Having said that, I thought the collection was rather well done, and rang true even if I couldn’t relate to many of the details or the specifics. I think that’s another reason I am not that drawn to military books. I never feel like they tell my story, and to be honest, a book about my deployments would be rather boring. I was in a PLS company and did convoys on one, and during the other I had a staff job – I had long […]
Both Ways Is The Only Way I Want It
Like the Alice Munro collection I read earlier in the year, this is not a book I would have found satisfying in my twenties, when I wanted cohesion and conclusiveness, a beginning, middle, end, and some adventure, too, preferably with a happy ending. These stoires are a little more sad, a little more abrupt, have a little too much reality in them. Maybe that’s why I have started reading more short stories–I already know the tropes, I want to see how they appear to someone else. This […]
Grimscribe
Quick Synopsis: 13 short stories from a master of Lovecraftian mood Quick Review: The first and the last stories are definitely the best in my opinion, but overall an excellent study of how to create an unsettling atmostphere Read the full review here
Solaris Rising 2: The New Solaris Book of Science Fiction
As with most short story collections, there are a wide range of styles and approaches to what is touted as “groundbreaking science fiction.” Straight science fiction isn’t my first choice, so it was really nice to dive back into the genre with tastings of a wide range of subject matter and authors. This is also a finalist for the Philip K Dick award, (http://www.philipkdickaward.org/) though collections of short fiction don’t often win awards. With such a cross section, there’s bound to be mixed feelings throughout, […]
Charisma check succeeds!
The trials and tribulations of a group of D&D playing friends are at the center of Brian Prisco’s Twenty-Sided Die. The collection of 20 connected short stories (get it?) mix up real world adventures with the experiences of the gang while playing Dungeons & Dragons. As the dynamic of the group changes, whether it’s through one of them getting a girlfriend, another having trouble at home, or a betrayal by one of the members, the campaign changes as well. I found those sections to be […]
The Nobel Committee Made a Good Choice
All you Cannonballers know that Alice Munro recently won the Nobel Prize for literature. I hadn’t read any Munro yet (!) so what better time than a Cannonball? I’m not sure what I can say that hasn’t already been said about Munro’s talent. It’s very hard to summarize this collection of stories and, indeed, Munro’s overall style. She tells stories that don’t really have a beginning, middle, end; there’s no climax. But they are remarkably real, and that’s what keeps you reading. They are stories […]
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