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daphelba's review
3.0
Having just finished Flowertown, Kindle recommended other books by this author. Braid was 99ยข and short and therefore pretty appealing for a check on good-writing-consistency.
These stories were very short. The first one was predictable, but I agree that the end does sneak up on you. Cora Lee is stupid almost read as a quick-writing assignment for a workshop. It wasn't bad, by any stretch of the word, but it wasn't long enough to allow any strong feelings of attachment to form.
The middle story was also very short, and did not interest me. Perhaps with no time to invest in characters, i just don't latch on to a storyline.
The final story was longer and better than the others. This author is good at capturing devastation and bleakness and releasing it all over the page. But like with Flowertown I was hoping for a particular twist that never showed.
From what I've read, S. G. Redling is an author to watch. I'll happily check out more of her work in the future, but I might steer clear of her short stories, which in my opinion do not showcase her real talent and that is character writing.
These stories were very short. The first one was predictable, but I agree that the end does sneak up on you. Cora Lee is stupid almost read as a quick-writing assignment for a workshop. It wasn't bad, by any stretch of the word, but it wasn't long enough to allow any strong feelings of attachment to form.
The middle story was also very short, and did not interest me. Perhaps with no time to invest in characters, i just don't latch on to a storyline.
The final story was longer and better than the others. This author is good at capturing devastation and bleakness and releasing it all over the page. But like with Flowertown I was hoping for a particular twist that never showed.
From what I've read, S. G. Redling is an author to watch. I'll happily check out more of her work in the future, but I might steer clear of her short stories, which in my opinion do not showcase her real talent and that is character writing.
haramis's review
4.0
I don't know if it was worth the price tag, but I'll admit to liking it all the same.
1. Cora Lee is Stupid. Short and creepy, sneaks up on you. 5/5
2. Dead Weight. Short and a tad predictable. 3/5
3. Rosetta Stone. Love. This is the closest in tone to Flowertown, and features a plot near and dear to my heart, virus apocalypse. It's snarky and self-aware, lamp-shading in the best of ways, and still tapping one of humanity's most enduring traits. 5/5.
I take that back. I'd probably pay $2 read Rosetta Stone and a fifty cents for Cora Lee, so if it's not completely worth it, it's close. :)
1. Cora Lee is Stupid. Short and creepy, sneaks up on you. 5/5
2. Dead Weight. Short and a tad predictable. 3/5
3. Rosetta Stone. Love. This is the closest in tone to Flowertown, and features a plot near and dear to my heart, virus apocalypse. It's snarky and self-aware, lamp-shading in the best of ways, and still tapping one of humanity's most enduring traits. 5/5.
I take that back. I'd probably pay $2 read Rosetta Stone and a fifty cents for Cora Lee, so if it's not completely worth it, it's close. :)
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