Sha'Daa: Tales of the Apocalypse by Michael H. Hanson

Sha'Daa: Tales of the Apocalypse Reviews

• 
  Colleen Wanglund

  
  
  The brainchild of Michael H. Hanson, and edited by Edward F. McKeown, Sha’Daa Tales of the Apocalypse tells the story of an epic battle for the survival of the human race on Earth. Every ten thousand years the portals that exist between Earth and the other dimensions are at their thinnest. They can be opened by humans that are in league with these demons—and that is just about what they are—the spawn of Hell. Well, ten thousand years have passed and the Sha’Daa is once again upon us. Portals are opening all over the planet and hordes of demonic creatures are just waiting to pass through and wreak havoc. How can the human race survive? Enter the Salesman, who always seems to have what is needed and is ready to trade.
  Sha’Daa is both a novel and an anthology. Each chapter is written by a different author, but each continues the story to its final chapter and the novel’s climax. The chapters are separated by interludes—all quick and telling the main story from a bit of a different slant—all written by Michael Hanson. He also wrote the prologue AKASA, about the Mother of All Creation and the rules of the Universe in relation to the Sha’Daa; chapter X PRANA, about Akasa’s son, Prana, and what he does during the Sha’Daa; and the epilogue XENOGENESIS, what happens between mother and son in the Sha’Daa’s aftermath.
  Some of my favorite chapters include LAVA LOVERS (ch.3) by Wilson “Pete” Marsh, which tells of a portal opening at Akroteri, buried by an eruption of Santorini and fabled to be the lost city of Atlantis. This is a favorite of mine because it draws on ancient Greek mythology, specifically the story of Poseidon; THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR (ch.4) by Arthur Sanchez about an ancient Japanese monastery on Mt. Fuji where somehow the fate of the world is in the hands of an apprentice; TALKING HEADS (ch.8) by Nancy Jackson which involves the story of the Bird-Man mythology and the giant ceremonial head carvings of Easter Island; and THE SALESMAN (ch.11) by Rob Adams, the final chapter that tells the story of the Salesman, Johnny, whose presence is seen throughout the novel. It is the chapter that pulls the entire novel together and delivers the climax of the story, as a whole.
  A few other stand-outs include THE DIVE (ch.1) by Edward McKeown about the sandhogs in the underground tunnels of New York City, DIXIE CHRONONAUTS (ch.6) by D.R. MacMaster about Civil War re-enactors at Gettysburg, and BREAKING EVEN (ch.5) by Jamie Schmidt about gamblers in a poker tournament in Las Vegas. One other story I did enjoy was THE GREAT NYUK-NYUK (ch.7) by Adrienne Ray about a Vatican-sanctioned trip to a portal in the Amazon Basin, but I would like to have had some more in the way of an explanation as to why the Vatican was involved in the first place. The one touched on is not enough. I think the concept of Sha’Daa Tales of the Apocalypse is brilliant. The interludes are quite good, too, my two personal favorites being PEST CONTROL and A MATTER OF TASTE. With a helpful introduction by Mike Resnick, this is a must-read. I give it four-and-a-half out of five stars.