A to Z Reviews: “Fiat Silva” by Jack Oakley
Jack Oakley published two science fiction short stories in the mid 90s. His debut, “The Tragedy of KL,” appeared in Weird Tales from Shakespeare, edited by Katharine Kerr and Martin H. Greenberg. His second story, “Fiat Silva,” was bought by the same editorial team and appeared in Enchanted Forests the following year.
While on a family camping trip, Adams finds the birds and the trees talking to him. Astounded by the wonder of being able to hear the trees, he learns that they talk to everyone. What sets him apart is that he actually spoke back to the trees. An unapologeticy environmentalist story, the trees describe the process of deforestation to Adam and ask for his help in stopping their plight. Adam, quite reasonably responds that as a young boy, there is little he can do to stop deforestation.