Tag: Anthology

Book Review: Timely by The Phoenix Fiction Writers

Book Review: Timely by The Phoenix Fiction Writers

Honestly, this was probably my least favorite PFW anthology thus far. Still a 5-star read, just not quite beyond 5 stars as previous anthologies have been. Timely is, as the title suggests, themed around the concept of time (which is how I finagled it onto my CG comp titles list, lol) and it features two guest authors in addition to the PFW contributors (three guests, if you count the fact that Kyle Robert Shultz is no longer part of the Phoenix Fiction Writers).

The first few stories were great. The Clockwork Toymaker was super Continue reading “Book Review: Timely by The Phoenix Fiction Writers”

Book Review: Of Myth and Monster by The Phoenix Fiction Writers

Book Review: Of Myth and Monster by The Phoenix Fiction Writers

PFW is releasing another anthology, so you know I jumped on it. I’m super thankful to have gotten another of their ARCs, and this one is quite possibly my favorite yet. It’s definitely their best anthology yet, and if they keep improving their quality at this rate I’m going to have to create a six-star rating or something. XD Anyway, into the actual review. (And here’s the necessary disclaimer that even though I got an ARC I wasn’t required to give a positive review and this is all my honest opinion.) Continue reading “Book Review: Of Myth and Monster by The Phoenix Fiction Writers”

Book Review: Strange Waters by Phoenix Fiction Writers

Book Review: Strange Waters by Phoenix Fiction Writers

The Phoenix Fiction Writers released a new short story anthology on Saturday, and I was fortunate enough to get to read an ARC! If you follow me on Goodreads you’ve probably already seen this review, but I’m super excited to share my thoughts on the collection here, as well. So without further ado, the review! Continue reading “Book Review: Strange Waters by Phoenix Fiction Writers”

Book Review: Antiheroes by Phoenix Fiction Writers

Book Review: Antiheroes by Phoenix Fiction Writers

For those of you who don’t know, the Phoenix Fiction Writers are a group of indie speculative fiction authors who’ve banded together to support each other, promote each other’s work, and write awesome anthologies together like Antiheroes. All of the people involved are amazing, both as people and as writers. I was super excited to get a chance to read Antiheroes before its official release in exchange for a review, my expectations were high, and I wasn’t especially disappointed. Without further ado, let’s get into the review. Continue reading “Book Review: Antiheroes by Phoenix Fiction Writers”

Book Review: The Clocks Have Stopped by J.L. Oakman

Book Review: The Clocks Have Stopped by J.L. Oakman

This book is rather difficult to review, because it’s an anthology containing numerous short stories and poems, and obviously I’ve enjoyed some of them more than others. All of the pieces in this collection are poetic and thought-provoking, even if I didn’t necessarily agree with the philosophy presented in all of them. The writing style, though it varies from story to story, is extremely engaging and otherworldly, like the stories themselves, and many of the stories take unexpected twists that leave you mildly bewildered (which, in the case of this book, was a good thing). I particularly enjoyed Deux Ex Experia; that twist was wonderfully executed.

I don’t tend to be a huge fan of poetry, but the majority of those contained in The Clocks Have Stopped were engaging and read more like stories than poems (though, as I said, the whole collection had a poetic tone to it).

While there were a few pieces I found myself not enjoying, they were only a few, and in a collection like this you can stand to read a few less enjoyable pieces among a lot of more engaging pieces.

I would warn that there is language used, and there are a few instances of other more mature details (nothing too glaring for me personally), so you may want to read with caution.

Overall, it earns four stars from me.

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