Rambunctious

Nine Tales of Determination

By: Rick Wilber

Narrated by: Dave Cavanaugh

A powerful and poignant collection of memorable stories from an award-winning storyteller, Rambunctious: Nine Tales of Determination is charming, action-packed, frightening, and thoughtful by turn.

“Wilber’s voice (has) a kind of authority and compassion that have helped him carve out a niche identifiably his own.” (Locus Magazine)

In these nine stories of determination, seemingly ordinary people find themselves in extraordinary circumstances as they confront their fears and embrace their challenges on a near-future Earth, in an alternate-history past, or even on a far, distant alien world.

• A single parent with a daughter with Down syndrome daughter considers what his life and career might have been as a parent and a pro football player in some alternate reality
• A young girl on an isolated Florida island discovers that her quirky grandparents are even stranger than she thought
• A high school basketball player confronts the ghosts of her past
• A young woman struggles to make peace with the horrors of her forgotten childhood
• An elderly woman slides into dementia even as she finds some essential truths that were lost in the hazy mists of her memory.
• A baseball player becomes a spy during an alternate-history version of World War II, where he plays a pivotal role in stopping the Nazi war machine

“Rick Wilber draws you in through his compassion for his characters and his keen eye for the familiar, and then he slips you sideways into places startlingly new, beautiful, and true. You finish these stories entertained, to be sure, but moved as well, and with your perspective forever widened.” (Gregory Norman Bossert, World Fantasy Award-winning author)

"Rick Wilber writes with heart and soul. His stories transport us to other worlds and alternate realities and yet somehow bring us closer to home. He is a master weaver of wonder. You'll love this book!" (Nick DiChario, Hugo and World Fantasy-nominated author of A Small and Remarkable Life)

"A major collection from what it's high past time to admit is one of our major writers. Wilber writes with literate flair, compassion, and a deep understanding of human psychology. Highly recommended!" (Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of The Oppenheimer Alternative)

©2019 Rick Wilber (P)2021 WordFire Press

“Rambunctious” is a must listen set of short stories!

It is not often you come across a writer that has a Steven King level premise. Rick Wilber provides a bunch in this beautifully crafted collection of short stories.

In “Today is Today”, Wilber explores the multiverse in layman's terms (bubbles), meanwhile sharing knowledge of football and its injuries (his father was indeed a professional baseball player), down syndrome, and some wisdom reflected in the title.

Fast forward to “Ice Covers the Hole”. Wow. A novel in an hour. Say no more but a true Harry Bosch worthy story. Switching gears to “Walking to Boston” addresses an aged couple and their final journey, where reality and memory and hope and regret paint a landscape so true to the human condition. Wilber’s clear writing and Cavanaugh’s precise narration helps manage the trajectory through reality and fantasy.

Any weekend physicists out there? “Something Real” will intrigue you. Heisenberg, an architect of the Third Reich’s nuclear bomb, will forever be known for his Uncertainty Principle where you cannot know the position and momentum of a particle at the same time. Wilber has weaved Heisenberg and this uncertainty into this story in a fascinating way, hooded as a Follet-like adventure. And “Hope as an Element of Cold Dark Matter” addresses such human tragedies as the loss of a dear friend and the ultimate acceptance of that loss, and the reconciliation of an estranged parent with their child. But as true throughout each of these stories, the premise is compelling, and the writing is clear.

The narration is equal to the writing. Cavanaugh’s voice is resonant and pure. His articulation is precise. The production quality is outstanding with just the correct amount of reverb. When a character speaks, Cavanaugh’s rendition is consistent, identifiable and unique, and enhances the telling of the story.

In the final story “WarBride” you will consider what you would pack if you were leaving the earth forever. Very thought provoking as is the entire collection! A must listen and I hope for more product from this duo!