B. W. Powe - These Shadows Remain

These Shadows Remain

These Shadows Remain: A Fable is a novella published by Guernica in April 2011. It has garnered praise for its original concept and visionary story. Guernica Editions has summated the story, "Images overrun the world. Toons filled with rage and hate hunger for life. A war between simulations and humans. People besieged in a castle of dreams. A mysterious knight shifts between worlds, holding the secret that could save all. Orphaned children lead him to the whirlwind, the terrible faceless source."

These Shadows Remain was longlisted for the ReLit Prize in 2012.

These Shadows Remain is a work of vision. Powe says the story came intact in a recurring dream. When he first had the dream, he wrote down and outline. The more the story appeared in his dreams, the more he added.

Author Charles Foran has said, "...(I) am quite haunted by the book. It is, to say the least, intriguing, and its resonances are only settling in. The form itself is fascinating: a parable? A fable? A story for children, via their parents, or for parents, via their children? As per the Powe aesthetic, it is resolutely NOT of our time and our, ahem, literary culture, and belongs somewhere deep in a European literary tradition, where Carroll and Grimm sit alongside Musil and Amis. But I am also aware of the strong visual component to the tale, its cross of children's cartoon with anime... Likewise, its themes, or preoccupations, with how we've been so altered, chemically, spiritually, by those toons, those simulations. THAT is North American, of course, Canadian-McLuhan-Gibson, if also, I suspect, Eastern, Japanese. An enigmatic, striking piece of writing, one I shall return to."

Critic Marshall Soules acclaimed, "You've captured something important about our culture in These Shadows Remain... It's a compelling allegory about the mutual influence of the parallel worlds we live in, how we don't pay attention to important matters, how children are being sacrificed to a realm of fantasy. As a fable, it's of-a-piece with (Powe's) other work, coming at familiar themes in a different mode and register. Its poetry comes from fairy tale, romance, and pop culture."

"There are mysteries remaining, such as the migration between the screen and human world. The knight's confrontation with the wizard seems inconclusive and lacking in confrontation and resolution, but I appreciate this outcome. The wizard is also confused, and his power is limited. I like that. Reminds me of the Wizard of Oz - all smoke and mirrors and bluster. And recalls Edwin Abbot's satirical Flatland. I also enjoyed the role and character you gave the children. It's a caring and inspiring story that reflects directly on our confusion over fantasy and reality. On Hollywood Blvd., it's clear that fantasy is winning the battle for mindshare!"