Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates {Book Review}

Today I'm reviewing Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates , which is an anthology of short stories featuring pirates, written by various authors.

As a collection, I enjoyed this book, though I feel that the quality of the stories varied quite a bit. Many of these stories are quite enjoyable to read on their own, and are the perfect length to read quickly, but still be satisfying.

I particularly enjoyed the final three stories in the book. Broadsided by KJ Kiegan featured fantastic of characters, good back story, and strong emotional ties between characters. The Pensioner Pirates of Marine Parade by Jonathan Broughton had a unique premise, and a surprising ending. The Book of Adventures by Douglas Kolacki was my favorite of all the stories. It took the theme (pirates), and turned it on its head. It was unique, enjoyable, and well developed.

I do have one criticism that goes for many of the stories in this book (though not for the ones mentioned above). Many of them felt like longer stories shoved into a short story format. This was particularly true with Khalballo by Margo Lerwill, and with Diamonds and Bones by Kris Radcliffe. They both had a good idea, but they became confusing because there was so much back story left untold, and too much action for the shortness of the story.

Overall, I recommend this anthology to anyone who particularly enjoys pirate stories. There is a good variety of classic pirate stories, historical ones, and a few that break out of the genre completely. As a reader, I think that short stories are a great but challenging form for prose, and some of these authors did better with it then others.


 I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires {Book Review}

Today I'm reviewing Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, a collection of ten short stories featuring, you guessed it, vampires! While I read each story, I jotted down some thoughts, reactions, and feelings, some of which I will share with you after I talk a little about the anthology as a whole.

As you might know, I'm a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel fan, so I've got a bit of a soft spot for a well done vampire story. I do feel that the sparkly vamps have taken over a bit recently in a way I'm not fond of, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book.

What I found was a terrific amount of variety. While none of the vamps in this anthology sparkled, there were a few stories, particularly Tangled Dreams by Liv Rancourt that reminded me of that variety of vampire. On the whole, I liked how different all the stories where, and the very unique mythologies many of these authors created within this not exactly new genre.

My very favorite story has to be Reality Bites by Jim Bernheimer. It was funny, but felt real, and good, distinctive characters. A close second was Why I Won't Read Song of Solomon by Douglas Kolacki. It featured a totally different variety of vampire (hint: they don't drink blood), which was refreshing, and the ending felt so, so human. I also really enjoyed Night Train by Rayne Hall, which had a wonderful writing style, and a surprise ending I enjoyed.

Since there are some many different authors here, my few critiques are about individual stories, not the book as a whole. The Fledgling Doubt  by Lana Bange was a story I wanted to like, but found too confusing. It is a story that would have benefited from a little back story.

If you find the vampire genre interesting, but are perhaps not sure what to think of the modern vampire novels, I would give this story a try. Most of the stories are relatively tame, but remember, this is a vampire anthology, so there is going to be blood and death, though two of them: The Dhampir's Kiss by Carole Ann Moleti and Exile by April Grey, include sexual content some may not wish to read.

I have a lot of fun post planned for the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

  I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.