Official Review: Stories In the Wake of Chaos

[That Reviewer]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Stories In the Wake of Chaos" by Jacob Marley.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Stories In the Wake of Chaos is a collection of stories supposedly filled with life lessons. These stories show a pattern of people coming to ruin because they carelessly ignored all warnings.

Being filled with lamentation for a country and humanity that has learned so little from history, Jacob Marley created this collection of stories that readers may understand the actual threat to our world, and to the best of their ability, avoid being victims.

Unfortunately, my review would give more negative feedback. While reading Stories In the Wake of Chaos, I realized that I couldn't connect some of the stories in the book to the author's purpose of writing them, which I earlier stated. I didn't encounter any paradigm shift about the threat to the world, which the author pointed out as one purpose of the book. I do not think the problem is based on my comprehension of the book but the author's method of presentation. I do not feel he sufficiently gave out the information he intended on passing. Take, for instance, the second to last story titled "Envy." I'm still trying to understand how Juvenal's decision while on the bus cost him. The story was both confusing and not related to the book's purpose.

Another issue I had with the book was the unrelatable nature of some of the stories. For the author to pass his message efficiently, the stories have to be relatable to give a sense of what it feels like to be in the narrated situation. The first story in the book, "Cynicism," didn't connect with my sensibilities. I reread the story, but I still couldn't connect to it. There were other stories with which I had similar issues.

I also had an issue with the lack of detail in most of the stories; there were many missing details. Take the story "Pride" as an example. When I initially started reading, I found the narrator to be a strong supporter of a united Burundi. Out of the blue, the narrator shifts camp. I only saw an automatic switch with no explanation. From previous experiences, I know that people don't change without reason. I expected a sufficient explanation for that transition.

Although I had issues with the book, it was not all terrible; I found some of the stories exciting. The book was also well edited, as it contained minimal errors.

I would rate the book 2 out of 4 stars. I couldn't rate it any higher, as the negatives outweighed the positives. I would recommend it to people interested in short stories. Regardless of my sentiments, I believe some people might find them worth reading.

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Stories In the Wake of Chaos
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[Sakura5]

It is a pity most of the stories in this collection were not related to the main stated purpose of the author. Thank you for your honest review!

[PeterRabitt20]

If the story cannot be connected to the author's message, it may need more plot development. It's too bad because there is benefit in reading short stories (you can jump around). Thanks for the honest review!

[Becca Olsson]

It sounds like the author had good intentions but his work was poorly executed. It’s unfortunate, but maybe it could be salvaged? Thanks for the honest review