DREAMTIME

A series of artfully constructed stories that explores the divide between the mundane and the supernatural.

Although these dark and elegant tales–the title is derived from the aboriginal expression signifying the mystical creation of the world–are not obviously connected in any way, they all exhibit the author’s predilection for unexpected and sinister events that befall ordinary protagonists. Steiner, a scientist by trade, roots the stories in an absorbing combination of mythology and his own experiences. A brush with a pickpocket inspires “The Decoy,” in which a disfigured young man is lured into acting as bait for the thugs lurking in Italy’s back alleys. In “The Hiker’s Tale,” Steiner invigorates a memory of trekking in the American backwoods with an old folktale about a refuge that appears only when it’s most urgently needed. Historical figures are prominently featured in two of the best stories. “The Returning Student” resurrects the very first literary detective, Edgar Allen Poe’s unconventional but gifted C. Auguste Dupin, who appears here as the young college student haunting a university professor with his perplexing inquiries. In “The Student Pilot,” the author draws on his own detailed memories of learning to fly, framing them within the context of what Leonardo Da Vinci might make of the experience. Steiner’s stories share commonalities with those of Poe, H.P. Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury, and are distinguished by the author’s ability to occupy fully his unnamed and generally conventional narrators.

An unusually personal glimpse into the mystical, certain to haunt readers long after the last page.