Review by Livingstone Ochieng -- Illustrated Short Ficti...
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Livingstone Ochieng
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- Latest Review: Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles: 2000-2016 by William H. Coles
Review by Livingstone Ochieng -- Illustrated Short Ficti...
[Following is a volunteer review of "Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles: 2000-2016" by William H. Coles.]
Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles, 2000-2016 is a collection of William’s short fiction stories of diverse genres and themes. Most notable are the themes of love, teenage pregnancy, parenting, life struggles, and family. William is an award-winning author, and so I couldn't help but have so much expectations when I chose to review this book.
First in the collection is the gift, a story about Catherine, a teenage girl, who becomes expectant at the age of seventeen. Initially, her mother had a plan to have her get rid of the pregnancy, but when this becomes impossible, she hatches another plan to give away the child at birth. Upon delivery, the second plan also does not push through, as the child is born with a deformity; a lot happens thereafter.
Another interesting one was the bear. Errol, Sean, and the narrator went out to hunt when they suddenly encountered a bear. Being a government protected bear, they have to find a way to escape without hurting him. This story was such a thriller. Mind you, it was told within three pages only. Finally, I’ll also comment on the war of the flies, this was a beautiful story about co-parenting. Bobby misses his dad so much, but his mom won’t let him visit or speak to him over the phone since they parted ways. In summer, when they visit his grandma in Calliope, New York, grandma notices Bobby is sad about not being able to interact with his father and finds a way to have him speak to him. While this was such an amazing topic, the essence got lost somewhere in between when the author placed so much focus on flies that used to disturb Bobby’s family at Grandma’s place.
Although I liked the creativity, themes, suspense, and the lessons contained in this book, there were a few things I disliked. First, there are so many characters the reader has to keep up with, some of whom are not adequately developed or too little information is provided about them, so you really can’t understand those characters. Secondly, most of the stories had an abrupt ending, not to mention the random beginnings, and nothing prepared the reader for the change over from one story to the other. For these reasons, I’ll take away a star, and rate Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles, 2000-2016 at 3 out of 4 stars.
Readers who like short fiction stories of whatever genre will enjoy reading this book. Also, due to Dr. William’s prowess in writing fiction stories, I recommend this book to all the aspiring fiction story writers. I did not come across any grammatical, typographical, or an error of whatever nature as this book was exceptionally edited. However, there was widespread use of profane language.
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Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles: 2000-2016
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles, 2000-2016 is a collection of William’s short fiction stories of diverse genres and themes. Most notable are the themes of love, teenage pregnancy, parenting, life struggles, and family. William is an award-winning author, and so I couldn't help but have so much expectations when I chose to review this book.
First in the collection is the gift, a story about Catherine, a teenage girl, who becomes expectant at the age of seventeen. Initially, her mother had a plan to have her get rid of the pregnancy, but when this becomes impossible, she hatches another plan to give away the child at birth. Upon delivery, the second plan also does not push through, as the child is born with a deformity; a lot happens thereafter.
Another interesting one was the bear. Errol, Sean, and the narrator went out to hunt when they suddenly encountered a bear. Being a government protected bear, they have to find a way to escape without hurting him. This story was such a thriller. Mind you, it was told within three pages only. Finally, I’ll also comment on the war of the flies, this was a beautiful story about co-parenting. Bobby misses his dad so much, but his mom won’t let him visit or speak to him over the phone since they parted ways. In summer, when they visit his grandma in Calliope, New York, grandma notices Bobby is sad about not being able to interact with his father and finds a way to have him speak to him. While this was such an amazing topic, the essence got lost somewhere in between when the author placed so much focus on flies that used to disturb Bobby’s family at Grandma’s place.
Although I liked the creativity, themes, suspense, and the lessons contained in this book, there were a few things I disliked. First, there are so many characters the reader has to keep up with, some of whom are not adequately developed or too little information is provided about them, so you really can’t understand those characters. Secondly, most of the stories had an abrupt ending, not to mention the random beginnings, and nothing prepared the reader for the change over from one story to the other. For these reasons, I’ll take away a star, and rate Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles, 2000-2016 at 3 out of 4 stars.
Readers who like short fiction stories of whatever genre will enjoy reading this book. Also, due to Dr. William’s prowess in writing fiction stories, I recommend this book to all the aspiring fiction story writers. I did not come across any grammatical, typographical, or an error of whatever nature as this book was exceptionally edited. However, there was widespread use of profane language.
******
Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles: 2000-2016
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
