Brian Biswas

A Betrayal and Other Stories Brian Biswas

Pen-and-ink illustrations complement each of these nineteen stories spanning the literary genres of magical realism, horror, and science fiction. Through them we are taken on a journey, an examination of the crossroads of life. As the narrator of "In the Garden" deftly puts it, "The world is wonderful and full of magic. He who does not believe it so is dead." In the title story, "A Betrayal," a doctor travels into the countryside to help a young patient, only to deliver a diagnosis with which the girl's family vehemently disagrees. The peculiar narrator of "Sedgefield's Diary" recoils in horror when he discovers that the hourly diary he keeps has taken on a life of its own and now threatens his very existence. The bereaved wife in "The Lake of Flies" takes matters into her own hands when she learns the truth surrounding her husband's death. In "Barnegat Inn," a strange visitation becomes the background for a poignant recitation on the nature of time. The themes of loss and betrayal between rival siblings are explored in "The Crystal," a story pulsating with an ethereal, otherworldly quality. And in "A Journey Through the Wormhole," a decades-old feud between rival scientists threatens to upend a scientific revolution.