KAYE TROUT'S BOOK REVIEWS 1

I specialize in reviewing Print-On-Demand (POD) published books for my website and Midwest Book Review. Please query for a review by email to hgunther234@hotmail.com.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

FOUR D by Gregory Morrison

CreateSpace
North Charleston, SC
Genre: Fictional Short Story
Rating: Unusual
ISBN: 978 1463792664, $8.53, 180 pp.

Quoting from the back cover:

““Space”
If everything around you slowly disappears
“Four Rooms”
If you end up in a dark room with four doors
“The Principle of Luidgi”
If you want to change your life
“Guest”
If you decide to end your days

“What would you do?
Characters in “Four D” are fighting for their happiness, but for every one of them, the meaning of happiness is something different. For the character is “Space,” it is a choice to be made. For Elise, the character from “Four Rooms,” it is to open all doors and get out. For Luidgi, the character from “The Principle of Luidgi,” it is to change his life. Lastly, for the character from “Guest,” happiness is to meet somebody wise and trusted. But all this has a price and every one of them will pay–sometimes it is highest price.

“These tense, mysterious stories contain incredibly engaging plots that will not leave any reader feeling indifferent.”

I did not feel that these four stories were chapters of a book but actual, individual short stories. The first story, “Space,” I did not understand. My feeling was that it was written by an alien to and for aliens. The second story, “Four Rooms,” was unique and interesting. We follow Elise as she struggles to find her way out, to escape or to wake up...we’ll never know. The third story,
“The Principle of Luidgi,” was the most understandable and began with the conclusion, then filled us in. I did not connect with the fourth story, “Guest.”

I may not have fully understood these stories but I’m always intrigued by such unusual writing. Gregory Morrison says that these stories are about people fighting for their happiness–the concept unique to each character. I wonder.

Four D is Gregory Morrison's first book. It’s well edited and different. You might give it a try for a change of pace and to see if you can understand these strange, unusual stories.

Kaye Trout - February 25, 2012

Saturday, February 18, 2012

WRITERS ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD Edited by Sassy Brit and C. C. Bye

The most dangerous rule-wreckers from Alternative-Read.com
Chase Enterprises Publishing
Ontario, Canada
Genre: Fictional Short Stories
Rating: Very good
ISBN: 9780978177447, $23.35, 312 pp.

Quoting from the back cover:

“We took away the rules and let them write whatever the hell they liked: This is what we got, and there’s more inside...”

Writers on the Wrong Side of the Road, an intriguing title with an artistically dramatic cover, is a collection of 18 eclectic, short stories, some with an erotica orientation: Hold-up by Lucille P. Robinson, Judgement Day by Angelika Devlyn, For Art’s Sake by Elizabeth Coldwell, Simon Seeks by Nathan I. Yocum, The Barefoot Hero by Tim Fleming, The Cenotaph by Casey Wolf, Take Two by Kit St. Germain, The Journey by Megan Johns, Triona’s Beans by Casey Wolf and Paivi Kuosmanen, THE MEAL by Mike Brecon, Seven Deadly Sins by Karen Cote, The Smile in Her Eyes by John B. Rosenman, Slumfairy by Tonya R. Moore, New Leaf by Megan Johns, Man Slaughter by Lucille P. Robinson, Pronghorns by Casey Wolf, FRAME OF REFERENCE by Mike Brecon, and Malpas by Marion Webb-De Sisto.

The editing by Sassy Brit and C.C. Bye is excellent, and the entire presentation is beautifully professional. If you like the short-story genre and want something unique and innovative, you might consider this read. My personal favorite was Malpas, a novella, by Marion Webb-De Sisto, an erotica beauty and beast.

Kaye Trout 2/18/2012