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liisp_cvr2cvr's review
5.0
When John F. Leonard offered me to read this short story, I didn’t have to think twice and jumped at the chance. Having read his Call Drops, I knew I was in for a quirky treat!
In short, I absolutely loved this story. LOVED. IT! It is a simple idea, inspired by real life- a kid bringing home a soft toy from school to take care of it and diarize the events. It is a lovely little idea and surely has some benefits to it, however for the parents… well, I don’t blame any parents looking at this exercise as a surveillance method in disguise. Now, sure, even the surveillance can bring about positive change for those whose childhoods aren’t set dinners and supporting parents. It’s always the question about where do you draw the line in between privacy and enabling proactive interference. Anyway…
John’s writing is sublime and it comes across especially from Doggem’s pov chapters. An inanimate object with the ability to observe and think and understand. I enjoyed Doggem’s pov so much, it reminded me yet again why I love to read! Doggem is a child’s toy, but he doesn’t have childish thoughts. He has something deep inside him… a certain kind of wisdom to enable him to think in a certain way, to enable him to ask certain kinds of questions that only comes with age. Leonard took an inanimate object and gave it such a personality, such a setting!
Doggem is taken home by 5 year old George. A little boy who’s surrounded by typical adult behaviour: electrified atmosphere ingited by anxious parents, an atmosphere filled with dark secrets and even darker agendas! And throughout it all: George is blissfully unaware and Doggem can only witness.
I do not wish to tell you all about the story because it’s better when you go into it without knowing as little about it as possible. All I know, is that it sucked me in from the very beginning and I didn’t want to stop reading until I knew the end… It brought some surprises: by where the story was heading, by everyone it involved, and as I mentioned above- the beautiful ideas that have been delivered through beautiful writing. It really did hit the mark with me! What I’m trying to say is that whilst it is a short story, it delivers a lot! I am so glad I got to read it and I hope you will give it a chance too!
In short, I absolutely loved this story. LOVED. IT! It is a simple idea, inspired by real life- a kid bringing home a soft toy from school to take care of it and diarize the events. It is a lovely little idea and surely has some benefits to it, however for the parents… well, I don’t blame any parents looking at this exercise as a surveillance method in disguise. Now, sure, even the surveillance can bring about positive change for those whose childhoods aren’t set dinners and supporting parents. It’s always the question about where do you draw the line in between privacy and enabling proactive interference. Anyway…
How could a face have so many lines and retain the capacity to smile? How could hair be so raven black and yet streaked with burnished chrome. How could such crooked hands produce such yummy cakes? He hoped it would provide some material for Doggem’s diary.
John’s writing is sublime and it comes across especially from Doggem’s pov chapters. An inanimate object with the ability to observe and think and understand. I enjoyed Doggem’s pov so much, it reminded me yet again why I love to read! Doggem is a child’s toy, but he doesn’t have childish thoughts. He has something deep inside him… a certain kind of wisdom to enable him to think in a certain way, to enable him to ask certain kinds of questions that only comes with age. Leonard took an inanimate object and gave it such a personality, such a setting!
The nimble industry of a spider as it spins a web of hope and hunger. To witness such small things and truly see them is to witness that which defies explanation. The glorious wonder of creation.
Doggem is taken home by 5 year old George. A little boy who’s surrounded by typical adult behaviour: electrified atmosphere ingited by anxious parents, an atmosphere filled with dark secrets and even darker agendas! And throughout it all: George is blissfully unaware and Doggem can only witness.
I do not wish to tell you all about the story because it’s better when you go into it without knowing as little about it as possible. All I know, is that it sucked me in from the very beginning and I didn’t want to stop reading until I knew the end… It brought some surprises: by where the story was heading, by everyone it involved, and as I mentioned above- the beautiful ideas that have been delivered through beautiful writing. It really did hit the mark with me! What I’m trying to say is that whilst it is a short story, it delivers a lot! I am so glad I got to read it and I hope you will give it a chance too!
a_bookish_butterfly's review
dark
medium-paced
3.5
Doggem is a cute stuffed pup who goes home with different elementary school students regularly. With their parents’ help, each student is to keep a journal of their time spent with Doggem. When it’s George Gould’s turn to bring Doggem into his private afterschool world, some unusual and frightening things occur.
The story alternates between a third person narrative and a first person narrative or, more accurately, a first stuffed dog narrative. Doggem shares what he sees when he goes home with young George.
I found it amusingly ironic for Doggem to have such an intellectual tone. He told his story with eloquence, revealing himself as an old soul. I did enjoy the voice the author gave to this adorable toy.
I thought the book would be a fun, creepy oddity, and I wasn’t completely mistaken, but it didn’t satisfy me in the way that I’d hoped it would. In part, I had the wrong expectations, as I thought Doggem would play a much different role in the story, but that wasn’t my only issue.
Although it was easy to devour in one sitting, it seemed to take a very long time for anything interesting to happen. With less than sixty pages of text, that’s saying a lot. There was mild foreshadowing, as Doggem repeatedly suggested doom was on its way, but getting there involved a lot of filler. Once I had an idea of what that doom was, everything quickly climaxed, and then it was over. I just wanted a little more from all of that.
Building horror around a class stuffed animal is certainly a clever idea and Leonard’s writing style is very enjoyable. I liked this enough to say that I’d love to see what he has done with his other books. And who doesn’t want a cute plush dog on a book cover? There’s no denying that this successfully lured me in!
The story alternates between a third person narrative and a first person narrative or, more accurately, a first stuffed dog narrative. Doggem shares what he sees when he goes home with young George.
I found it amusingly ironic for Doggem to have such an intellectual tone. He told his story with eloquence, revealing himself as an old soul. I did enjoy the voice the author gave to this adorable toy.
I thought the book would be a fun, creepy oddity, and I wasn’t completely mistaken, but it didn’t satisfy me in the way that I’d hoped it would. In part, I had the wrong expectations, as I thought Doggem would play a much different role in the story, but that wasn’t my only issue.
Although it was easy to devour in one sitting, it seemed to take a very long time for anything interesting to happen. With less than sixty pages of text, that’s saying a lot. There was mild foreshadowing, as Doggem repeatedly suggested doom was on its way, but getting there involved a lot of filler. Once I had an idea of what that doom was, everything quickly climaxed, and then it was over. I just wanted a little more from all of that.
Building horror around a class stuffed animal is certainly a clever idea and Leonard’s writing style is very enjoyable. I liked this enough to say that I’d love to see what he has done with his other books. And who doesn’t want a cute plush dog on a book cover? There’s no denying that this successfully lured me in!
wellwortharead's review
5.0
It's been 20 years since I was the parent of a kindergartener, but I still remember my son coming home with a stuffed toy and a note from the teacher telling me it was our turn to host said toy for the weekend, and to record in it's diary the events of our time together. I don't remember what we shared with the class but I do remember keeping quiet about our cat dragging it to the litter box in an attempt to bury it or maybe murder it. Perhaps the cat sensed something? In this short story Doggem goes home with a very special boy. George is to host Doggem for the entire 6 week school break. This is more than enough time for Doggem to become privy to dark family secrets that even little George has yet to discover.
Is there such a category as whimsical horror? If not, I think the author has invented it. This was an enjoyable read that would have fit in perfectly as an episode of Amazing Stories or Tales from The Darkside.
I received a complimentary copy for review.
Is there such a category as whimsical horror? If not, I think the author has invented it. This was an enjoyable read that would have fit in perfectly as an episode of Amazing Stories or Tales from The Darkside.
I received a complimentary copy for review.
charshorrorcorner's review
4.0
What a fun and dark short story this was!
It's young George's turn to take Doggem home from school over the holidays. Doggem is a cute little stuffed toy and George is excited. The one responsibility that comes along with Doggem is his diary entries. George is required to write about Doggem's life from Doggem's point of view over their time off. George is a little worried about that, but is proud and happy to give it a shot. He will soon discover though, that Doggem is much more than he seems to be. What will happen over the holiday? Will George be able to keep up with Doggem's diary entries? You'll have to read this to find out!
This is a charming little tale about George, his family, and Doggem. It didn't spool out quite the way I expected it to, and that's what made this bite-sized tale so much fun!
You can get your Kindle copy here: https://amzn.to/2rIXtyl
Recommended!
*I was provided a free e-book copy in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
It's young George's turn to take Doggem home from school over the holidays. Doggem is a cute little stuffed toy and George is excited. The one responsibility that comes along with Doggem is his diary entries. George is required to write about Doggem's life from Doggem's point of view over their time off. George is a little worried about that, but is proud and happy to give it a shot. He will soon discover though, that Doggem is much more than he seems to be. What will happen over the holiday? Will George be able to keep up with Doggem's diary entries? You'll have to read this to find out!
This is a charming little tale about George, his family, and Doggem. It didn't spool out quite the way I expected it to, and that's what made this bite-sized tale so much fun!
You can get your Kindle copy here: https://amzn.to/2rIXtyl
Recommended!
*I was provided a free e-book copy in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
whatmeworry's review
4.0
This review first appeared on scifiandscary.com
‘Doggem’ is a creepy little delight. A small but very nearly perfectly formed short story that made me smile and kept me flipping its pages. It has a fun concept which puts a nice spin on the standard “inanimate object comes to life” horror trope and it uses that to good effect in a satisfying and well-structured story.
The ‘Doggem’ of the title is a stuffed toy, one of those that primary/elementary school classes have and which the kids get to take home over the weekend and bring back along with diary entries detailing all the fun they’ve had. As the parent of a 10-year old I no longer have to endure such things, but it’s only a few years since we had similar visitors in our home and felt the pressure to do something suitably exciting/educational with them so that the other parents didn’t judge us.
In this case, Doggem is aware of what’s going on around him, even if his inability to move means he can’t directly influence events. His weekend with young George Gould and his parents is filled with the kind of stuff a horror story should be, murder, revenge and fiendish twists. The story that author John F Leonard tells is a relatively simple one, but he tells it beautifully, with engaging prose and an enjoyably dark sense of humour. Doggem gets some chapters of his own, and his take on the events he is witnessing is amusingly world weary.
The big question with solo short stories is always value for money one and there are certainly books you could buy for the same price that would last you a lot longer. In fact, the 79 pages the Amazon listing claims for ‘Doggem’ is padded out with some other material at the end. What you get for your money though is a story that is delightfully dark and genuinely different. I’d definitely recommend it, and if you have Kindle Unlimited I’d suggest snapping it up now for a coffee break read,
‘Doggem’ is a creepy little delight. A small but very nearly perfectly formed short story that made me smile and kept me flipping its pages. It has a fun concept which puts a nice spin on the standard “inanimate object comes to life” horror trope and it uses that to good effect in a satisfying and well-structured story.
The ‘Doggem’ of the title is a stuffed toy, one of those that primary/elementary school classes have and which the kids get to take home over the weekend and bring back along with diary entries detailing all the fun they’ve had. As the parent of a 10-year old I no longer have to endure such things, but it’s only a few years since we had similar visitors in our home and felt the pressure to do something suitably exciting/educational with them so that the other parents didn’t judge us.
In this case, Doggem is aware of what’s going on around him, even if his inability to move means he can’t directly influence events. His weekend with young George Gould and his parents is filled with the kind of stuff a horror story should be, murder, revenge and fiendish twists. The story that author John F Leonard tells is a relatively simple one, but he tells it beautifully, with engaging prose and an enjoyably dark sense of humour. Doggem gets some chapters of his own, and his take on the events he is witnessing is amusingly world weary.
The big question with solo short stories is always value for money one and there are certainly books you could buy for the same price that would last you a lot longer. In fact, the 79 pages the Amazon listing claims for ‘Doggem’ is padded out with some other material at the end. What you get for your money though is a story that is delightfully dark and genuinely different. I’d definitely recommend it, and if you have Kindle Unlimited I’d suggest snapping it up now for a coffee break read,
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