Eight
Twisted Shorts is, obviously, eight short stories and the second
offering from the author of Peckerwood
Twist, Nathan Lichtwar. Here’s a brief review of each story.
“Gotcha!”
– Someone is targeting fashionable women on the Upper West Side of Manhattan
“Slightly
Stained” – Imagine a motorcycle with narcissistic personality disorder that
misbehaves—badly—when its riders least expect it.
“The
Petrified Tree” – A tree planted long ago by travelers to a foreign land takes
on new life as a beacon for safe passage, death, restoration of life, and
redemption. The segment titled “The Voyage” is quite dynamic, which only a true
man of the seas, which the author is, could describe in such detail.
“The
Swing” – We rely on our GPS device for many services and purposes. What might
happen if a GPS has a mind of its own and wants to get friendly?
“What
Do You Think?” It’s Christmas, and our man, despondent and jaded as he is, is
walking the streets of Manhattan
“Souls
of Lilith” – This one is adult-themed
and a bit wicked, and the longest of the eight stories. The first paragraph
gives a big clue about the content by starting with “S-E-X…” and is dictated to a scribe by that slithery
ancient demon herself, who has a keen understanding of particular human
frailties. Since a demon dictated it, please prepare to possibly be shocked—if
you’re easily shocked, that is.
“Ek
Balam” – You know to expect something quite different when a story opens with a
paragraph about the formerly all-too-frequent practice of lobotomies. It’s a
sometimes graphic and definitely, at times, gripping tale of destruction and
salvation.
“Once
Upon A Twisted Night” – This one is told in “real-time” by an observer telling tales out of school on the gods as
they muck about with human lives just to amuse themselves. Only the cleverness
of the gods could coordinate the events and individuals who know and don’t know
each other, yet find their extraordinary experiences intersecting in remarkable
and sometimes humorous (I laughed out loud several times), as well as tragic
and truly twisted, ways. I found myself cheering for the moose.
One
thing about author Nathan Lichtwar—you never know where his stories are going
to take you. If you enjoy surprises and twists, you’ll enjoy this book. Some
stories are edgy, some are better suited to adult readers, some use expletives,
and all of them are flights of fancy that lean toward black comedy. Lichtwar’s
clever imagination loves to play, so his stories are sometimes touching and
sometimes a wild ride.
Title:
Eight Twisted Shorts
Author:
Nathan Lichtwar
Genre:
Suspense/Fantasy
ISBN:
978-1-300-83437-3
Year
Published: 2013
Pages:
156
Edition:
First
Publisher:
Nathan Lichtwar
Reviewer:
Joyce Shafer
It's interesting to read about my work...
ReplyDeleteMy trepidation?
Will it effect the way my newest work will be written, not in the least!