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What a lovely, lovely book!
I was looking forward to reading "Chuck the Rooster Loses His Voice", as a markedly light-hearted change to the usual fare I'm offered as a reviewer, and I have to admit I loved every minute of it. This is definitely a book I would buy for my own toddler, without hesitation - a great little 10-minute children's story, told in verse, about a group of farmyard friends who come together to devise an exciting way to help out the rooster when he falls ill. Perfect fo...
Poetry can be a wonderful expression of art, if written well – if not, it can be infuriating. Like classical music, when beautifully crafted, it is hard not to love. This emotional collection, by Norman Berisford, is at times a sublime love ballad, at others a celebration of all things “life” – from the leaves on the ground to the sun, from grieving for a loved one, to God’s nature and Creation itself. The odes and poems in this anthology vary in style from prose to verse, from b...
I’ve read alot from this author, and have come to the conclusion that he is a master of metaphors – the satisfying kind, which make one give a little smile and an understanding nod. With a penchant for first person narration, he draws the reader immediately into the world of his characters, unsavoury, yet as normal as you or I – a world in which life can change in an instant. Another trademark of Michael Irwin, apparent in this bite-sized cautionary tale of villains, blags and remorse...
The concept of this collection is of 3-minute read flash fiction - the time it takes to boil an egg, or, more specifically, for an egg timer to run out.
These may be 3-minute reads (one or two maybe a little longer), but it is clear from very early on that their composition was far from brief – the author has put a huge amount of work into each one of these stories, and moulded them in a very unique style. Although only an average of 750 words, each displays a particularly impressive know...
A satisfying trio of dark cautionary tales in the style of Richard
Laymon, the 'Trinity...' is good, well-crafted horror, from an author who
clearly spends alot of time indulging in the genre - the stories are familiar,
the characters stereotypically deranged and deliciously twisted.
I really enjoyed these three tales - each has a great sense of atmosphere, satisfying dialogue and a range of personalities which we have come to expect in such shorts, and would not realistically be found anyw...