Desert Angels by Lyman Ditson is a short, thought-provoking book that may also be profound. Each chapter (or Angel) contains a story (a kind of step in an odyssey), a cartoon-like drawing, and one or two mysterious poems. The overall narrative is of a man and his dog Lion becoming lost in the desert, and while trying to find his way back to his cabin, he meets up with a variety of characters from whom he tries to find out how to get back home. The characters he meets and what they have to say seem whimsical, but the mystery of their words could be profound, though to the book’s traveler they are more confusing than not. Soon we find ourselves in an Alice in Wonderland kind of world, definitely charming and imaginative, but disarming. We become like the lost traveler in the book.

That’s how I felt at least, kind of like Sir Guyon, the Redcrosse Knight, on this trip toward enlightenment in Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen. In each sequence, we learn an important lesson or a myth about life, particularly about faith. But for me, the lessons in Lyman Ditson's book are elusive, hard to pin down, until the surprise ending. Befuddled as I was, the ride was a pure delight, especially the magical little poems that finish off the chapters (or angels). Some books are like mirrors in which each viewer sees him or herself revealed. These are the best books, are they not?--the ones that leave you breathless, feeling you’ve come to know yourself (and others) a little better, but if asked, you just smile and keep the answer to yourself. Desert Angels by Lyman Ditson is one of those wonderful experiences. Read it, you feel a little wiser but do not know quite why.

Desert Angels by Lyman Ditson is an entertaining yet thought-provoking novella. A man and his dog take a short walk in the New Mexico desert behind his home and come across a bald man wearing a long white robe. The man is hunched over a table and scribbles on paper. Most surprising of all is that he has enormous, glowing white wings. The angel’s name is Boris, and he informs the man that he has been chosen to go on a mission. The mission is to go to a buccaneer ship, find the captain, and learn, then continue the mission. What follows is a surreal adventure into a world populated by unique characters who will try to help the man find what he is looking for.

Lyman Ditson’s Desert Angels is a narrative that can make readers rethink how they view things. It is a surreal and poetic adventure through the New Mexico desert and a world that exists outside the realm of reality. At the same time, it’s also a spiritual journey that explores the meaning of man’s existence. The plot of Desert Angels is deceptively simple: a man and his dog taking a short walk. From this simple set-up, Ditson introduces several unique characters and weird situations. Poetry is also used as a literary device in telling this dream-like story. The result is a provocative piece of writing that ensures its pages will remain in the reader’s thoughts for a long time.