Rainbow People Of The Glittering Glade: After Dinner Conversation Short Story Series by David F. Shultz

Rainbow People Of The Glittering Glade: After Dinner Conversation Short Story Series Reviews

• 
  LaSheba Baker

  A good short story with alot of food for thought.
• 
  Dan

  “Her skin was like those of the living statues that surrounded us, the same stony white, like marble. Yet, it was marked all around by magnificent, rainbow tattoos.”
  
  
  There are persistent rumors that the Glittering Glade has violated fundamental laws with acts of slavery, human sacrifice, “and the worship of a corrupting god.” King Rancor and High Priest Jeronim dispatch Ardwan Abasan to travel to the Glade and get to the bottom of things. An emissary, Ardwan is accompanied by the warrior Tangai (the king’s nephew) and the healer/priestess Cyrena (the high priest’s granddaughter).
  
  Information about the Glade and its people is sparse; there aren’t even proper maps to find the place.
  
  The trio make it fine through the mountains. But once they reach desert, tragedy strikes—a venomous snake startles Tangai right off of his horse, and he breaks his arm in the fall. The same serpent bites Ardwan in his thigh. Cyrena calls the snake an omen of death.
  
  Lost in the desert, two of the three companions are mortally wounded. Yet they soldier on, and eventually persevere. They finally reach Kurukshtra: the city is stunningly beautiful.
  
  We learn the fate of the drull. The city is a meritocracy.
  
  Thought-provoking as always; the choices of the three companions are as interesting as the mysterious city itself.
  
  
  “I had entered a new world. I felt the majesty of reality anew, and the power of possibility brimmed within me.”
• 
  M.W. Lee

  David Shultz's "Rainbow People of The Glittering Glade" receives five stars from my primarily due to the interesting premise, the good storytelling, and the development of themes.
  
  Shultz packs a lot in this story, but he doesn't overwhelm the reader. I feel there are many avenues for discussion of themes with this piece. From racism to religious conversion to accepting one's path regardless of it is the one choose for or by the individual.
  
  Let me give a negative which I think will be a possible for many readers. For me, the story starts out slowly with lots of description. If you like description, Shultz describes the world well. If you don't (like me) Shultz doesn't over-describe. He has a good balance.
  
  Recommended: yes, it's a good story.
• 
  Andrea Stoeckel

  "There is something sick in this place," Cyrena said. "Something unnatural and unholy."
  
  
  The people of The Glittering Glade: Kurukshetra, are a really big unknown. This small story reminded me of Glinda the Good Witch of OZ asking Dorothy Gale if she was “a good witch or a bad witch”. I guess it depends on what you know, and,maybe, on what you don’t... and how you might be perceived.
  
  In this addition to the growing After Dinner Conversations, the question is posited about change. Should we? Must we? Is it a choice? What happens if we do...or don’t. How much drull are we? 5/5
  
  
• 
  Tricia Toney

  Ardwan the emissary, Tangai a warrior (the king’s nephew) and the healer/priestess Cyrena set out to find a mysterious city in the desert. After two of them are bitten by a venomous snake, they arrive in the city and are healed just in time. They notice that they begin changing and have to decide whether to adapt to the city or perish.
• 
  NayDoubleU

  Curiouser and curiouser
  
  When I say I want more this is exactly what I mean from these stories. I got just enough to make me feel like it was an actual story that I can really talk about. Loved it.
• 
  Garth Mailman

  A short in the series of Conversation Starters. This one more divorced from reality than most verging on fantasy or sci-fi. It describes a utopian society while revealing its ugly underbelly.
• 
  Mystee Pulcine

  A curious tale that touches on anthropology, morality, and religion. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.... which I guess is the point.