Short Stories Books

Williams's ear for dialogue, his eye for character, his exploration of love, longing and loneliness are as powerful in these short stories as they are in his plays. On occasion, the glimmer of a future work rises out of the text, such as the line, "But the sweet bird of youth had flown from Pablo Gonzales..."

Rarely do we assimilate Williams with short fiction, but Williams rivals Hemingway as being the greatest American short story writer. Never have I enjoyed every story in a collection before. His descriptions are concentrated and explode visions in the mind. The characters are richly unique and completely human and explore all the details of life so many never see. Good for a big time read, a partner on the beach, and as a study guide for society. A must own!!

For a small price you get the best of Tennessee Williams with forty-nine stories packed into 570 pages of crisp oblique dialogue that will keep you awake at night as you laugh in bed with the turn of each page. His characters are so unusual that you can only describe them as cast of freeks that we all recognize at one time or another in our travels. Mr. Williams short stories are a wonderful contribution to his craft and the American reader. The only negative is that I could not buy this in hardcover so I could share it with my yet-to-be-born children and grandchildren!

During his career as one of America's most distinguished playwrights (The Glass Menagerie, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, A Strretcar Named Desire), Tennessee Williams also produced four volumes of short stories. The contents of these volumes are combined with Williams's unpublished stories.

As Gore Vidal, the author of the introduction, notes these stories are "the real autobiography of Williams's art and inner life."

The stories are arranged chronologically, beginning with a vignette about his father and the Williams family. Whether written early or late in his life, the prose is pure Williams, related in his distinctive voice.

Together these pieces form a mosaic of his life and work, splendid dramas and vignettes that puzzle, surprise and enrich us.

- Gail Cooke

Tennessee Williams: Collected Stories (1985) is a highly readable if frequently unpleasant volume by an author who, like the Scottish novelist Muriel Spark, is one of the uncelebrated masters of the short story form. Beginning with Williams' first published work and including stories written just before his death in 1983, most of the pieces, which originally appeared in literary journals, are very much of their time, and thus powerfully reflect the degree to which Williams internalized the shame and self hatred he experienced as a homosexual male in a predominantly heterosexual and anti-homosexual society.

Never less than forthright to the point of bluntness, several of the stories wantonly revel in the repulsive and the grotesque, and thus seem intended not merely to illuminate but to shock and repel. In essence, many of the pieces seem like both acts of revenge and blows against the empire, but Williams was awkwardly wielding a double-edged sword, one which did not by any means only reveal the hypocrisies of those he intended to mock and revile.

In 'Hard Candy,' for example, an obnoxious elderly man who has been a lifelong 'secret' homosexual dies by choking while on his knees during a sexual act with a young drifter he solicits. Thus the story's title refers not to the sweets the man carries in his pocket as a means of establishing an opening dialogue with attractive strangers, but to a portion of the drifter's anatomy. Williams clearly intends the irony of the title to be so blatant as to be unironic, and this doubling, reflexive quality unequivocally establishes 'Hard Candy' as a piece of dark, unabashed camp humor. But such humor will always find only a limited receptive audience, especially since most camp humor today seems like little more than a long and happily outmoded culture artifact.

Throughout Collected Stories, most of Williams' homosexual characters are depicted in caricatural fashion, whether as overly poised, somewhat brittle aesthetes or as shrill, irresponsible merrymakers whose singular goal is continual sexual interaction with as many partners as possible. Those that fit neither of these categories are poorly socialized and isolated, but never developed in other ways so that they become shadow-casting, three dimensional characters for whom homosexual responsiveness is but one factor in their existence.

Not surprisingly, it is the objects of these characters' desire whom Williams depicts sympathetically, but these men, who are usually young, handsome, muscular, and somewhat unintelligent if not brutishly stupid, are typically one dimensional caricatures as well. In his short stories, Williams was at his best when describing those "betwixt and between" men who are ostensibly heterosexual but nonetheless nonchalantly open to passive sexual intercourse with other men, especially if money is involved. Thus, 'One Arm,' the story of a boxer who loses a limb in an automobile accident and then drifts into hustling before finding himself on death row for murder, is one of the most fully realized works in the volume.

Collected Stories also includes a number of powerful stories which revolve around heterosexual characters, such as the Caldwellesque 'Kingdom of Earth' and 'Miss Conte of Green,' but in these, as in the others, brutality, coarseness, and lasciviousness are the order of the day, and qualities such as integrity, respect for others, and fundamental human decency are presented as little more than sham social hypocrisies that have little genuine presence in actuality. Also included is 'The Knightly Quest,' a brilliant, extended piece of sociological science fiction which hilariously examines governmental attempts at cultural control and world domination as Williams perceived it in the Cold War era.

This book is beautifully written. It creates wonder and humor in each tale that appeals to adults and childern. This is the perfect book to sit down and share with your childern and entire family. There are important morals embeded within the enlightening stories that the author creates. I recommend this book to any adult who enjoys intelligent humor and to any parent who would like to share sweet fabels with their childern.

This loving and inspirational story is all one needs to get themselves to follow their dreams and to take the risk for adventure.It expands your mind plus in this very seemingly scarey world we live in now a days,it is evidence that there exsists an intuitive and thoughtful individual,Theodore Nottingham,his books are uplifting and written for everyone to expand their insight and to live in love and with courage.

Forget the self help books,which many times are sexist and limiting,dare to expand your creativity and imagination by reading this book of imagination and just plain fun!

Theodore Nottingham has a gift I've seen in few people,writers or whomever.His words flow,they make your imagination roam to places you probably haven't been to before.

Get this book,great for a cold winter night, also releaves tension,if you've had a tough day at the office,you'll forget all about it!

This book is beautifully written. It creates wonder and humor in each tale that appeals to adults and childern. This is the perfect book to sit down and share with your childern and entire family. There are important morals embeded within the enlightening stories that the author creates. I recommend this book to any adult who enjoys intelligent humor and to any parent who would like to share sweet fabels with their childern.

In "The Color Of The Wind," Mr. Nottingham has done a delightful job at creating outstanding, entertaining stories that also offer great views on the values of life. I couldn't think of a better way to spend quailty time with children than sitting down with them and reading these delightful tales to them. The beautiful artwork by artist Susan Moore provides a wonderful way to visualize some of the fantastic scenes painted by Nottingham in this book. I highly recommend it to all, young and old alike.

An interesting look at a world through the eyes of a character who functions as a Deus ex Machina. I enjoyed it.

Very sadly long out of print, it's well worth it to track a copy down... An overlooked classic.

The book was extemely intresting in everyway. I think I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to "think" more about the world around them.

If you know John Brunner's other work, well, this isn't like that. Traveller in Black is a collection of several mid-length stories that fit together in a progression. The nameless eponymous traveller, an agent of order, goes about imprisoning various chaotic entities and granting certain wishes. This works on several levels to give you allegories for the unexamined life, as well as a gripping adventure yarn.

In some ways, this book is a bookend to Larry Niven's "The Magic Goes Away" (and various sequels, etc.). The flavor and style is similar, although this book is very different. In any event, this is one of those touchstone books of fantasy: you'll see where other writers (including Niven's works cited above!) have "borrowed" some of the dazzling images in Brunner's classic. This gem is a great read and I recommend it highly.

That's the job of the magical Traveller, to use his magic to end magic. That underlying paradox provides the premise of this connected set of short stories. He travels the world at intervals, surveying the realm of unreason on each trip, and taking satisfaction in watching it shrink. Where he can, he applies his subtle magic in support of Reason's expanding domain.

Brunner explores Chaos's control and degradation of humankind in several of its ways. The first story tweaks mindless religion. It might even show how one can choose atheism, after encountering a god face to face and finding him unworthy of belief. Another of these gentle stories undermines magical thinking - again, not because it fails, but because its success is not worth having. And so with the faith in luck that makes Las Vegas the holy city of Chance, and so the unwarranted sense of entitlement that demands ever-richer result for ever-poorer effort at earning it, and so for blind pursuit of power irrespective of the cost or of who pays it. Since these stories are built around layers of paradox, Brunner's mechanism is itself a paradox, the smallest of magics to achieve the largest of consequences.

Brunner was one of the best SF writers of the 70s and 80s, author of "Shockwave Rider" and other stories of chilling prescience. Among all of his writings, though, "Traveller in Black" may be his finest and most under-stated, under-rated achievements. These stories have held up well over the thirty years since they were written; since they pass in a distant place and age, there is little in them that can look dated. I recommend these stories to any thinking reader.

//wiredweird

I finished this one last night and it did not disappoint at all. I loved catching up with the Adam sisters. This book will definitely kept me guessing until the end. I loved how the sisters stood by each other no matter what. The chemistry and heat between Kyson and Micheal was HOT!! Ms. Byrd did another great job, it will not disappoint.

So, I will be honest here. Haven't read the previous books in this series so I though they were all brothers and not sisters, all of them having boy names. Let's just say it confused the hell out of me, but I finally got it, lol. The Chemistry in this book is H-O-T. And I also have to mention that this book is hilarious. These sisters especially Micheal with her mischevious self will have you laughing out loud like I did. I am an avid reader of Ms. Byrd's and the previous books in this series like I said before I have not read, but have ordered. You will not be disapponted in this book nor any other of Ms. Byrd's books. And I hope that this isn't the end of the series. I would love to see Kyson's brother find a woman who can strap him down. And Kyson's sister as well. Great job again Ms.Byrd.

This Books one of the best if not the best books. Ms.Byrd has wrote a mind blowing book. I never saw it coming you won't either. I Highly recommend this book. If I write any more I will tell the book.Trust me this book is worth every penny.

All i can say is-WOW!! This book is a real page turner, i couldnt put it down. Full of humor,mystery, and surprise. I am an avid Adrianne Byrd fan, and i advise anyone who hasn't read her books to get familiar.

Let me start by saying that I did not like this book.
I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT!
CONTROVERSY, is the latest installment of the Adams sisters, Peyton (Measure of a Man), Joey ( When You Were Mine),Frankie, Sheldon, and now Michael. You can't forget their brother Flex.
Michael has always been the rebel. The one in the family that was always getting into something. With her history of pranks and payback, when her ex-husband ends up dead, Michael becomes number one suspect. Not to mention having the hots for the detective that comes to question her.
CONTROVERSY is a page turner that will have you in stitches laughing out loud one minute, fanning yourself from the steamy love scenes and crying with emotion the next. The twists in the story that leads to and an ending that even this diehard reader wasn't prepared for was well worth the time spent reading.
Ms. Byrd's voice is as fresh as the first novel I read by her (DEFENSELESS) eleven years ago.
Her stories are refreshing and goes right to the readers heart.
If you're ready for a roller coaster read of pleasure, CONTROVERSY is the book to read. Although it is strong enough to stand alone, you will want to read the other books in the series. All of them are Must Reads!

There are so few of these, especially from an English original. Buy it for your kids to learn more Spanish.

my son loves this book. he is 3(going on 30) and asks me to read it atleast once a week. i find it easy to follow if your child is following along in the english version. he has a great memory so he remembers the pics and when i am reading he is associating what he remembers to what i am saying and can understand most of the book. the use of what is on the pages in image and the words are very useful in introducing the language to a beginner. it actually helped me in my spanish 2 class!!! it is a fun and easy read, even for the tongue tied.

Unlike with Dr. Seuss, P.D. Eastman's books are so simple that translating them into Spanish is generally pretty idiot-proof; my son enjoys this book every bit as much in Spanish as he does in English. I would recommend it not only for preschoolers being raised with both languages, but even for older kids who are starting out with the language and remember the book in English. This is just the kind of simple, entertaining repetition that is great for building up basic vocabulary, at any age.

Great beginner reader in English or in Spanish. I teach a Spanish class for our area homeschooler's children. This is just what the dogcatcher ordered. I am able to compare English to Spanish with no problem.If you use VIVA EL ESPANOL ! teaching series you will like this book for your class.

My 7 year old son enjoys this book in Spanish - he is in a Spanish immersion class - learning Spanish all day in elementary school for the next 5 years. It's a great beginner reader book with fun pictures (and I'm learning Spanish, too, from it!)

There are at most a handful of male writers whose honest portrayals of male psyches ring true, and Giardina is certainly one of them. What's special about these stories is that men reveal their lives with women and children as the measure of themselves. And though the stories revolve around one theme, the voices vary; there is a scarily ruthless loser; a couple of men looking back on adolescence; but best, men talking themselves toward deeper commitment. If I didn't have a wonderful husband, I'd be jealous of this writer's wife!

Ever since reading "Days with Cecilia" in Harper's , I have looked for stories by Anthony Giardina everywhere. The Country of Marriage has fulfilled my need for stories that are written as I think - but in an elegant and beautiful country of words. The truth in these stories, written without regard for sniveling needs for ostentations or pretensions, is a fine breath of air after all the smoggy stuff now available. These are stories about the human spirit and ALL relationships and likely to appeal to anyone with sensitivity.

The Country of Marriage was great. It had a good beginning middle and end

I was trying to figure out why I liked this book so much because subject matter and other things were so bourgeois and a little pretentious - poets and professional type people drinking wine, listening to Jazz, going to therapy, driving semi yuppie cars, reading classics and watching foreign flicks. Despite all of that, it occurred to me, on my third or fourth reading of the first story, "I live in Yonville," that Giardina transcends. Without committing the sin of profundity, he reaches so deep (especially the first story, which, in my opinion, outshines the run of the mill contemp. lit. found in magazines and journals today and even the stories in this collection). He's got IT, as a writer. Reading Gardina is like getting high. He santifies those precious things we merely feel, on that touch and go level, though, we know it to be worth so much more.

Just when I thought there was not one man in this world who understood themselves, let alone other men, I stumble onto this book. Giardina writes such truth. His voice hits the mark on every imaginable relationship. It is hard to except such weak, yet successful, crap fiction from say....Nicholas Sparks, when there is an intelligent writer like Giardina, in the wings, waiting to save us all. Read this and recomend the book to your friends who give a damn. You will not be disappointed.

A Cowboy Never Lies was a hysterical first effort and now Dan Burnett has penned the second volume of short stories: A Cowboy Never Lies 2.

This is a great book and just as funny as the first, if you can imagine that. Kudos to Mr. Burnett for publishing two winners in a row!

Hoss reminds me of the crazy cowboys I dealt with in the mid-60s working out of White Deer, Texas. I strapped Old Billy B. on many snot slinging cowboy killing mad North Texas bulls. Dan Burton is a world-class story teller of the first order. The pranks and antics that he tells about brought long ago not forgotten memories. I really think both books I & II are first class. I have recommended them to all of my remaining friends. Thank You Dan Burton, you have given me lots of laughs and pleasure.

I didn't think he could top "A Cowboy Never Lies" but I was wrong. And I didn't think it would get in the way of my yard work, but it did. My wife couldn't wait for me to put it down. But then I found out why. She picked it up. Good work cowboy. How about volume III now.

I didn't think he could top "A Cowboy Never Lies" but I was wrong. And I didn't think it would get in the way of my yard work, but it did. My wife couldn't wait for me to put it down. But then I found out why. She picked it up. Good work cowboy. How about volume III now.

Just when I thought I'd heard about everything, this man is one of kind. I not only have read his incredible adventures, but met the man for real. He is all he says and more. Don't pass a chance to read his books, and if he crosses your path, you will walk away laughing and wanting to hear more.

This little-known book is, IMHO, one of the greatest books ever written. Reading it as a boy, I was puzzled by how it made everything seem so real in so few words - everything in it seems to have a life off-camera that we had just glimpsed part of.

I've decided to write reviews of the books that not only caught my attention early on, but lived in my memory all of these years, words and phrases coming unbidden to mind occasionally from a literary experience far removed but not forgotten - a spirit residing within your own as an old friend. This book was one that probably never got the acclaim it deserved, although I never spoke with anyone who didn't like it. If your culture or experiences spring from a youth originating in the West or Southwest, you will be enchanted with it because you will recognize parts of it as your own.

This is the "long hot summer" story of two boys, friends since infancy, South Boy, a white youth, son of an Arizona rancher, and Havek, a Mojave Indian boy - whose intertwined trails to maturity took one last summer to complete for them.

During the course of the summer,it takes you through the complex and oftentimes uneasy coexistence between white and indian culture; and the coexistence between the "cultured white" and the "earthy ranch people" is equally tenuous. In the words of the long haired outlaw foreman that ran the ranch for South Boy's father during one of South Boy's Learning Sessions: "Don't put no stock in those wild ideas of you mother's. She's a Lady. Naturally, she's ignorant!"

The adventure begins with the rising thermometer and a youth sleeping in the shade of the grape arbor - he makes his way to the river under the blazing summer sun, goes to sleep on an overhanging limb with the muddy water flowing beneath him; and there Havek finds him "with a dream on his face". Havek is aspiring to become a "great person", is of an age to take a better name for himself in the Mohave tradition; and reads into South Boy's slumber something South Boy is reluctant to dissuade him from for appearances sake, so he agrees to travel "name taking" with him.

They spend one last glorious summer together as adolescents blundering through the Arizona mesquite and greasewood, in a variety of scenarios, some curiously noble, some ill-conceived and dangerous - before the final departing from the comfortable innocence of childhood, where a friend is a friend regardless of anything else; and moving into the complex world of the adult where nevermore will their friendship be as simple as it was on the banks of the slow-flowing, muddy river that day. It is evident in a very poignant scene as they are returning home after the adventure of death, rituals, ignorance, survival, all stunningly woven by Mr. McNichols into a tale spawned from the living of some of it, you can tell. The mesa is awash in rain water dropped by a violent storm after a long draught; South Boy suddenly applies the teachings of the "Foreman" to his immediate reality and comes up with the idea that he can make a lot of money putting weak, cheap cattle on it. Havek, on the other hand, is on his way home to celebrate his new name with his people, and "financial gain" is of absolutely no interest to him - and there they go their separate ways, each to the world he springs from, the same physical world, but in all other ways as different as the ideals and teaching that shaped them.

One feels a certain sadness that it should be so and most of us probably secretly wish that we could reside in our youth forever, never growing up.

McNichols crisp writing, detailed knowledge of Mojave Indian and Colorado Desert ranching, and realistic plot make this a genuinely timeless work., My tattered copy was given to me 45 years ago by the writer Madge Harrah. Every half decade or so I dig it out and read it again. It taught me to write and, in a way, was a model for my North Of Nowhere. Bravo Charles!

South Boy goes with his friend Havek on a Mojave name-quest. It sounds simple -- but under the surface is a breath-taking wealth of experience, mythology and understanding of the many personalities in one person, or one horse, or one culture. Every sentence of this book is laden with knowledge of its time and place. Even the mention of the "little yellow catfish," about which no more is said than that they "make good eating," reflects the fact that in this period the US Government seeded the Colorado river with the Yellow Catfish, a transplant from Texas. This is the key to the book -- that everything is in flux, as two cultures melt together, and new ways try to live with old ways. The ending seems to be a conclusion -- until you realize that it's only one more step to escape from final decisions. The book begins a long way before the first sentence -- and would finish a long way after the last. Dreams and visions reverberate through the telling, and Great Things are done.

Having recently moved to Mohave County in Arizona (not far from the Colorado River), I was interested in reading "Crazy Weather" to get a little of the "flavor" of the area, and to learn something about the Mojave Indian culture as well. The book lived up to my hopes in both of those respects, but what surprised me was how absorbed I became in the story itself. On one level, it's a simple adventure story involving South Boy (who's actually white but was partially raised by Mojaves and was given that name by them) and his best friend Havec (a Mojave) as they travel up the Colorado River into Piute territory --- and in some places it almost reminded me of Huck Finn travelling along the Mississippi with the runaway slave, Jim, and meeting an assortment of characters along the way. On another level, though, it's really about the challenges of truly understanding another culture and way of thinking --- and in the end the pull of their respective societies is too strong and the two friends inevitably have to part and follow their separate destinies.

The author seems quite knowledgable about Mojave culture and history, as I've confirmed from subsequent readings on the subject. If you're interested in the American Southwest, the Colorado River, native American cultures, or just a good story, I think you'll enjoy this book.

As both an author and reader of fiction, I was impressed with "A Crown in the Stars". Maybe it is because I have always enjoyed a book that could hold my attention and make me think at the same time. In a nutshell, the characters are believable and yet a little out of the ordinary and the story line unique. Give this book a try.
The Christian fiction book that I have written main story line is about ten years in the life of a little girl who was "chosen by God" to be the next Madonna in the second coming of Christ.
Tommy Taylor
Author - The Second Virgin Birth

A CROWN IN THE STARS is the final chapter in the beautifully written Genesis Trilogy. The book takes place just a few years after the previous book, HE WHO LIFTS THE SKIES, left off. The younger generations are aging faster and Karen and Zekaryah's youngest daughter, Shoshannah has grown into a young women full of beauty. She looks much like her mother and shares her faith in the Most High. However, her parents have sheltered her from much of their past troubles in the Great City. Shoshannah knows that her parents have enemies, but she cannot comprehend the depths they will go to seek revenge. While visiting relatives, Shoshannah is taken to the Great City. Mistaken for her mother she is captured and brought before the Queen, Sharah, her aunt. Sharah and the rest of the city's ruling class learn that Shoshannah isn't who they believed her to be, but decide to use her in their own scheming and conniving plots. Meanwhile, Shoshannah's betrothed, Kaleb, discovers what has happened to her and enters the Great City with his brother to enlist as guards so that they can watch over her. The people of the Great City haven't forgotten Nimr-Rada. His death has turned him into a martyr and the building of the Tower continues. Things look bleak for Shoshannah, but the Earth is stirring with winds of change. The Most High has not forgotten his people and he will respond to their rebellion.

Like the previous two books in the trilogy, A CROWN IN THE STARS is eloquently written. It is full of vivid images and wonderful characters. The story that Kacy Barnett-Gramckow began in THE HEAVENS BEFORE reaches its conclusion here. She holds nothing back. A person could read this book without having read the previous two books of the trilogy, but it helps to have read those books before reading this. Also, whereas the first book was more of a straight romance and the second was more suspenseful, A CROWN IN THE STARS finds balance between the two. Any Christian who likes a good story could enjoy reading A CROWN IN THE STARS.

This whole trilogy was well-written and interesting. It's neat to think about how the story worked in between the parts the Bible reports. They are a fast read, but the names are somewhat difficult.

Once again, Barnett-Gramckow gives us an excellect narrative of the origins of the Hebrew nation. This book finishes the story of the Tower of Babel and it's results.

But I'm sorry to say it's not quite as interesting as the first book of the three. I felt like I didn't get to know Shoshannah very well, nor did she really do anything terribly interesting or exciting during her captivity in the Great City. But considering how we know little about the customs or people of the time, the author did a lovely job. But the ending is exciting, though! It ends the trilogy on a great note with the events of, the confusion of languages the scattering of nations, and the 'passing the torch' on to Abram.

I only wish I knew 2 things---where Ra-Anan's tribe ended up, and what those mysterious sunstones were! lol

A Crown in the Stars picks up where He Who Lifts the Sky left off. Shoshannah, the daughter of Karen and Zekaryah, has grown up with belief of her parents in the Most High God and loves to hear the stories I'ma-Annah tells her of before and during the Great Flood. However, she was unaware of the enemies her mother made years earlier when Karen was involved in the death of Great King Nimr-Rada.

When Shoshannah goes to visit relatives, leaving behind Kaleb, the man she plans to be betrothed to, Karen finally warns her daughter of the danger of going to the Great City. Both Karen's sister, Sharah, and brother, Ra-Anan, would like nothing better than to kill Karen. Nevertheless, events force Shoshannah to go through the Great City and her cruel relatives take her captive.

A Crown in the Stars is a bittersweet finish to an excellent trilogy. It was very sad to see the falls of mankind, first with the Flood and then the Tower of Babel, through the eyes of the three women: Annah, Karen, and Shoshannah. Each of their stories were beautifully written and seemed so realistic.

This first offering from this rising star, has the thrill built into every story, and has made me a new collector of anything P.S.Gifford wants to write.
When it comes to understand what scares a reader, and where the reader wants to be after that scare, Mr. Gifford has no equal.

This book now has a place of honor in my liberary and I have made room for the next.

If you like a great campfire tale, you need this book.

Roger Haller
CEO of Cowboy logic Press.Diamonds in Time

As a collector of first editon crime and horror books, this one rates among the top of the list. This new writer is at the infant stage of a budding career that has no end. He is full of imagination, therefore the title fits the contents perfectly. It is rare for me to review a book, but in this case it is a must. My congratulations for a job well done and my best wishes to you and your career. Your book sits amongst several thousand books in my library. A terrific read.

P.S. Gifford brings a breath of fresh air to horror with suspense, adventure, gore, and knee slapping laughter. Brilliantly written! Be on the lookout for this author in the future, and know you were here for the beginning.

All my best to Paul,,,,,,,,,,,,,Kimberly Raiser

PS Gifford's collection of short stories quickly grabbed hold of my attention and didn't let go until I had finished the book. He does this with a strong and engaging narrative style that flows in a natural manner. He writes the way his characters would speak. He also has a flare for good descriptive passages and creating tension/suspense in his tales. Although he doesn't use it excessively Gifford has a definte knack for the macabre/gore and uses it effectively in his stories.

The use of 'The Imaginary Friend' to introduce and follow each story is a clever way to loosely connect all the stories. In some ways it reminded me of Tales From The Crypt and Twilight Zone. But Gifford's style and tales are uniquely his own.

If you like clever, well-written Horror then check out this book. Definetly an author worth the time and money.

I first discovered P.S Gifford's work a few years ago and was amazed at the time as to his wonderfully fertile imagination and perpensity for adding the most glorious twists to his tales.
In the years that followed, his tales continued to deliver that lovely old school style of horror. Not your "gore and guts, swearing every second word" type horror that is so fashionable these days, but charmingly atmospheric tales, filled with weird and wonderful characters in situations that often imply the horror rather than shove it down our throat. Often with twists that will leave you speechless.
Now, for the first time, Mr Gifford has collected many of his best tales into this top notch compendium that reads like an episode of shows like The Twilight Zone or Tales From The Crypt, the cleverly interwoven narrative of the Imaginary Friend, binding the whole thing together.
For fans of old school horror, i can't recommend this book enough.
Well done Mr Gifford. I can't wait for Part 2!