Meet Didier Rain – that antihero with noble aspirations, that poet with the fickle pen, that eager paramour ever in search of someone to love. In this adventure-laden novelette, we glimpse the rogue as he was in those days prior to his now famous exploits in DELIVERING VIRTUE and FORTUNA AND THE SCAPEGRACE (due out summer 2018). Prepare yourself to be amazed at Rain’s cleverness, daring, and near-to-honorable acts of madcap heroism as he lends a helping hand to a friend. For what self-respecting bard (even when distracted by the promises of a voluptuous one-legged trollop) would deign to allow the mistreatment of a fellow poet, no matter how much a freak of nature that fellow poet might be? This novelette gives us Didier Rain at his finest as a flawed human being. It shows us the man before he became the Chosen One, and maybe even grants us insight into why the gods would eventually pick him for that exalted station so sung in his further novels. So sit back and get to know the man behind the dubious legend.
Prepare yourself to be amused!
Before I start the review, I want to go ahead and give you a warning. I’m somewhat of a Brian Kindall superfan. Magical realism is a genre I rarely agree to review because it is my absolute favorite genre and I am incredibly picky when reading it. Some of the stories that fit in this genre helped pull me through some of the darkest and loneliest days of my life. Magical realism is what began my obsession with reading. It is why I am here today writing reviews. I don’t review many Indie books from this genre because I have incredibly (damn near unattainable) high expectations for any story who tries to slink in. Not only has Mr. Kindall met those standards and bore the weight of my pickiness he also hired me to Beta Read for him knowing just how picky I am. I love his characters and I love his stories. They are stories I keep close to my heart and cherish every time I re-read them. They mean something to me. I don’t think there is any higher praise I can give an author. Didier Rain is a square in the patchwork of who I am. His trials and musings are lessons. I hope his story never ends.
Now for the review. “SideShow” takes place before “Delivering Virtue” and “Fortuna and the Scapegrace”. As I have read the latter two it was really fun to get a picture of who Didier was before those two great adventures take place. “SideShow” is both a great introductory and companion to flesh out the world of Didier Rain. If you start with “SideShow” you’ll be hooked. For so little pages, it does a great job of showing the complexities of the world through the eyes of my favorite swashbuckling dandy. He is the kind of man who destiny calls in the darndest of ways. Didier is an unlikely hero who, eventually, kinda gets the job done. He’s passionate, philosophical, empathetic but also deeply….oh so deeply selfish. He is fundamentally flawed but his flaws are also what makes him so unique and so precious to me. Didier rain is truly the blue rose in a field of red.
The Technical Data:
Title: SideShow | Author(s): Brian Kindall | Publisher: Diving Boy Books / Publication Date: 5-03-2018 |Pages: 37 (Print) | ISBN: B07CV5WLB6 | Genre(s): Historical / Magical Realism |Language:English |
Rating: 5 out of 5 | Date Read: 6-18-2018 | Source: Copy from Author
AlliesOpinions 
Lovely review ♥
LikeLiked by 1 person