Well, I’ve had about fifty of them, and am a bit frazzled. I’m talking about Michael Arnzen’s 100 Jolts, of course.
Without giving plots away–and believe me, some of my descriptions would be longer than the stories themselves–there is a wide range of horrors, from Santa Claus stuffed-stockings to an attempt to halt the taking over of the country.
While the stories themselves are not particularly scary to me, they reveal an imagination that always has a ready–if unpalatable–answer to what if? I don’t know how this man sleeps at night; his brain bombarded with images that are nightmare borne.
I am not sure how well I like the short, extremely short story form, and it may be either because I am at a point where I am trying to discover more depth in literature, to get the most I can out of what is there even if it need be, as these illustrate, to take them simply as they come. I will be most interested in reading Dr. Arnzen’s new novel after having a taste (ewww!) of gore that I have sorely missed in my life of late.
NOTE: Just found a teacher’s/reader’s guide to 100 Jolts graciously offered by Dr. Arnzen and I have just downloaded that as a bonus to my reading.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
Short story form: even O.Henry once said, “I’d rather be a novelist, but the path is too easy.”
Very glad you enjoyed the collection of dime-sized dread! People have told me that it’s a fast read, but that reading so many of the little stories back-to-back is like taking an overdose. Glad you’re surviving it. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for posting reflections on your reading. Hope you’ll get a kick out of the novel, Play Dead, too.