Odd and Odder / K.S. Brooks and Newton Love

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Satire/Flash Fiction/Poetry/Short Story Anthology

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Availability

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Author:

K.S. Brooks is an award winning photographer and the author of children's books, thrillers, romantic suspense, and satire. Brooks is also the co-administrator of the go-to site for indie authors, IndiesUnlimited.

An artist, author, scientist, composer, and non-relative of Newt Gingrich, Newt Love is “the most famous person you've never heard of.” Love's story can't be boiled down to just a paragraph. For more than you could possibly want to know (including his dad's life story), check out the more-than-complete biography on his website. (Those who think they know something about practical jokes need to read the story of Otto Mation, buried in the middle of that bio, and bow down in respect.)

Description:

“Odd & Odder: A Collection of Sensuality, Suspense & Satire" brings together the creative, off-beat minds of published authors K. S. Brooks and Newton Love. From short stories befitting The Twilight Zone, to lustful verses of poetry, to thought-provoking flash prose: Odd & Odder is consistently fresh, sometimes outlandish, and truly entertaining.”

Appraisal:

In a collection where an ode to the author's stalker doesn't seem strange or out of place, Odd and Odder seems like a reasonable title. The challenge is deciding which parts of the collection are just odd and limiting those in the odder pile. (After all, they can't all be odder, can they?)

That the authors got me to read poetry (something I normally steer clear of, unless you call it a song lyric, in which case I'm all over it), was an achievement not many have done. However, my favorite pieces were the longer satirical short stories, Dark Alley and Park Placed (one from each of the authors). Although I have to admit, that ode to the stalker has an appeal I can't quite figure out. How odd.

FYI:

Some adult language and situations.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Angels Cried / Various

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Short Story Anthology/Poetry Anthology

Approximate word count: 30-35,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES

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Author:

More than 40 people contributed to this anthology.

Description:

On 12/14/2012 tragedy struck at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT when twenty-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot twenty six people, most of them children. Writers from around the world contributed to this anthology. Proceeds will go to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund, a charity established by the local United Way affiliate “with the intent that the money raised would support families impacted by the tragedy, first responders, teachers, and the Newtown community in both the short and long-term.”

Appraisal:

In the interest of full disclosure, the stories and poems in this anthology run the full spectrum from a tough read to very good. As Stephen Wilson, who edited the collection, explained in his Editor’s Note at the beginning:

Don Martin is credited with providing a complete proofing of the anthology. Many of our contributors have a native language other than English. As a result, there are varieties of creative uses of English demonstrated throughout these works. Even though Don and I have taken editorial liberties with the text and wording, I must point out that whenever possible the original, raw message of the expressed emotions was kept intact.

Some of that non-native English showed through and some of the stories are more polished than others. With a few exceptions (stories or poems with too much negative emotion and a couple that Wilson felt were “too strong for this anthology”) most contributions were accepted. So, in many ways, you might find this hit and miss. Not even all of the poems and stories have an obvious connection to the Sandy Hook incident, although I assume the individual author sees the thread connecting the two. But if you approach this work in the spirit intended, which Wilson describes as therapeutic for the writers, some of them are going to make a connection, whether inspirational or in some other way.

A couple of the stories stood above the rest for me. For Christmas, I Made My Mother Cry, by Guy Anthony De Marco is a nice variation on the “discovering the meaning of Christmas” trope. Another good one is Steampunk by Kit Roe, which was a tribute to those who help keep us safe and more.

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of proofing and copyediting misses.

Rating: **** Four stars