You don't see this mix too often in the horror genre, and that is the influences of Rod Serling and Frank Peretti. Robert knows the Gothic darkness but at the same time uses his faith to scare people. You see this with the story Southern Exposure which I knew the story as then again with a story he sent my way called Anywhere But Here. My favorite story in the set was the first one but now it is the one I mentioned in this review, paired with the artwork of Lee Garrett the stories have more power behind them. You don't see many books that have illustrations, and I illustrated my first short story collection myself. Robert's mind works in ways that will rival Stephen King, and that is something that takes a lot of heart to do -- King put a lot of heart in his work, and so does Robert. I could see Robert writing during the eras of the Weird Tales authors and giving them a run for their money. It will be a matter of time before he gets into an Arkham House book.

Mr Montesino has a unique story-telling style and writes in a genre that is almost entirely his own creation. These are parables with a dream-like quality, designed to spark-off trains of thought in the reader. They are open-ended and sketchy, not literal or over-written but whimsical and surreal pointers towards things we already know and half remember at some level. The title story tells us not to be too smug in our beliefs and assumptions, the world might turn out to be very different to how we think it is. This is followed by an account of a petty criminal discovering that there is a moral order in the universe and retribution can not be evaded for ever. The third story deals with a voluntary act giving meaning to a meaningless life. Number five is an account of a meeting between a street preacher and one of his congregation where again we glimpse a deeper and darker reality. The last story is another straight parable, this time about what it is that we are running from in the rat race of modern urban life. These stories are quirky and individual and if Mr Montesino's work connects with you you will find them haunting and thought-provoking, as well as totally unique. Mr Montesino, in the words of the old Mad Magazine slogan, is number one in a field of one.