A cracking collection
581744
This is a great collection, and a really cool premise. Noir fiction meets ghosts ghouls and zombies. There were some real stand out stories in this anthology, which I'll get to, but overall Grand Mal Press has put out another winner.

Check out the opener, Patrick Flanagan's tale - my personal favourite, too. Erik T. Johnson's story was mind-blowingly good, Wine and Spirits from Gregory L. Norris - excellent. I also really enjoyed the Box of Seven Sons, by Kent Alyn, and Randy Chandler's tale, the title of which is just too damn long to type, but not too long to read.

On titles, biggest win goes to Zoot Campbell - I don't think Amazon would let me publish the title in a review!

Great collection, loved it.

Craig Saunders, Author of Spiggot, Rain, The Outlaw King, Evolution, The Seven Point Star...OK, I'll stop now. ;)
4023465
This collection is full of pleasure, not least because of the very first appearance of Uncle Fred spreading sweetness and light wherever he passes.  The rest of the stories are as good as anyone could wish, but Uncle Fred is clearly and deservedly the favorite.  At the risk of reducing its value as a collector's item at some distant future point, though, I strongly recommend removing and destroying the dust-jacket.  Admittedly, the horrendous artwork does appear to have some sort of reference to one of the stories inside, but if I were that story I would prefer not to be referred to in that manner.  I feel a sharp pain in my eye every time I take it down from the shelf to browse.
4333662
In this new collection Tony Hoagland's subject matter ranges from the comic to the sublime. He is at times irreverent, and at other times vulnerable and spiritual. The poems he has included in "Recent Changes in the Vernacular" made me laugh and also brought tears to my eyes. Some are of such excellence and power as to inspire awe in this reader. In addition, given the stress and fake news of the recent past, Hoagland's poems are wise and authentic, each one capturing an honest sentiment, often driven by compelling imagery. In "Moisture," as he struggles with personal illness, Hoagland writes of that place "where compassion and self-pity run together in a swamp." In "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," the moon rises in the sky with an expression of exhaustion like that of "a 38-year old single mother standing at the edge of a playground." This is a fine collection. Dan Guenther
585602
This compilation is a great effort at both defining "sudden fiction" by example and at displaying the broad scope of the work that's out there, including pieces from all over the globe. The work, according to the editors, was collected over a set period in the early 00's from what has been getting published in journals and magazines around the world. In that regard, this collection truly succeeds in capturing what the current flavor/definition is for the short-short story (not to be confused with "flash fiction," which is even shorter) (and collected in a different companion book by the same publisher) (I also admittedly plan to read it eventually) and ensures that there won't be (m)any repeats in here from other anthologies you may have read.

What is slightly disappointing about this collection is that the quality (for this reviewer) is a bit uneven. While all the stories are of rather similar lengths (3 to 5 pages for the most part), some simply go nowhere, reflecting on a moment or character in detail and arriving at very little in the way of stimulating conclusions. Others, such as Tobias Wolfe's or Sam Shepard's (two of the best in the bunch), nicely portray real conflicts, draw very real characters, and maintain forceful narratives throughout, with endings that satisfy.

If you enjoy short fiction, this is certainly worth reading, then perhaps selling back if you find only a little that you like (I'll probably keep my copy, as I think I like the parts I like enough to want to read them again later on). If you're trying to get into what's going on in contemporary short(-short) fiction, there is no better place to start. Author bios in the back will give you other book titles and such as launching points for further reading as well.
558034
This collection of Christmas crime stories caught my eye because of the clever title and held my attention because of the wide range of entertaining stories. The contributing authors include Peter Lovesey, Sujata Massey, Stephanie Barron, Ed Lin, Cara Black and several others. I was familiar with some authors, like Lovesey, Massey, and Barron before this, but I was happy to be introduced to several new authors. The stories take place throughout the world including Cuba, England, New York, and Korea and range from very funny to dark, to touching, and even depressing.

One of my favorite stories in the collection is by Helene Tursten, a Swedish author who was new to me. The story about an elderly woman who isn't as helpless as she appears is clever and dark and since finishing it, Ive read a couple of Turstens full-length novels. Author Mick Herron is also new to me, and I enjoyed his amusing story The Usual Santas about the commercialism of Christmas. Ive enjoyed Stephanie Barrons novels and was glad to see a story featuring the sleuth from her novels, Jane Austen.

Along with several stories I loved, there were a few that didn't appeal to me, but thats to be expected with just a wide variety of stories. Although I wouldnt rate each story with 5 stars, I do think the overall collection is worthy of that high rating. The stories in this book kept me entertained from the beginning to the end.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Soho Crime. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
2243093
I think this is an exceptionally good collection of works. 'The Locked Door' and 'The Taste of Her Skin' are really quite good. I enjoyed the stories a lot.
4902166
This is an excellent collection of varied, intriguing, fun, quirky, and at times fantastic short-form fiction.  The author, Stuart Levine, seems especially adept at revealing the interior passions of characters that might seem sleepy and mundane to the rest of the world -- like the homely female high school journalist in his final story "The Front Page", or the hyper-sexual couple in "Telling Lies at the Hitler Tourist Court".  Levine's interests, as demonstrated in the settings of these short stories, are hugely varied: classical music, major league baseball, art, South American culture, and rural convenience store gossip.  He finds passion and pathos in all sorts of unexpected places -- and then depicts it with great clarity and power.  That's not to say that the stories are of equal quality.  Some are merely good.  But two, Are You Superman and The Front Page -- I'd put up there in there with the best of John Updike and I.B. Singer.  In short, an outstanding collection of short-stories that I enjoyed reading -- and will read many times more!
4063868
I really enjoyed this short collection of miscellaneous poems and essays. The one outstanding work was a very interesting article on Edgar Allan Poe that suggest the troubled author/poet was a long-suffering victim of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. After reading Cedric's intuitive analysis I have to admit that I agree with his theory. The first poem, 'The Fool's Cask' based on Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado,' is a nice homage to Poe whilst being a poem on its own merit. Mr Nye certainly has some solid writing chops and a refreshing and humanitarian viewpoint in his writing that makes me want to read more. The various works in this collection are mostly unrelated to each other which makes for a surprising collection. The prospective reader will be sure to chance upon something in here that will appeal and uplift. My only reservation with 'Assorted Essays and Poetry' which prevented me from giving this collection 5 stars, is that the formatting was in need of tweaking. Despite this one flaw, the writing is solid and interesting enough to compensate. Will definitely be checking out Mr Nye's other work in the near future.
2233921
I came to this collection of short stories because I was looking for another work by Maggie Bruce, whose mystery writing I like. I'm not a devotee of short stories, but I did notice that several of my favorite mystery writers were included (Susan Wittig Albert, Monica Ferris, and Gillian Roberts, for example), and I decided to give the book a try.  As Ms. Bruce indicates in an introduction to the volume, there are some features that bring the diverse group of crafts represented here together, but as a reader it's important to know that the interpretation of "craft" is very broad, and if you are a crafter looking for your specific interest, it may or may not be represented here. The diversity of crafts represented is exceptional, but some of them appear to me to be tangential ones, such as the story about macaroni art.  This is of course a personal view.

The strongest contributions, in my opinion, are those of Susan Wittig Albert, Victoria Houston, Gillian Roberts, and Paula L. Woods. For most readers, some stories will be memorable, and others you may want to skip after trying them for a few pages. Some don't involve a murder at all, but there is always mystery and a setting that involves a particular craft.  That aspect seems a bit dated now, since there are fewer cozy mysteries that are centered around crafts. Today's fad seems to be mysteries that involve food or cooking.  Nevertheless, if you like short stories, crafts, and don't feel that every story has to be equally engaging, this is a good collection. If you can find it used and inexpensive, even better. Many of the stories are rewarding.
2524701
A well-produced "fake" book with a great hit-to-miss ratio. Some of the chords? I take strictly as suggestions, but that's half the fun. Buy this collection and you won't be disappointed.
2625673
McPherson's comic runs in my local newspaper, and I was thrilled to see that this collection could be down-loaded onto my Kindle.  I enjoyed looking at strips I'd never seen before, and especially enjoyed McPherson's chapters about the creation of the strip, and the reactions to some of the strips from both the public and  his editors.

On the Kindle some of the strips are extremely tiny, and nothing I could do would cause them to be enlarged.  This made some of the text almost indecipherable.

Overall, the was a very enjoyable collection.
2510796
This collection is phenomenal.

Hopler has carefully crafted his verse, and every line packs a punch. His reversals and recursive style trace the outline of a mind dealing with loss while attending astutely to the living world in every relatable and generously honest way. His attention to sound and rhythm renders delightful turns of phrase that the reader can't help but try on the teeth and tongue. Hopler's poetry doesn't merely convey an experience, but rather becomes an experience in and of itself. At times the speaker invites smirks and smiles with his wit, at other times drops the jaw with blood-on-the-page imagery.

I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. Please do yourself the favor of delving into this work. It's a collection I've pored over again and again, and I suspect I will continue returning for some time to come as it continues to yield new fruit with every visit.
3126432
This collection is worth a read for those who appreciate illustrations of poor luck, grit and a dash of horror. One piece in particular (by CL Quigley) has a unique blend of mindfulness, emotional and psychological beauty and intensity that flirts with both verisimilitude and the expansive and distorted intensity and  terror of trauma, violence and loss of innocence. For this piece alone it's a worthy purchase. Go small press!
4746550
What I love about these collections by YOE Books is that these have artists names who I have heard throughout most of my adult comic book reading life but never had the opportunity to actually see, let alone read, and now they are being collected in these high quality collections. Jack Cole and Bob Powell have always been mysteries to me that I just figured I would never have the chance to find out about because their comics were too old and too expensive to really just dive into. Now I finally get to find out what these guys are all about.

Jack Cole is a superb artist with dynamic compositions and dramatic brushed inks, but I would add that Cole was probably not an innate horror writer. His skill and ability to visualize a story is top notch, but the grip of how to write a weird horror tale wasn't exactly a natural part of his writing chemistry. Because of this, books like "Bob Powell's Terror" is a superior collection strictly in the sense of being "horror", at least in story. Jack Cole is still way above the profusion of mediocre hacked out horror of the 1950s, and Cole's kitsch factor is high in this collection with a broad fare of B-movie type elements. This collection is completely worth buying, but not quite as good as a lot of the EC comics stuff or Bob Powell's collection. When it comes to pre-code horror, it's all about how much of a bizarre edge it has. When Cole is at his best he really rocks it, and his art is second to none, but his knack for horror isn't always as compelling. Still, this probably some of the very best of the genre.
2808560
A tome worth browsing through for there are gems to be found here
4588042
This collection is as interesting for the light it throws on the author and her life (both in the introduction and the second half of the book) as for the tales themselves.  I'm a fan of the alphabetical Kinsey Millhone mystery series, as well as a fan of short stories, so this collection seemed like the perfect mix.  That said, I found most of the stories a bit lightweight and predictable (especially the piece that was written for a catalogue, which was a strange mixture of advertising and Euripides paradox).  The prose is lucid as ever: Sue Grafton is past mistress of characterization in a few words, and her descriptions evoke nostalgia for those of us who also remember those times and similar places.
4576525
Compilations tend to be hit or miss with me, but this collection is well worth every penny. Charlotte Stein's poetic erotic musings are at their best when economic, so each of these stories is a delicious little sweet - even as you're dissolving it in your mouth, you're wishing it would last and last and last.