Should We Drown in Feathered Sleep eBook Michael Merriam
Download As PDF : Should We Drown in Feathered Sleep eBook Michael Merriam 
A new world is emerging years after war destroyed society. In a Minnesota lake, the last surviving loons, direct descendants of the legendary First Pair, await the one who can help heal the earth. Each year a human sacrifice is brought to them to be endowed with special gifts, but they come at a terrible price.
Even as the rest of the world rebuilds, Grace Kriske's life is shattered. Unable to walk, she feels utterly dependent on her family and trapped in a community that disapproves of her rebellious ways. Grace's only solace is her lover, David Tvedt, a trader who wants to take her away with him—if she'd let him.
Yet something else calls to Grace—the loons. They haunt her dreams, lurking in her mind as if part of her deepest primal self. But when Grace is chosen as the new sacrifice, she's afraid. Will she risk everything to help the community that shuns her, or will she choose her own path?
18,000 words
Should We Drown in Feathered Sleep eBook Michael Merriam
Should We Drown in Feathered Sleep? is a moving novella full of deep, emotional imagery and transcendent beauty. It is easily one of the top five stories I have read all year.Written by Michael Merriam and published by Carina Press this story follows a shattered woman, Grace Kriske, who becomes attuned through her dreams to the last surviving loons, descendants of the legendary First Pair, who await someone to help them heal earth after an apocalyptic incident.
Set on a Minnesota lake where northern lights ripple through the night like cold fire, and the gusting breeze off the water chills you to the bone, the true strength of this work lies in the carefully drawn human characterizations, and the magical fantasy that takes hold of these lives and transforms them using the tools of promise and redemption.
In the hands of a lesser writer such themes would become maudlin and downright embarrassing. But Merriam protects the fragile beauty of his story, and the human strength of his characters, and delivers an ending that resonates and speaks of the wonder all of us can find in the corners of our lives.
I have read other stories by Merriam. This is by far his best work. I cannot recommend this novella strongly enough.
Buy it and read it. I promise you will not be disappointed.
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Should We Drown in Feathered Sleep eBook Michael Merriam Reviews
Grace Kiske is a prisoner of her own body in the post-war community that is all that is left of the world she once knew. Her rebellious ways are all she has left in her control, all she has that is still all hers, and those ways make her an outsider. She is overly conscious of how much she depends on her family to help her and she refuses to run away with her love, David, because she doesn't want to be a burden to him, as well. Her only freedom from the prison that is her body comes in her dreams, when the loons call to her and she swims with them.
This novella was just released a week ago, and I snapped it up on that day. Honestly, it was the cover art that initially grabbed me, being an tattooed diva with pink hair myself! The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic America, society taken down to the basics of living of a time long since past. On top of which, Grace is limited physically by her injuries. Life as she once knew it was gone and being dependent on those she loves goes against everything the onc-rebellious Grace stands for. All of this could make for a very depressing story, but somehow the spirit of Grace shines through and there is hope among the despair. My only complaint was that it was far too short because I wanted more! I highly recommend this novella!
Short stories are both a joy as well as a difficulty to read. If done properly they can tell stories & leave the reader as full as if they were to have read hundreds of pages. If improperly done the reader leaves unsatisfied & empty, wishing for something more substantial. Michael Merriam is one author who knows how to properly pen a short story.
Set in an unknown time & location, this story focuses on a post-apocalyptic world that has been torn apart by war. People must do what they can to get by, which includes trading as well as having a yearly sacrifice to the loons. Each year the loons cry & only Grace Kriske seems to hear them. She regularly dreams of them, hearing their calls & seeing their plumage. Grace knows that she will never be chosen to be the sacrifice as a past injury has left her crippled for life. But as she grows increasingly more unsatisfied by her life in the village & what is never to be hers, will Grace be able to answer the loons' call or will she spend the rest of her life in her wheelchair?
While this is a short story (being just over 40 pages), the length truly does suit this apocalyptic fantasy. It's the absolute perfect length, which is something to commend Merriam about. (Although if he chose to, he could pen future full length stories set in this world.) Grace is a character that readers will be able to sympathize with & as the conclusion of the story looms ever closer they'll find themselves becoming impatient to see what fate will bring her & how everything will end up. There's also a little bit of romance to this story, although the main force of the story lies with the loons & Grace's desire to do more than what she currently is.
This is a great story & well worth the time to read, although at times readers will wish for just a teensiest bit more information about some of what is going on in the story. I heartily recommend this to anyone looking for a great short story to read inbetween their lengthier books.
(ARC provided by Netgalley)
This is well worth the read. I was sad when the story finished. There were times I wanted to know more. great read all around.
This story sucked me in pretty quickly, and once it did, I couldn't put it down. I originally wanted to read it because I saw the author on some panels at MarsCon. Plus I live in Minnesota like the author and the characters in the story. But whatever my reasons for picking it up in the first place, I'm very glad I did. The story was strong, the characters well-drawn, and the ending not what I expected.
This story is excellent, and I highly recommend it.
I fell in love with this story after reading the first page. The story follows Grace, a disabled young women in a post-apocalyptic world, as she struggles to find her place in a society that labels her a liability rather than a useful member of society. On top of that Grace is hiding the fact that magical birds call to her in her dreams. Michael Merriam presents Grace as a full character full of anger, hope, frustration, joy, and despair. Her struggle with her disability, and how society views her, is a powerful metaphor for real life. I found that I couldn't put the story down. Highly recommended.
Should We Drown in Feathered Sleep? is a moving novella full of deep, emotional imagery and transcendent beauty. It is easily one of the top five stories I have read all year.
Written by Michael Merriam and published by Carina Press this story follows a shattered woman, Grace Kriske, who becomes attuned through her dreams to the last surviving loons, descendants of the legendary First Pair, who await someone to help them heal earth after an apocalyptic incident.
Set on a Minnesota lake where northern lights ripple through the night like cold fire, and the gusting breeze off the water chills you to the bone, the true strength of this work lies in the carefully drawn human characterizations, and the magical fantasy that takes hold of these lives and transforms them using the tools of promise and redemption.
In the hands of a lesser writer such themes would become maudlin and downright embarrassing. But Merriam protects the fragile beauty of his story, and the human strength of his characters, and delivers an ending that resonates and speaks of the wonder all of us can find in the corners of our lives.
I have read other stories by Merriam. This is by far his best work. I cannot recommend this novella strongly enough.
Buy it and read it. I promise you will not be disappointed.
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