The Mirror & The Monkey

“The Mirror & the Monkey has the rhythms and imagery of the real deal - a legend that has been passed along orally beside campfires and bardic hearths.” David Brin, author of Startide Rising and Brightness Reef

“Deese’s original and entertaining fable lacks for nothing. The Mirror and the Monkey will enchant children and the adults who read it with them; neither is going to want to put it down. The story is both new and old, full of novelties yet awash in motifs warm from the folk unconscious. Each episode is introduced with verses that feel gnomic and ancient along with graphics that recall the illustrators of a century ago and the best comic book art. Deese’s plot runs swiftly through family violence, utopian dreams, virgin sacrifice, displays of expert archery, intelligent beasts, foolish humans, and young lovers stumbling toward one another over all kinds of obstacles. The monkey-prince is the author’s memorable hero, but readers will not soon forget his metamorphic dragon or one humble and indestructible weed.” Robert Wexelblatt, author of The Posthumous Papers of Sidney Fein, Hsi-wei Tales, The Thirteenth Studebaker, etc.

“This memorable tale enchants the reader with stories within stories, dreams within dreams, and worlds within worlds where curious creatures, who dwell both within and without other magical creatures, come alive on the page. Deese’s fairy tale glistens with the glow of miracles.” Lisa H. Sideris, author of Consecrating Science: Wonder, Knowledge, and the Natural World

“The Mirror & The Monkey combines myth, poetry, and richly detailed worldbuilding. An intensely imagined, emotionally engaging narrative, reminiscent of the early pulp fantasists, but with a 21st Century sensibility.” Regina M. Hansen, author of The Coming Storm