Michael John Diack

Garden Hopping Michael John Diack

A collection of short stories and novellas. 'Getting the Ball Back' and 'Garden Hopping' are both explored through the excitable and occasionally nervous eyes of a child. There is sometimes a thin line between reality and youthful imagination. 'The Unknown Man' and 'The Creep' provide two interludes in this collection of short stories. 'The Unknown Man' is full of atmosphere and intrigue. Who is he, why is he there and what will be his future fate? Conversely, there is little doubt as to what the disturbed young man in 'The Creep' is doing whilst he lurks in the shadows. Chilling, unwanted attention. 'Give Them A Name' follows the lives of strangers in the same city. We live our lives oblivious - often wilfully - to other people's backstory until, by luck or misfortune, a group of lives become unforgettably clashed together in the same moment. One action can have unforeseen consequences for many. For generations, knights from the city of Harwell have bravely entered The Gauntlet: never to be seen again. Follow Ash, the latest knight to be selected for this most deadly of missions. Confronted with a land strewn with the corpses of those who entered before him and the malicious beasts that stripped them of their lives, Ash must use every drop of his strength and knowledge to survive. However, he is not alone in his mission to defeat the dark forces that lie inside The Gauntlet. Others also seek to complete The Gauntlet's trials, discover its end and hope to learn the truth behind its existence. Those that succeed will be empowered beyond their wildest imagination. Those that fail... must die.