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fagurfifill's review
1.0
1.5*
Whew, finished. This one almost ended up on my DNF shelf. However, I was given this as an ARC, and read it and review it I must, much as I hate to write negative reviews.
Where to start … these stories were tangled all right, but not in a good way. Twisted - not so much. I found the stories unoriginal, the writing shallow, dull, cliché-laden - just about every major character seems to have the "hazel" eyes so beloved of authors of (indifferent) fanfiction, so rare in real persons - and repetitive.
To go into the sad details:
“A tangled Oracle” (Laura N. Andrews): A murder mystery straight from the soaps. The protagonists are introduced in purple prose by their looks (“ … long dark curls, bright hazel eyes, and a tanned complexion “, “her petite, straight nose”, “stunning blue eyes, dark hair, and a charming laugh”, “the pearly white perfectly contrasting with his skin tone”) rather than their personality, the mystery unfolds slowly, in drawn-out writing, the author, anticipating her readers’ extremely short attention span, reminding them over and over who the victims are in relation to the MC, verbatim repeating conversations, and then pulling a _very_ hackneyed ex-machina at which point I was glad to skip the rest. – 1 star
“The Burning Rock” (M. Billiter): deals with a toxic relationship, ostensibly due to the one of the partners’ bipolar condition, however, the writer does not bring the latter across in any convincing way. All the reader is shown is a selfish asshole not so much suffering from mood swings than throwing tantrums whenever things don’t go his way. Whatever attracts the MC to the surly cowboy, aside from “his mustache … the colour of wheat, and the long bushy ends mov[ing] with the same consistency in the wind” and, of course, “his hazel eyes”, who calls her, very condescendingly “Girl”, “Lady” or “Red”, but never once by her name, remains a mystery – unless it’s his nuptial performances, which, thankfully, happen off stage. The rate at which he runs through his wife's money, though, might have kept her in callboys for the duration, who would at least have treated her with a modicum of respect. Bleh! – 1 star
“Gnarled” (R.M. Gilmore): The first story in this collection with a touch of the supernatural. The writing style was better and with a slightly ironic undertone I liked, however, a bit jumpy and disjointed at times. Includes “my hazel eyes”, “my blond hair”, the strangest police procedures and silly gratuitous Irish. – 2 stars
“Tangled Love” (Kim Deister): Distracted wife accidentally coming across her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, only he isn’t. For whatever reason fancies herself as the offending party and guilt-trips herself into making him punish her for whatever. “It was my just desserts.” (sic) Yuck. – 1 point
“Early Retirement” (Kenneth Jobe): A “loyal husband and hard-working employee” getting wronged and taking revenge. I kept expecting some twist in the plot, but there wasn’t one. – 1 star
“Tangled Obsession” (Barb Shuler): The old “trip into the wilderness gone awry through being stalked by madmen”. A good thing “Uncle Sam taught” the protagonists so many things (as we keep being reminded). OK-ish from point of writing - still, predictable and boring. No idea what was the eponymous obsession and why or how it was tangled. – 2 stars
“We Only Want to Play” (M.C. St. John): Elementary school kids going full-on “Lord of the Flies” on their teachers and one of their own. Maybe some kind of possession is at work, we never find out. Likes flowery language (“carnation of blood”). OK-ish. – 2 1/2 stars
“The House on Oak Street” (Ricky Wells): The old “spooky house” story with a storyline that is all over the place, further mangled by drawn-out, repetitive writing style, detailing a chess game in its every move (which was in aid of exactly nothing), plus some very weird expressions (among which “hoping his eyes betrayed him”, “never raising his eyes exceptive for furtive glances”, “couldn’t help but to imagine” stood out, making me wonder if English is, indeed, the author’s first language). – 2 stars
Whew, finished. This one almost ended up on my DNF shelf. However, I was given this as an ARC, and read it and review it I must, much as I hate to write negative reviews.
Where to start … these stories were tangled all right, but not in a good way. Twisted - not so much. I found the stories unoriginal, the writing shallow, dull, cliché-laden - just about every major character seems to have the "hazel" eyes so beloved of authors of (indifferent) fanfiction, so rare in real persons - and repetitive.
To go into the sad details:
“A tangled Oracle” (Laura N. Andrews): A murder mystery straight from the soaps. The protagonists are introduced in purple prose by their looks (“ … long dark curls, bright hazel eyes, and a tanned complexion “, “her petite, straight nose”, “stunning blue eyes, dark hair, and a charming laugh”, “the pearly white perfectly contrasting with his skin tone”) rather than their personality, the mystery unfolds slowly, in drawn-out writing, the author, anticipating her readers’ extremely short attention span, reminding them over and over who the victims are in relation to the MC, verbatim repeating conversations, and then pulling a _very_ hackneyed ex-machina
Spoiler
- the evil twin dunnit –“The Burning Rock” (M. Billiter): deals with a toxic relationship, ostensibly due to the one of the partners’ bipolar condition, however, the writer does not bring the latter across in any convincing way. All the reader is shown is a selfish asshole not so much suffering from mood swings than throwing tantrums whenever things don’t go his way. Whatever attracts the MC to the surly cowboy, aside from “his mustache … the colour of wheat, and the long bushy ends mov[ing] with the same consistency in the wind” and, of course, “his hazel eyes”, who calls her, very condescendingly “Girl”, “Lady” or “Red”, but never once by her name, remains a mystery – unless it’s his nuptial performances, which, thankfully, happen off stage. The rate at which he runs through his wife's money, though, might have kept her in callboys for the duration, who would at least have treated her with a modicum of respect. Bleh! – 1 star
“Gnarled” (R.M. Gilmore): The first story in this collection with a touch of the supernatural. The writing style was better and with a slightly ironic undertone I liked, however, a bit jumpy and disjointed at times. Includes “my hazel eyes”, “my blond hair”, the strangest police procedures and silly gratuitous Irish. – 2 stars
“Tangled Love” (Kim Deister): Distracted wife accidentally coming across her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, only he isn’t.
Spoiler
But then he is after all. Or something.“Early Retirement” (Kenneth Jobe): A “loyal husband and hard-working employee” getting wronged and taking revenge. I kept expecting some twist in the plot, but there wasn’t one. – 1 star
“Tangled Obsession” (Barb Shuler): The old “trip into the wilderness gone awry through being stalked by madmen”. A good thing “Uncle Sam taught” the protagonists so many things (as we keep being reminded). OK-ish from point of writing - still, predictable and boring. No idea what was the eponymous obsession and why or how it was tangled. – 2 stars
“We Only Want to Play” (M.C. St. John): Elementary school kids going full-on “Lord of the Flies” on their teachers and one of their own. Maybe some kind of possession is at work, we never find out. Likes flowery language (“carnation of blood”). OK-ish. – 2 1/2 stars
“The House on Oak Street” (Ricky Wells): The old “spooky house” story with a storyline that is all over the place, further mangled by drawn-out, repetitive writing style, detailing a chess game in its every move (which was in aid of exactly nothing), plus some very weird expressions (among which “hoping his eyes betrayed him”, “never raising his eyes exceptive for furtive glances”, “couldn’t help but to imagine” stood out, making me wonder if English is, indeed, the author’s first language). – 2 stars
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