I finally found the review of the book from Midwest Book Review. It’s just a little disorganized. I was expecting it to pop up on Amazon.com’s book page, but it turns out Midwest Book Review (and other reviewers) aren’t allowed to post their reviews anymore. So that’s the end of that. No worries … I dug through the Midwest Book Review January letter and found the review myself.
From Diane Donovan:
Eleven short stories in this collection provide inspiration and food for thought, and offer diverse yet creative settings, and as a whole make for a powerful collection highly recommended for any lending library. For a first collection of short stories it’s powerful and unexpected. The stories have appeared in various publications but are united here for the first time, reflecting Ken Brosky’s ability to create compelling, unusual scenes.
From phone hackers to an Iraqi searching for his missing leg, these are thought-provoking accounts packed with powerful images. They don’t include Brosky’s earlier horror writing, but they do provide a virtual feast of emotions that do include horror, humor and observations of the human condition.
‘Amazon.com’ is the only essay included in this collection of fiction, and provides a fine and unexpected survey of the internet giant.
Brosky’s short stories always open with a bang: “I knew this guy, babe, he could do things with his mouth you ain’t never seen. And I ain’t talking about sex here, all right? All right? Get your head out of the gutter and listen to me, because this is a story that’s gonna blow your mind.”
That’s part of his special power: imparting scenarios and openings that keep you reading. But the tension and unexpected twists don’t end with the opening lines: it is evident throughout the chatty, involving story line: “It all started in the 1960s, when Cap’n Crunch cereal included a free toy whistle in every box. The whistle just so happened to produce a 2600hz tone, which is the exact same tone that AT&T used as a steady signal for unused long-distance lines.”
And just how will the Four Horsemen appear during the Apocalypse? Read ‘Apocalypse Wow’ for the experiences of the Horsemen at the drive-in: “The moment they saw the horse in the drive-thru, they knew it was bad news.
Motorcycles? Occasionally. A truck pulling a boat? Once in awhile on a crisp Saturday morning in the summer. But not a horse. Not a guy sitting on a horse. They were watching him through the small TV screen hanging above the drive-thru register.”
When it all gets too intense, read ‘Intermission’ – it is what it says….
Looking for something different and fast-paced? It doesn’t get better than Ken Brosky’s writing style, which profiles and builds delightfully unexpected scenarios.
It’s a shame Midwest Book Review can’t provide a review directly on Amazon.com anymore, but the people who put together the Web site and review all of the books do a fantastic job. There. It’s in the public record now. Really great.
Hi,
I got my review from the Midwest Book Review a few days before they removed all of them. Pity but you can take the most important parts of it and put it under editorial reviews, look at my book on AMAZON THE BRIDGE of DEATHS by M.C.V, Egan there is a word limit so you’ll have to edit, which Midwest Book Review is fine with. Then tweet and post it in as manydifferent sources as possible, in Book Blogs paste it on discussion groups and the Brag and Boast group is great for this. Just getting through the screening from MBR is a big deal so make the most out of it! Congrats and best of luck with your book.
Catalina
Great review! Now I’m going to offer some possibly pesty words of wisdom: do you know you can post reviews from journals such as this one, kirkus, etc. onto your amazon page? There’s something called a “content update form” on amazon. You use it to upload reviews from outside sources. If you can’t find it in a search, I can give you a link. You definitely want this one on your book’s sales page!