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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Rag Doll in Books
Nov 25, 2019
On a family holiday Jeremy takes his son out for the day. His marriage isn't doing too well and he's been having an affair, which triggers a sequence of events when his son finds something unexpected...
Rag Doll is a short story that plays with the reader as much as with the characters, in the same way a cat will play with an unfortunate mouse. This is a quick read but Scarberry uses the format well, in essence providing a sketch of the story and getting the reader to fill in the details.
Hard to say more without giving anything away. But definitely worth a read. Very thought provoking.
Rag Doll is a short story that plays with the reader as much as with the characters, in the same way a cat will play with an unfortunate mouse. This is a quick read but Scarberry uses the format well, in essence providing a sketch of the story and getting the reader to fill in the details.
Hard to say more without giving anything away. But definitely worth a read. Very thought provoking.
The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated Almost Famous Women: Stories in Books
Oct 7, 2020
No, this isn’t a book about the 2018 mid-term elections; it is a collection of historical, fictional short stories about real women we probably know nothing about, although some of them carry well-known names. I loved “Almost Famous Women” by Megan Mayhew Bergman when I read it, and I thought now would be a good time to remind people of this lovely collection. (Okay… I’ll admit, the results of the US elections did influence my choice to post about this particular older book review.) You can read this revised review on my blog now. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2014/12/25/women-who-orbited-fame/
AJaneClark (3975 KP) rated This Is What Happened in Books
May 29, 2020
I don’t want to give away the plot line as it will spoil the story for those that choose to read this book. But what I will say is all is not what it seems, and that’s evident from very early on...
Whilst I found the book to be well written, and not heavily wordy, I did find myself struggling in places, wishing the chapters would go by quicker than they were. Mid-book felt a little like wading in quicksand. And then the action jumped in towards the end.
I also found it difficult to relate or empathise with the characters.
But still an enjoyable short read overall!
Whilst I found the book to be well written, and not heavily wordy, I did find myself struggling in places, wishing the chapters would go by quicker than they were. Mid-book felt a little like wading in quicksand. And then the action jumped in towards the end.
I also found it difficult to relate or empathise with the characters.
But still an enjoyable short read overall!
I haven't read anything by Ronald Malfi before and I do enjoy a good horror story every now and again and I'm pleased I did because out of the 5 short stories, there was only 1 I didn't particularly enjoy and that was The Separation but the other 4 more than made up for it.
Well written, great characters, a plethora of general creepiness, blood and gore ... what more could you want?
Mr Malfi is definitely an author I will look out for in the future and thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of They Lurk.
Well written, great characters, a plethora of general creepiness, blood and gore ... what more could you want?
Mr Malfi is definitely an author I will look out for in the future and thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of They Lurk.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales in Books
Apr 2, 2020
Another great collection of stories
I feel like I need to include a preface with all of my Stephen King reviews, or some form of disclaimer, to warn any readers that he is my favourite author so my review may not be as neutral as it could be. Either that or he really is a great writer 😆
Everything’s Eventual is a collection of short stories that I read well over a decade ago, and as short stories require a lot less brain power than a full on novel, I decided to give this a go as I couldn’t recall many of the stories. And overall this is a very good collection of short stories. They’re all well written with developed characters (as you’d expect with King I’m sure), and the stories themselves have all got very good plots and storylines. The stories are all well balanced and there are none in here that are either overly long or too short, they’re very well paced. There are some great stories in here, most notably for me the John Dillinger story ‘The Death of Jack Hamilton’ and the Dark Tower prequel ‘The Little Sisters of Eluria’, but all of the stories are entertaining and very enjoyable. I wouldn’t say there are any amazing standout ‘wow’ stories in this, which is possibly why I’ve marked it down a little from some of King’s other collections of short stories.
Everything’s Eventual is a collection of short stories that I read well over a decade ago, and as short stories require a lot less brain power than a full on novel, I decided to give this a go as I couldn’t recall many of the stories. And overall this is a very good collection of short stories. They’re all well written with developed characters (as you’d expect with King I’m sure), and the stories themselves have all got very good plots and storylines. The stories are all well balanced and there are none in here that are either overly long or too short, they’re very well paced. There are some great stories in here, most notably for me the John Dillinger story ‘The Death of Jack Hamilton’ and the Dark Tower prequel ‘The Little Sisters of Eluria’, but all of the stories are entertaining and very enjoyable. I wouldn’t say there are any amazing standout ‘wow’ stories in this, which is possibly why I’ve marked it down a little from some of King’s other collections of short stories.
I adore short stories, their format allows me to drop into a different world quickly, and in today busy world, for me to consume a world other than my own and experience life from a different point of view. The first story in the collection of "5 Minute" reads encourages the reader to do precisely this, to put yourself in the place of a mouse and have your curiosity peeked by that small hole in the roof of your box, a story told by Dr, Casswell but viewed from an everyday person's viewpoint these three characters are only ever leading in one direction. And once you've read it, you also will be, and that journey is further on in this imagination filling thought-provoking short stories.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The Signalman in Books
Mar 15, 2018
I've never read a Dicken's novel before, I always felt like I would come out of them dumbfounded... his writing seems too intellectual and educational for my little brain. But, this is just a ghost story, so it was easy enough to get on with!
Yes, I enjoyed this, but it wasn't my favourite short story. A classic old school ghost story, but it could have been so much creepier than it was, so that let me down. There is a slight pang of shock at the tail end of this short, but it's nothing to write home about.
What's most interesting, to me, about this book, is the fact that it's been pulled out of a personal tragedy of Dicken's.
Yes, I enjoyed this, but it wasn't my favourite short story. A classic old school ghost story, but it could have been so much creepier than it was, so that let me down. There is a slight pang of shock at the tail end of this short, but it's nothing to write home about.
What's most interesting, to me, about this book, is the fact that it's been pulled out of a personal tragedy of Dicken's.
David McK (3632 KP) rated The Rise of Robin Hood (Outlaw Chronicles, #0.5) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Short prequel to the first of Angus Donald's <i>Outlaw</i> series about Robin Hood.
Whereas the books proper are all presented as an ageing Alan-a -Dale remembering his time with Robin and were told in the first person, this is told in third person and is not 'book-ended' in such a manner. While there are a few other characters than the already-living-in-the-woods Robin and John, it also does not have such a wide range of characters as in the novels proper, and feels maybe a little bit rushed.
In short: an OK entry for anyone who hasn't read any of the novels proper, but I would still advise the reader to start with the first book rather than this novella.
Whereas the books proper are all presented as an ageing Alan-a -Dale remembering his time with Robin and were told in the first person, this is told in third person and is not 'book-ended' in such a manner. While there are a few other characters than the already-living-in-the-woods Robin and John, it also does not have such a wide range of characters as in the novels proper, and feels maybe a little bit rushed.
In short: an OK entry for anyone who hasn't read any of the novels proper, but I would still advise the reader to start with the first book rather than this novella.
Quran. Short Surahs. Koran
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Short Surahs of Holy Quran with transliteration, translation and AUDIO! You can LISTEN surahs...
Louise (64 KP) rated The Djinn Falls in Love & Other Stories in Books
Jul 2, 2018
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
I have not read anything with Genies, nothing NADA! So when I saw this I jumped on the chance to read it. I love reading short story collections, you get to read from authors that you have never read from before and to see if you like their writing style. This collection of short stories is from authors all over the world and it is their take on the djinn and some of the myths,tales that they have heard whilst growing up or heard. The only author that I had heard and read beforehand was Neil Gaiman, I read ‘The Ocean at the end of the Lane’ years ago and enjoyed it so I knew there would be one possible story that I would like.
So going into this I knew nothing about Genie’s/Djinn other than Aladdin! The book has an introduction written by the editors Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin explaining how this book came together and the different authors involved. We also had the The Djinn Falls In Love by Hermes which is poem about a djinn which I really enjoyed.
There are 20 stories in this collection in total and are all very different, however I found the majority of them to be a little dull and wasn’t holding my attention or the story line/plot got confusing. There were however some really great ones that I loved such as ‘Spite House’ and ‘Reap’. I must admit that there will be something for everyone as there several different genres within.
‘Reap’ by Sami Shah – This was a 5 star from me. This is a story about a small team who use a drone for surveillance on a small village in Pakistan. They have to watch the residents of this village and one family has 11 children, but one day Miriam, the youngest, doesn’t return with the clan. This has supernatural elements and is pretty scary but truly wonderful and had me gripped all the way through.
This is not one of my favourite short story collection as there were just too many that didn’t hold my interest or was a little confusing. The cover though is beautiful and recommend if you want to read some different interpretations about Djinn.
I rated this 2.5 out of 5 stars
I have not read anything with Genies, nothing NADA! So when I saw this I jumped on the chance to read it. I love reading short story collections, you get to read from authors that you have never read from before and to see if you like their writing style. This collection of short stories is from authors all over the world and it is their take on the djinn and some of the myths,tales that they have heard whilst growing up or heard. The only author that I had heard and read beforehand was Neil Gaiman, I read ‘The Ocean at the end of the Lane’ years ago and enjoyed it so I knew there would be one possible story that I would like.
So going into this I knew nothing about Genie’s/Djinn other than Aladdin! The book has an introduction written by the editors Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin explaining how this book came together and the different authors involved. We also had the The Djinn Falls In Love by Hermes which is poem about a djinn which I really enjoyed.
There are 20 stories in this collection in total and are all very different, however I found the majority of them to be a little dull and wasn’t holding my attention or the story line/plot got confusing. There were however some really great ones that I loved such as ‘Spite House’ and ‘Reap’. I must admit that there will be something for everyone as there several different genres within.
‘Reap’ by Sami Shah – This was a 5 star from me. This is a story about a small team who use a drone for surveillance on a small village in Pakistan. They have to watch the residents of this village and one family has 11 children, but one day Miriam, the youngest, doesn’t return with the clan. This has supernatural elements and is pretty scary but truly wonderful and had me gripped all the way through.
This is not one of my favourite short story collection as there were just too many that didn’t hold my interest or was a little confusing. The cover though is beautiful and recommend if you want to read some different interpretations about Djinn.
I rated this 2.5 out of 5 stars