experience, filled her with wonder.

The author is acutely conscious of ingresses, confined spaces, physical limitations, openness and motion. His terminology centres around comings and goings, doorways, locking in, escape, flying and freedom. He extends our consciousness beyond boundaries. ..into other worlds, real or imagined.

I will never stop reading his work.

Scarlett Jensen
25 June 2015


Tags : The Fall of Icarus (The Elevator, The Fall of Icarus, and The Girl) [NR Bates] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Three interconnected short-stories set in Paris explore the issue of choice, survival and transformation. In the first story,NR Bates,The Fall of Icarus (The Elevator, The Fall of Icarus, and The Girl),NR Bates Publishing,0993190588,Fantasy,Fantasy - General,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction Fantasy General

The Fall of Icarus The Elevator The Fall of Icarus and The Girl NR Bates 9780993190582 Books Reviews

‘“I am so ignorant - in so many ways,” I whispered towards the painting in front of me. I leaned forward and cupped my face in my hands as my elbows rested on my knees, and I let out a deep sigh.” The Elevator

“I am Icarus redux. I am a survivor, after all.” The Fall of Icarus

“I paused for a few moments to gather myself and glance at my companions. ‘It is a strange story – a dream, perhaps, and one that transcends belief. I will recall the tale as if she is me and I am her.’” The Girl

From the title one can only imagine what lies within its pages. Nevertheless Bates has created a remarkable masterpiece with 3 seeming unrelated short stories. However, as the reader delves deeper into the pages what is found there is a thought provoking parallel within the 3. While short stories is not everyone’s forte I was captivated by the author’s writing style that is not only creative with excellent word descriptions but rich, developed characters that will transcend time causing the stories to remain a part of you. Wishfully I didn’t want these stories to end and hope Bates will provide us more of his creativeness of word.
This series of three short stories by author NR Bates is a very short read, yet ultimately a quite fulfilling one. It contains three short stories, each set in Paris and each fairly unique. And while the themes are not immediately clear from the outset, the element of personal growth presents itself uniquely in each story.

The title story, “The Fall of Icarus,” is curiously the shortest of the three. Narrated by a scientist who is sitting in front of the eponymous painting by Pablo Picasso, it is more or less an assessment of the painting as well as the Icarus myth itself. The narrator talks about his childhood and the ways in which he can relate to Icarus before ultimately offering his own version of the tale. While quite short, it is well-written and does an excellent job of describing the painting in question.

“Elevator” precedes the title story. A highly surreal tale of a young businessman who encounters problems with the elevator in his hotel, the man takes several trips on an elevator that does not seem to want to travel up and down. It frequently travels sideways, and sometimes its movement appears to be more than three-dimensional. Other curious quirks, such as the inanimate objects with which the narrator often travels on each elevator ride, demonstrate the author’s ability to catch the reader off-guard with uniquely interesting details.

The third and final story is “The Girl.” A story within a story, the narrative of a young amnesiac girl learning to fly is told by a young female archivist to an elderly couple. The story appears to have something of a twist ending, which is not explained in much detail. In many ways, this is to its credit, as it allows the reader to give the story their own meaning and their own interpretation of the themes of identity and transformation.

That is the true beauty of these three stories. They are not overly plot-driven, but they are unique and beautiful and allow us to imbue them with our own ideas regarding their themes. This makes the reading experience a bit more personal, and allows us to gain that much more from each of these short yet wonderful little gems.
We have a collection of three short stories of an author with an impeccable writing style, every word filtered, re-thought and arranged to give the reader the essence of his messages. The name of the collection, The Fall of Icarus gives us a hint of his objective all three stories which he unfolds are interrelated and connected just like the universe is to man.

What is this wonderful glue this author has to tie the reader with his writings about the essence of life?
-- his knowledge of the universe, tales of antiquity and myth.
-- the ocean is the core of his universe, deep, wide, dynamic and magical.

In The Elevator he centres around confinement, movement and doorways to other realms, be it real or mystical, enchanting, capturing the essence of life in a landscape like that of Paris.

As a studied mind, in his second story, the author takes Icarus in mythology, tells the story of the flight from an island prison, when Icarus, alongside his father flew with wings his father had constructed with feathers and wax. But Icarus fell to his death because he did not heed the constraints the physical world contained. In rethinking the story for a successful escape flight, the author says " I may not be able to alter the constraints of the world, but I can change my own limitations." You can excel following your own path to escape the imposed constraints of life, be it those of one's own making or those of others.

In the last story he tells about a girl who wanted to fly. She thought she had the talent and manifested it in spite of the facts known that "only angels and daemons can fly". As we can imagine, the author has a vision beyond reality. The girl "was loosened from gravity......In spite of the strict dogma and refinement of behaviour". The girl escaped defiantly shouting " I will not be caught". What followed was excitement as she launched herself in the air, contemplating the world from above. The enchantment of the flight and what she could see and experience, filled her with wonder.

The author is acutely conscious of ingresses, confined spaces, physical limitations, openness and motion. His terminology centres around comings and goings, doorways, locking in, escape, flying and freedom. He extends our consciousness beyond boundaries. ..into other worlds, real or imagined.

I will never stop reading his work.

Scarlett Jensen
25 June 2015