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Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite
Under a Black Rainbow by Adam “Bucho” Rodenberger is an anthology of eighteen short stories that delve deeply into the human psyche, the dream world, and dark, supernatural elements that all of us fear and rarely speak of. There is a darkness inherent in almost every story in this collection but it is a darkness that we have all experienced and thought about ourselves at various points in life. The stories are varied and unique ranging from a tree that becomes a living memorial to a dead child to a weird and deserted museum that houses mirrors showing things no other mirror possibly could, right through to a man going through a breakup whose only solution to beginning anew is to shed his skin. Many of the stories focus on those things we conjure up inside our minds, whether awake or asleep. Readers will identify with the thoughts and often dark voices that the characters experience in these tales.
Under a Black Rainbow captivated me and sometimes mirrored experiences I and others have felt. Author Adam “Bucho” Rodenberger has a grasp of what scares us but, more importantly, what dark thoughts inhabit many of our minds. I appreciated the detailed author information at the end of the book which gives the reader insight into the author’s motivation and difficulties experienced in producing this collection. All the stories in this anthology are worth reading but, as with any collection, there are some that I would label as my favorites. In this case, the three stories that captivated me the most were The Museum of Mirrors and the Dead, which presented mirrors collected over the years that did more than just reflect whoever was gazing into them. Possessing various powers they could tell the character about the past, the future, and so much more. In Terroir, a divorced man finds that the only way he can begin again is to shed his skin by shaving it off piece by piece. Finally, I was captivated by Diamond Blanket Sky, a rather horrific story of a man tasked with guarding an open mass grave in the jungle that was routinely used by the soldiers to dump the bodies of those who had offended the ruling regime. All of these stories, though, have a unique and fascinating quality about them that makes this anthology stand out from the rest. I can highly recommend this read.