Tag Archives: Self-Published

The Space Race: A Review of The Paean Project

Book cover for The Paean Project by Rudolph Kohn. Image on cover shows Earth as viewed from the moon. You can see just a sliver of the moon - including moon dust - on the bottom of the page. Then there is a lot of inky blackness of space before the little blue Earth comes into view. It’s a cloudy day there and you can see swirls of large clouds over the ocean. Title: The Paean Project

Author: Rudolph Kohn

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: August 11, 2024

Genres: Science Fiction, Historical

Length: 7 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

In this short alternative history science fiction story, we have the journal of a Navy engineer brought into a secret project to continue manned spaceflight trials after the first attempt to reach the moon ended in tragedy. The project drew together some of the best minds of the Navy and the Air Force, as they worked to put a man around the moon. This journal is the only surviving record.

Content Warning:

Review:

If you love epistolary stories, keep reading!

I adored the fact that this was written as a series of journal entries. That’s not a very common style of storytelling these days, but it can work beautifully in certain cases like this one. Let me point out that Mr. Kohn didn’t have a lot of space for plot or character development here, but he used every last sentence to wring out as much of both of them as roughly seven pages would allow for. That is not an easy thing to accomplish, so I will tip my cap to him for making this such a pleasant reading experience overall. By framing everything as journal entries, he pulled this reader into the burning question of what was really happening on this secret project and how much the government may or may not know about the dangers these characters were facing.

As much as I wanted to give this tale a higher rating, the ending made it difficult for me to do that due to how little was resolved in it. This is something I’m saying as a longtime fan of the science fiction genre who doesn’t expect every loose end to be tied up. Some mystery is a fabulous thing in this genre, but in this case I think the plot would have been more satisfying – for me, at least – if the last journal entry or the post script had given some clue about what truly happened to these characters.

With that being said, this was still a positive first impression for me as someone who was brand new to this author’s work. He had a smooth writing style that was easy to sink into as the unnamed protagonist became more unnerved by the strange things occurring during and soon after the manned spaceflight trial. There was a lot of promise here, and I hope he keeps writing. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more from him.

The Paean Project was thought provoking.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Urban Magic: A Review of Bodega Botanica Tales

Book cover for Bodega Botanical Tales by Marianne Rodriguez Bross. Image on cover shows a preteen Hispanic boy who is wearing jeans, white sneakers, and a puffy black jacket standing in the doorway to a greenhouse. What’s interesting about this scene is that the door appears to be outdoors in an alley or urban street as you can see a brick wall surrounding it and some trash on the sidewalk nearby. The greenhouse is lush and filled with flowers and other healthy plants. Title: Bodega Botanica Tales

Author: Maria Rodriguez Bross

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 5, 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 46 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

Eleven-year-old Jose has always felt invisible, surrounded by problems no one seems to notice—an empty belly, neighborhood bullies, and a mysterious green-and-yellow bracelet given to him by the Bodega man. One fateful day, as Jose’s struggles reach a breaking point, he is rescued by a supernatural being who transports him to a magical bodega that transports him to a breathtaking, enchanted rainforest filled with magic and mystery. In this extraordinary world, Jose meets another supernatural being, named Don Wicho, who grants him a single wish that will change his life forever. Without hesitation, he makes his wish, desperate to escape his troubles. But once he returns to reality, the boundaries between fantasy and his own world begin to blur. As Jose grows older, he wrestles with the consequences of his wish. Was it all just a dream born of childhood anxiety or did it truly happen? When a chance meeting with someone from his past brings up traumatic memories back to the surface, Jose realizes he is not ready to confront the past. But every wish has a cost, and the consequences of that wish are confirmed. Bodega Botanica Tales- Jose’s Story is the first tale in a series of a magical, coming-of-age stories about courage, resilience, and the price of wishes. Perfect for readers who love fantasy, adventure, and magical bodegas.

Content Warning: Bullying, theft, mental illness, and a developmentally-delayed child.

Review:

Cities are full of secrets.

So much of the fantasy I’ve read was set either out in the woods or in tiny little towns near vast stretches of nature that it was refreshing to read something from an urban environment. Being surrounded by thousands of other people doesn’t mean someone can’t still feel alone or in need to guidance from paranormal sources, and I enjoyed the ways Ms. Rodriguez Bross explored how the unseen world might operate in such a setting.

The world building was strong and memorable. I loved the way the neighbourhood bodega was also a character of sorts in this short story. It influenced the lives of the people who visited it in all sorts of intriguing ways, both magical and realistic. Readers who have been lucky enough to live near a bodega will have a few extra treats to enjoy as they read this, but one doesn’t have to have that particular life experience in order to get something fabulous out of this.

Jose was a relatable protagonist who didn’t always know which decision was the right one to make but who did have good intentions in life. Yes, he was a preteen, but this didn’t feel like a middle grade story and that was part of the charm of it and of this character as well. The storyline was a little more serious and gritty than most middle grade fiction even though I’d agree that some kids may relate to those aspects and enjoy them just as much as adults can. In the end, I think the author was right in marketing this to adults, but I appreciated how easily Jose’s concerns about his family could cross over to younger audiences, too, as he decided how to handle everything from his sister’s physical health problems to his mother’s mental health problems and the bullying he was experiencing from other kids. Writing to more than one audience like this isn’t easy, so I appreciated the chance to view Jose from multiple perspectives as he grew older.

Bodega Botanica Tales made me yearn for a sequel. Bravo!

2 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

A Review of Veterans of Love and War: A First World War Ghost Story

Book cover for Veterans of Love and War: A First World War Ghost Story by Steven Glick. Image on cover is a black and white photo of a young, white, male soldier who is wearing an old uniform and, oddly enough for this era, smiling a little. Title: Veterans of Love and War: A First World War Ghost Story

Author: Steven Glick

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: February 13, 2024

Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, LGBTQ, Historical

Length: 15 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

Dreams and reality merge in this fateful story of a World War One soldier’s homecoming.

Content Warning: Grief, war, and death. Nothing is graphically described,  but World War I was not exactly a cheerful era.

Review:

The destructive forces of war should never be underestimated.

Social conventions can change rapidly over the generations, so I appreciated how clearly Mr. Glick explained exactly what and wasn’t expected from men, women, spouses, and children in the late 1910s as far as how they behaved and what interests they were supposed to have. For example, men were expected to suppress certain emotions no matter what was going on in their lives. These details were important for understanding part of the reason why David, the young soldier who was coming home for a short leave, felt so out of place in the world.

In some other genres, the foreshadowing here would have been too strong, but for this particular tale it was perfect. Claire, David’s mother, had access to so little information about how the war was going or how her son was doing that readers needed these hints in order for her walk home from Christmas shopping to make sense. (It was roughly 1918, after all, and decades away from anything like the Internet to keep families connected during tough times). Figuring out the plot twists in advance wasn’t the point here in my opinion. Instead, I gently followed along as Claire bought some very last minute gifts and worried about her child.

The ending fit the themes of this story nicely. Interestingly enough, it also provided the most mysterious elements of this piece!, so keep reading if the beginning and middle don’t feel like a typical mystery to you. I enjoyed the way the author played around with the expectations of this genre and thought it blended in well with the paranormal and LGBTQ+ themes, too. Sometimes things need to be rearranged a little in order to successfully mix genres together, and it worked quite well here, indeed.

Veterans of Love and War: A First World War Ghost Story was poignant and beautiful.

 

(If you liked this review or want more paranormal World War I stories in your life, go check out my reviews of An English Heaven and The Last Photograph of John Buckley.)

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorised

A Review of Old Forests and Older Things Within

Book cover for Old Forests and Older Things Within by Rudolph Kohn. Image on cover is a photo taken of a mountain range on a very foggy day. It’s so foggy, in fact, that this looks like a black and white photo! You can see pine forests growing on the smaller mountains (or maybe large hills) in the foreground, but the fog grows thicker as you look up. It’s an overcast day and only thin ribbons of sunlight make it through the clouds overhead. Title: Old Forests and Older Things Within

Author: Rudolph Kohn

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: August 9, 2024

Genres: Science Fiction, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 25 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 stars

Blurb:

Victor Martinez-Silva thought he was going to enjoy a leisurely vacation in Peru with his wife.

As they were hiking up to the ruins of Choquequirao, something happened to his wife, Amy–something Victor couldn’t explain, much less stop.

However, a stranger found them in the nick of time, and he seemed to know exactly what to do.

Enjoy this short story introducing Lawrence G. Samson, hunter of otherworldly monstrosities hiding on our planet, waiting for the opportunity to wreak havoc on humanity!

Content Warning: parasitic infection

Review:

Hikes are supposed to be relaxing, right?

Nature can be a little intimidating at times for some of us, so I appreciated the fact that Mr. Kohn leaned into this fear in order to set the scene. There’s nothing like a character being many miles away from help in an emergency to highlight just how quickly things can go wrong and how much courage it takes to race to safety when the unthinkable happens. If any outdoors readers check this tale out, I’d love to read your takes on the themes here as I’m sure they can be a read differently by experienced hikers and campers.

I would have liked to see a little more time showing the characters’ personalities. Obviously, the fast pacing and short length can’t leave a lot of room for exposition, but I’d struggle to describe the characters if someone asked me what it would be like to meet them other than to say that Lawrence didn’t always give the clearest instructions and Victor didn’t always comprehend what he was asked to do because of how panicked he was about his wife’s condition. This could have easily been expanded upon in a few more paragraphs, and I would have happily gone with a five-star rating if the author had made that choice. Everything else about it was well written.

One of my challenges as a book blogger involves figuring out how to talk about twist endings without giving them away in my reviews. The twist is this tale was something I suspected might be coming, but I’m not the sort of reader who has to be surprised in order to enjoy something. It was still fun to see how it played out once Victor had more information about what was happening. I suspect that he would have figured it out sooner under calmer circumstances as my first impression of him was of someone who is generally capable and smart.

Old Forests and Older Things Within was an atmospheric autumn read.

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

A Review of I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment Walls

Title: I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment WallsBook cover for I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment Walls by Ben Farthing. Image on cover is an AI-generated image of a blue puppet peeking out at the viewer from a wooden closet. There is an ominous tone to this scene even though puppets aren’t scary to me!

Author: Ben Farthing

Publisher: Self-Published (I think?)

Publication Date: August 1, 2023

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Contemporary

Length: 160 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library

Rating: 3 stars

Blurb:

Johnny awakes. A puppet looms over his bed.

He recognizes the furry Grandpa was its puppeteer on the children’s television show R-City Street. But Grandpa went missing a year ago. He disappeared from this very apartment building, which was converted from the old R-City Street studio.

Desperate to see Grandpa again, Johnny follows the puppet inside the building’s walls, ever deeper into a puppet-infested labyrinth…

I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment Walls is a horror tale from the “darkly inventive” purveyor of uncanny places and wondrous evils, Ben Farthing.

Each book in the I Found Horror series is a STANDALONE. They can be read in any order.

Content Warning: Puppets

Review:

We need more weird fiction in the world.

I’m going to be perfectly honest in this review and say that I don’t find puppets scary at all. They’re such an uncommon choice for antagonists in the horror genre – well, unless you’re counting dolls and puppets in the same category – that I was quite curious to discover how Mr. Farthing was going to make such cute and cuddly toys into something that fits into this genre. He had a few tricks up his sleeves that made them scarier than they at first appeared to be, and I thought he did a good job with his unusual subject matter. Bravo to him for taking risks and writing something off of the beaten path! (Needless to say, people who are terrified of puppets may have completely difference experiences with this story, so reader beware if that is the case for you).

Once again, there was a lot of repetition in this tale. I believe it would have worked better as a short story or novella as I simply didn’t see enough plot or character development to justify making this a full-length piece. This is something I’m saying as someone who loves short stories and novellas and think they should be much more commonly used than they currently are in modern fiction. I’d much rather read something short, sweet, and powerful than see that same concept stretched out into a longer work, and I would have given this a higher rating for its originality had it either been trimmed back or included more lore to give this world and these characters additional depth.

One of the strengths of Mr. Farthing’s writing style has to do with the motivations his characters have and how well they’re explained. Normally, I’d be suspicious of protagonists who found a giant crack in their bedroom wall and immediately decided to squeeze into it to see what was behind the wall. Wouldn’t they be worried about getting stuck back there or accidentally being exposed to toxic mold or any other number of harmful substances like most of us would be in that situation? The beauty of this story was partially related to the deep grief Johnny and Brittany were experiencing after their grandfather’s mysterious disappearance and their determination to figure out what happened to him. Grief can encourage people to make all sorts of choices they might otherwise think twice about, so diving so deeply into their family relationships made their later decision to go searching for him feel much more reasonable.

While I never share any spoilers in my reviews, I can say that the ending was fabulous and well worth the wait. If you pause in the first chapter or two and wonder if it will be worth it to keep reading, count this as a vote to push forward and see what wonders await you. As I mentioned in my review of the first book in this series, be sure to read the author’s explanation of where his ideas come from after the final scene as well.

I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment Walls was a wild and creative ride.

2 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

A Review of I Found a Circus Tent in the Woods Behind My House

Title: I Found a Circus Tent in the Woods Behind My HouseBook cover for I Found a Circus Tent in the Woods Behind My House by Ben Farthing. Image on cover is a probably Ai-generated image of a large red and white striped circus tent that has been set up beside a dark and foreboding forest. You can see a few branches of an evergreen tree poking out in front of the tent almost as if the tree is about to touch this strange invader. There is light illuminating the tent that probably comes from the upper right corner of the image. Weirdly enough, though, the sky itself is grey and overcast. So this light almost appears to be emanating from the tent fabric itself because there’s no other logical place for it to originate from.

Author: Ben Farthing

Publisher: Self-Published (I think?)

Publication Date: January 23, 2023

Genres: Horror, Paranormal,  Halloween, Contemporary

Length: 106 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Lost in a labyrinth of circus tents…

Dave and his four-year-old, Jacob, find a circus tent in the woods behind their house. A strange voice invites them through the dark doorway.

When they refuse, the tent swallows them.

What follows is a nightmare fleeing through a maze of circus tents. Strange performers lurk inside. They want Dave and his little boy to put on a show. The a shifting figure on a platform high above the trapeze wires.

With Jacob perched in the crook of his arm, Dave determines to outsmart the boss of this dark circus, and escape this horrifying tent.

Content Warning: Clowns. Blood. Murder.

Review:

The woods aren’t as safe as one might think.

It was interesting to see how parenthood had changed Dave. He gave several examples of what he used to do on the weekends before becoming a dad and how he had to give those hobbies and volunteer hours up due to having two young children to raise. Most of the fiction I read focuses on mothers, so I liked seeing what parenthood can feel like from a father’s perspective. Despite his other flaws, Dave seemed like an attentive and loving dad who was genuinely trying to give his children the best childhoods he could.

I struggled with the repetitive nature of this novella. Dave kept sharing the same thoughts with the audience over and over again, and he didn’t always make the most logical decisions. While I wouldn’t expect a character in his situation to be eloquent by any means, I did find myself wishing that he’d spend less time talking to the audience and more time either getting himself and his son out of that creepy circus tent or figuring out why the circus performers were so keen on luring humans into their world.  As much as I wanted to give this one a higher rating, this issue prevented me from feeling comfortable to do so.

With that being said, I did appreciate the writing style of this piece. It reminded me of an adult version of  the old television show Are You Afraid of the Dark. That is to say, it was a little cheesy in a good way and gave the characters plenty of opportunities to escape. The scenes that included scary moments were not emphasized the same way they probably would have been in, say, a Stephen King story. Honestly, I could see a preteen reader who loved horror being into this just as much as the adult audience it was written for, so it could be a good stepping stone into the horror genre for people who don’t mind brief references to blood but mostly want to be scared by imagining what might happen next.

This is the first instalment of a series that can be read in any order. If you do decide to read any of the books in it, though, be sure to check out the author’s explanations of where his ideas come from after the final chapter. The two I have read so far helped me to see their storylines in a new light and were well worth my time. (I will be reviewing I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment Walls in a few weeks, so stay tuned).

I Found a Circus Tent in the Woods Behind My House was a fun Halloween read.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorised

A Review of The Glass Key

Book cover for The Glass Key by Benjamin Parsons. Image on cover shows a black and white drawing of a beautiful, curvy woman of indeterminate ethnicity wearing a long, flowing gown walking towards a man whose hands are raised up in surprise and amazement. Title: The Glass Key

Author: Benjamin Parsons

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: October 19, 2012

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Historical

Length: 46 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

All alone on a howling night, with the fire blazing in the hearth, you hear a key turn in the lock – and see the apparition of your long-lost love enter the room… For ten years Sam neither saw nor heard of his beautiful Araminta, who vanished before their wedding day – but now, suddenly she steps into his life again, with a fantastic adventure to tell: her journey to unlock the secret of the mysterious glass key. Part of the collection The Green Lady and Other Stories.

Content Warning: Adultery.

Review:

Unconditional love isn’t realistic, but it sure is romantic.

The gothic elements of the plot were handled nicely. Yes, this had a historical setting so far as I could tell, but nearly everything that happened in it could just as easily occur today. It’s tricky to create such a timeless storyline, so I must tip my cap to the author for not only pulling it off but for encouraging readers to think critically before decided which era this tale might have happened. Strong arguments can be made for many different time periods depending on how certain context clues are interpreted and what assumptions the reader makes about the rest of it.

It would have been helpful to have more time spent dedicated to explaining what really happened to Araminta. As poetic as it was for these former lovers to be reunited, I kept wishing she would stop dancing around the subject and tell him exactly what she did after their engagement ended. Their breakup caused both of them a great deal of psychological pain even while accounting for the reasons for it. There was plenty of space left here to explore the repercussions of that as well as what both characters thought about their decisions now that they’d had about a decade to mull over it.

Taking risks is something I love to see in every genre I read, and writing a romantic story about a couple who had a hard breakup definitely doesn’t seem to be common for the romance genre from what I’ve observed. I was intrigued by the idea of Araminta and Sam having a chance to talk again and dissect what went wrong in their relationship. While I’ll leave it up to other readers to decide which one of them them to side with – or maybe to decide that neither character is someone they want to root for at all – I will say here that Mr. Parsons has added something valuable to this genre that I hope other romance and speculative fiction writers will find inspiration in his creativity as well.

The Glass Key was thought provoking.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

One Day at a Time: A Review of Unloveables

Book cover for Unloveables by Liz Boysha. Image on cover is a chalk drawing of a rat who is standing on its hind legs and has a sad expression on its face. This is a simply drawing, like something a child or an adult who is not an artist would draw. The background is black and looks like a chalkboard. Title: Unloveables

Author: Liz Boysha

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: August 18, 2024

Genres: Science Fiction, LGBTQ+, Romance

Length: 98 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

After the apocalypse, after the Megadrought, the Great Floods, after the Water Wars, the TriPlague, the Midwestern Firestorms; after the Superricane that wiped out the entire East Coast, after the Refugee Crisis and the Great Migrations and whatever wars they fought over that… In a remote corner of what was once Colorado, some people are still just trying to survive.

Content Warning: A fatal car accident. Homophobia. A character who has migraines but no medication for them.  Climate change that makes finding enough food, water, and shade difficult. Brief references to childhood abuse, a past rape, and violence.

Review:

Survival is the name of the game.

A lot of post-apocalyptic fiction focuses on strong, able-bodied adults who either already have the skills they need to survive or are able to quickly learn what they don’t already know, so it was refreshing to read about teens, one of whom is disabled, managing to survive in such an environment for so many years. There were other aspects of the two main characters’ identities that are also underrepresented in this genre, although I think it’s best for other readers to discover most of them gradually just like I did. I enjoyed getting to know Rat thought this was pretty realistic sketch of what kids who grew up in such a dangerous and unpredicatable environment could be like.

With that being said, I would have liked to learn more about the unnamed protagonist. He wasn’t even willing to share his real name with Rat or the audience, much less answer the multitude of other questions I had about his personality and upbringing. While this made sense when I considered how traumatized he was, it also meant that this reader never got to know him as well as I hoped I would. He always flitted around the edges of the conversation and was happy to share tips for finding food or water but never wanted the conversation to drift into anything deeper than that. It would be nice to learn more about him in any sequels that might be written in the future as I only felt like I could describe him in the most general terms by the time I finished reading this.

The romance was subtle and handled nicely. I have not read many romances about two asexual characters before, so I gently stepped away from my preconceived notions of what that might be like and waited to see what would happen. I appreciated the fact that both characters were willing to talk about such things openly and knew what they wanted out of a relationship even though neither one was at all expecting to fall in love when they first met. That’s exactly how I like romance tales to unfold.

Unloveables has left me eager to read more about these characters.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

A Review of Into the Weeping Waters

Book cover for Into the Weeping Waters by Lee Murray. Image on cover shows a young, pale woman with long, straight dark hair standing up and looking down at her feet. She’s wearing a flowing white nightdress and appears to be standing on the bed of a river or lake. She is submerged in the dark, murky water and is standing near what appears to be wreckage from a crash of some sort. It looks more like a large machine than a boat, though, so maybe it was dumped in the water? You can see a few large wires coming out of this device whatever it is as well as a piece on it that looks like a wagon wheel or possibly a motor of some sort. Title: Into the Weeping Waters

Author: Lee Murray

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: August 21, 2024

Genres: Horror, Paranormal, Historical

Length: 36 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Taking the train home for Christmas eve, McKenna’s mentor, the Māori prophet Rawiri Temera, is plunged headlong into a ghostly adventure.

Content Warning: Death, emotional and physical trauma, a train accident, and a few brief descriptions of severe injuries. I will not share any gory details, but I will need to discuss these topics in my review.

Review:

Not all tragedies can be avoided.

The rules for how ghosts behave in this world intrigued me. Somehow they knew exactly what they could and couldn’t do from the beginning without anyone explaining it to them. There were a few logical hints about how they came to this knowledge, but I think it’s best to leave the logistics of it for other readers to figure out for themselves. Not every paranormal tale spends much time thinking about what it might be like to be a ghost or how clearly the recall their previous lives, so I appreciated the fact that this one did.

I would have liked to see more plot development in this short story. There simply wasn’t much of it, and what was shared wasn’t explained like it  could have been even in a piece of this brief length. It almost felt like reading a few pages of a full-length novel instead of something that was intended to be a standalone work. That is to say, I liked what I read, but it ended too quickly for me to feel satisfied with what the narrator had to say about what happened.

Some of the most interesting scenes were the ones that described the aftermath of the crash. It was chaotic, of course, but the author also took the time to describe the little moments that could be seared into a person’s brain forever after experiencing such an event. Trauma can be like that sometimes, and I appreciated the way this was written. It was a little gory in a few places, but I could tell that was done to paint a vivid pictures of the horrors Rawiri was witnessing instead of to simply shock the readers.

As a quick aside before I finish off this review, this was set on Christmas Eve but it did not have a Christmas feeling to it at all. If anything, choosing such a typically festive time of the year for it only made the accident more heartbreaking.

Into the Weeping Waters made me shudder. 

2 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

A Review of In These Pieces – A 9/11 Short Story

Book cover for In These Pieces - a 9/11 Short Story by Sean McDevitt. Image on cover is a photo of a white rose lying on part of the memorial to the victims of 9/11. Several names are etched into grey stone in this memorial. Otto Casper is one of them, and you can also see the names Caro Voskirillan and Alexandra. The other names are too blurry to read. Title: In These Pieces – a 9/11 Short Story

Author: Sean McDevitt

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 8, 2016

Genres: Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 22 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

A visitor to the 9/11 Memorial in New York City does exactly what a tour guide tells him NOT to do; the result is an unexpected insight at the heart of a dark tragedy.

Content Warning: references to 9/11, grief, terrorism, and deep regret.

Review:

Remembrance is for everyone.

It makes me smile when authors write stories about characters while sharing as few details about them as possible. I never knew basic information about this protagonist like their name, age, race, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or other common identifiers that might be used to introduce someone to an audience, and yet I still felt as thought I might recognize them if I passed them on the street. Their passion for history and New York was so strong that I could imagine the joy on their face as they visited their favorite spots there and soaked in all of the sights they had never seen in person before. That is not an easy thing to accomplish, but it sure makes the reading experience better.

While I do not expect as much plot and character development in short stories as I do for longer works, I needed more of both of these things here. The final scene ended without wrapping up some important questions I had about why the narrator behaved the way they did and how the spirit world deals with terrible acts of injustice that cannot be otherwise remedied. This is something I’m saying as a reader who liked the premise and storyline in general and would have loved to give it a higher rating. There was a lot of good material here, but it needed more development in my opinion.

With that being said, there was a strong sense of justice in this tale that I found satisfying. I can’t go into too much detail on this subject without sharing spoilers, but this is definitely something to check out if you’re in the mood for characters to feel the repercussions of their choices in life and learn lessons about the things they have done that were not helpful or kind. Sometimes it’s nice to dig into fiction that has such a strong correlation between actions and consequences in its world building as those are not always necessarily things one can easily or reliably find in the real world.

In These Pieces – a 9/11 Short Story was interesting.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy