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The New Death and others

by James Hutchings (Goodreads Author)

3.53 of 5 stars 3.53 · rating details · 94 ratings · 75 reviews

Death gets a roommate...

An electronic Pope faces a difficult theological question...

A wicked vizier makes a terrible bargain...

44 stories. 19 poems. No whiny vampires. There's a thin line between genius and insanity, and James Hutchings has just crossed it - but from which direction?

ebook, 102 pages

Published September 28th 2011 (first published September 27th 2011)

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May 11, 2013 Katy rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everybody

Recommended to Katy by: James Hutchings

Shelves: ebook

This review can also be found on my blog, Now is Gone on June 22, 2012.

Book Info: Genre: Short stories/Poetry; Fantasy/magical realism
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Readers

My Thoughts: These very enjoyable short stories and poems run the gambit from humorous – the demoness who inflicts ironic punishments – to Lovecraftian – the poem about Cairo – to thought-provoking - “The God of the Poor” among others. I found myself laughing (for example, at the Holmes satire), thinking and thoroughl...more

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Feb 18, 2012 S.W. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned

When the author asked me to review The New Death and Others I was quite chuffed. I'm not normally one to review books but I thought it was a great time to start. The genre of this book isn't really what I would seek out to read, so it was going to be out of my normal comfort zone.

The New Death and Others is a collection of short stories, very short stories and poetry. The subject of these tales is quite dark at times. I have to say that some of them left me a little cold - meaning that I read t...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Midu Hadi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 212books, anthologies, shorts

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I got this book, from Making Connections for free, in exchange for an honest review. Get your copy here.

The God of the Poor:
The gods are dividing the world between themselves but who will rule the poor?

How the Isle of Cats got its Name:
A sorceress on her quest to rule the world, only to be thwarted by cats!

The Enemy Within:
A local man goes to extraordinary lengths so he wouldn't be mistaken for a foreigner!

The End:
A camping trip leads to human beings becoming extinct.

A Date with Destiny:
No, lite...more

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Mar 02, 2012 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Note: The author offered me a free copy of his latest book, The New Death and Others, in exchange for a review. (Apparently a LOT of folks got the same offer. This is probably a good move on his part from a marketing perspective.)

In all honesty I probably would not have bought the book on my own initiative, since it is in e-book format only. Even at $.99 (practically free!) I'm not interested in buying e-books, since I don't use a Kindle or Nook and stare at a screen most of the work day all re...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Brady rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: speculative, reviewed

I have a review of this somewhere - here, it's on my blog. I read it at James' request, reviewed it, forgot about, joined Goodreads, then remembered it one day and found it had a - thriving for the circumstances - Goodreads page. You don't mind if I just shovel it over, do you?

The New Death and Others is a book of over 50 short stories and poems, none of which really stretch over three thousand words. I read it in about four day’s time. That I finished it at all is already a tribute to the book’...more I have a review of this somewhere - here, it's on my blog. I read it at James' request, reviewed it, forgot about, joined Goodreads, then remembered it one day and found it had a - thriving for the circumstances - Goodreads page. You don't mind if I just shovel it over, do you?

The New Death and Others is a book of over 50 short stories and poems, none of which really stretch over three thousand words. I read it in about four day’s time. That I finished it at all is already a tribute to the book’s quality, as I find no shame in putting down a book that bores or irritates me - though collections of short stories have higher finishing rates.

“The New Death” itself is one of the less remarkable stories in this collection, but it sums up the general theme of personifying ideas like Death, Fame, Love, War, Commerce, Disease, and so on, which happens in about half the stories and gives the collection a mythical feel. They're all female, by the way. I've seen a female Famine, and a female Death, and a female Fate - but not a fully XX cast.

The writing style – everything has this kind of half-showing, half-telling pace that would be terrible for novels, but works out in the short story medium. And of course there’s plenty of original metaphors and clever wordplay and so on. I should mention that James’ political views really leak through into his writing. I would fuss more if I didn't agree with them.

I wouldn’t suggest reading all of this in one sitting, though, because at times it can just feel like depressing story after depressing story until you’re caught in a spin cycle of cynicism.

If you read this, be on the lookout for:
· “Face on the Hill” – What’s true with novels is true tenfold with short stories, and true athousandfold with flash fiction – every word must count. All the stories in here measure the value of every word with scientific precision, but The Face took this to the max, using just one word inserted at the end of the story to completely reverse the meaning.
· “The Jewelled City” – Good break from all the melancholy, depressing stories, and I love metafiction. And of course it’s good to have proof that the author is aware of what he’s doing to the point where he can make fun of it.
· “The New God” – This is the point in the collection where I noticed that the stories in this book are perfect for campfires, parties, arguments, colliloquoy in general. They’re short, sweet, and unpredictable enough to keep people’s attention.
· “The Enemy Within”
· "The Perfect Woman"
· “The Producer”
· “The Sailor”
· “The End”
· “Todd”
I should mention that, while I enjoyed it, The New Death is not for everybody. Its randomness and lack of center appealed to my ADD tastes but not to everybody's. To me, a good short story collection should be like an encyclopedia: a two-paragraph section here, a nine-page section next, each story with a completely different tone, plot, and set of characters. Generally, there are worse ebooks I could have been asked to review, and I thank the author for finding this one for me.(less)

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Dec 09, 2012 David Watson rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you like anthologies check out The New Death and Others by James Hutchings. This is a book of flash fiction and poetry that deal with mythology, fairy tales and horror. Most of the stories that are here are less than 1,000 words. They make you think and laugh while looking at the dark side of fantasy. This collection has a little of everything, including monsters who are afraid that people are no longer scared of them, A man longing for the perfect woman and a funny tale of two demons in love...more If you like anthologies check out The New Death and Others by James Hutchings. This is a book of flash fiction and poetry that deal with mythology, fairy tales and horror. Most of the stories that are here are less than 1,000 words. They make you think and laugh while looking at the dark side of fantasy. This collection has a little of everything, including monsters who are afraid that people are no longer scared of them, A man longing for the perfect woman and a funny tale of two demons in love.

The first story in this collection is called The God of The Poor and deals with the gods deciding on which one of them will have dominion over the poor. In this story, I felt the gods were a metaphor for how most people think of the poor and it really set the stage for the rest of the book. In the next story called How The Isle of Cats Got Its Name, James Hutchings creates his own mythology. It is set in the fictional city of Telelee and follows a powerful sorceress named Abi-simiti as she collects all the cats in the city to take to an unnamed island. Her plan is to torture cats as part of a musical instrument that is meant to impress a god. Abi-simiti makes a crucial mistake and the cats have the last laugh. Anyone who is a cat lover should enjoy this one along with another story in the collection called My Cat Is Not Like Other Cats.

There are a few stories in The New Death And Others that I really enjoyed. One in particular was The Doom That Was Laid Upon Fame. In this story the goddess Fame is blamed and punished for giving people who are unworthy fame and fortune, but she finds a way to get out of trouble with help from the seldom heard about fifth member of the four horseman of the apocalypse. Another good one is Weary Love, that is a funny short poem that tells what happens when the god Commerce takes over for Love. Some other stories here that were very similar that I enjoyed was Fame's Beloved, The New Death and The New God. If you like short stories and poems that are funny, dark and gives a satirical look at life, you will enjoy The New Death and Others. There are a lot of good ideas in this book, in particular I enjoyed The stories involving the land of Telelee. I enjoy it when authors create their own mythology and I hope to hear more stories set in Telelee from James Hutchings in the future.

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Sep 05, 2012 Masquerade Crew rated it 4 of 5 stars

MARK'S REVIEW

This was my first serious foray into flash fiction, and the experience didn't disappoint. Since this is flash fiction, the author doesn't go into a lot of detail with each story. Some of these pieces are like a joke you would tell your buddy, especially the piece entitled "The End" which appears near the beginning. That one made me smile, mostly because of the punchline.

There's something for everyone with this anthology. Some pieces are more serious than others, but the general feel...more

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Aug 14, 2012 Steven rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, anthology

The book is a collection of flash fiction - short-shorts that usually clock in under a thousand words. I was intrigued by the gorgeous cover, and as someone who does a lot of work in flash fiction and drabbles myself, I was really open to the idea of the book.

I really, really wanted to like this book. The ideas are clever. There's obviously a lot of thought put into each of these short tales. But there was something about the execution that left me admiring the effort, but ultimately cold.

Many o...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Megan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Awhile back James Hutchings approached me to see if I would like a free review copy of his ebook The New Death and Others. I like free things, so I agreed. It took me a looong time to read, but that's not the book's fault. (It was mostly the fault of my newborn.) One thing I liked about the book is that it's a compilation of short stories and poems, so it was very easy for me to pick up my Kindle and read a story or a poem or two when I had the chance. A lot of the pieces are set in the same cit...more Awhile back James Hutchings approached me to see if I would like a free review copy of his ebook The New Death and Others. I like free things, so I agreed. It took me a looong time to read, but that's not the book's fault. (It was mostly the fault of my newborn.) One thing I liked about the book is that it's a compilation of short stories and poems, so it was very easy for me to pick up my Kindle and read a story or a poem or two when I had the chance. A lot of the pieces are set in the same city, Telelee, so there was a nice sometimes (more on that later) continuity through the book even while I was reading the shorter pieces.

I really liked some of the pieces. "Under the Pyramids" was one that really struck me with the Lovecraftian flavor and well done epic poem. I've done my share of really long poetry and I know that it's difficult to keep things fresh, but Hutchings does a good job with this one. I'm not familiar with the similarly-named Lovecraft story that the poem was based on, but that didn't hinder my enjoyment of the poem. This was probably my favorite piece in the book. I also enjoyed the poems "The Prince of the Howling Forest", "The Sailor", and "I Heard the Mermaids Singing." The story "Mourning Has Broken" was pretty amusing, as well.

There were a lot more of the pieces, especially the ones set in Telelee, that I *wanted* to like. And that, I think, is at the heart of what kept me from really enjoying the compilation as a whole. I found there to be an inconsistent tone throughout that gave me tonal whiplash. The first story, "The God of the Poor", reminded me of Tanith Lee's The Lords of Darkness, which is an awesome book. When some of the other stories began, especially the Telelee ones, I thought they would be more in that style, so I was disappointed when they turned out to be merely vehicles for some punchline. It kind of irked me that I wasn't able to tell whether I was heading into a story that would end with a pun or that would end with a real ending, so every time it was a pun I felt annoyed. On the whole, I enjoyed the "serious" stories better than the "funny" ones.

I think the compilation really suffers from this tonal schizophrenia. I also think it's an easy fix. There are so many stories and poems in here that it might be worthwhile to separate them according to tone and release two different publications. They'd be smaller, sure, but at least they would have a consistent tone.

I would also like to see a bit more polish on some of the stories. I read one review of the book that said the book "reads more like a writer's sketchbook or workbook than a publishable portfolio." I have to agree. I read a lot of short stories in various publications and there was a certain shine missing from a lot of the ones in The New Death. That's another reason the book would benefit from being split into two -- it'd be a good opportunity to pick through the pieces and maybe toss out the ones that feel like they're just there for filler. I really think you could get two good publications with consistent tone and discerning piece choice here.

All in all, I appreciate the opportunity to read The New Death. It was nice to have some short form things to read when I didn't have time, energy, or mental acuity to get through something longer, and it was a good feeling of discovery to come across some of the better poems and stories.(less)

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Mar 08, 2012 Jeanbooknerd rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews

James Hutchings’ The New Death and Others is a fascinating blend of short stories and poems that are amusingly dark and disturbing. The collection did not have any valid reasons to the way it was assembled because the stories were very random. I found that this unpredictability to be a delight as each story or poem was something new. Aside from being dark, there is certainly humor in it.

Hutchings delivers a very witty and entertaining book. He touches serious topics like death and not-so-serious...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Lanie Malone rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: five-star-reads

This book is a collection of short- stories and poetry that is delightfully dark and disturbing. I’ve read over some of the other reviews on it and I think the biggest complaint anyone had was that it is randomly assembled. There isn’t really any obvious rhyme or reason to the way it is compiled. I might be mistaken but I believe that was intentional. I find it hard to believe that a writer as talented as Mr. Hutchings would accidentally or unwittingly assemble his works in such a manner.

Speaki...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Amy Corwin rated it 5 of 5 stars

The New Death and Others
By James Hutchings

Let me start by saying that I loved this book, but it’s hard to describe exactly what it is because it doesn’t really fit neatly into your standard fiction genres. But please, don’t let that dissuade you from checking it out. I’m mortally afraid that I’ll turn potential readers off by reviewing it and my poor attempts at trying to describe exactly what it is. But imagine, if you will, that Saki (H. H. Munro) didn’t die in WWI and decided to rewrite Ovid’...more The New Death and Others
By James Hutchings

Let me start by saying that I loved this book, but it’s hard to describe exactly what it is because it doesn’t really fit neatly into your standard fiction genres. But please, don’t let that dissuade you from checking it out. I’m mortally afraid that I’ll turn potential readers off by reviewing it and my poor attempts at trying to describe exactly what it is. But imagine, if you will, that Saki (H. H. Munro) didn’t die in WWI and decided to rewrite Ovid’s Metamorphosis and a few Lovecraftian short stories. Many of the stories and poems in this collection had Saki’s sly, often acerbic and dark, wit and a definite mythological/phantasmagorical slant. The book is a fascinating collection of short stories, poems, and tiny vignettes, each small fantasy ending with a Saki-esque twist. There is, quite literally, something for everyone, as long as you have a rather mordant and morbid sense of humor.

The author describes it as dark fantasy and it is that. There is definitely a Greek myth feeing to the stories, but they tend to be much more amusing that the typical myths. And it isn’t all fantasy. Or rather, I guess it is, but my favorite story in the collection was The Adventure of the Murdered Philanthropist that literally had me laughing out loud. I was reading it in bed and my husband thought I had lost my mind. When I picked up the book the next night to continue, he looked at me, sighed, and said, “You’re not reading that again, are you?” I was clearly disturbing his fifth reading of one of his books on the Civil War. Or else he was aggravated that he wasn’t having as much fun reading his book as I was reading this one. Get over it.

Anyway, The Adventure of the Murdered Philanthropist was a new Sherlock Holmes-type story, except a lot more fun, complete with murder and a brilliant consulting detective. Just to give you a taste, there is one point in the story where one of the characters is described as the sort who makes large contributions to the RSPCA. Then there was a footnote defining the RSPCA as The Royal Society for the Practice of Cruelty to Atheists. That footnote induced one of the moments that disturbed my husband so much: I broke out laughing. Okay, maybe you had to be there, though I’m glad you weren’t because our bed isn’t quite that large.

So there were stories like The Adventure of the Murdered Philanthropist (I would have bought the book just to get that story—it was that good) which continues the Sherlock Holmes tradition; Under the Pyramids, based on an H.P. Lovecraft story; The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune, based on a story by Robert E. Howard; The Garden of Adompha, based on a story by Clark Ashton Smith; and many, many others.
As I said, there is quite literally, something for everyone who has a sense of humor. It is difficult to convey just how much I enjoyed the various stories. I’m not much for poetry, but I did enjoy a few pieces just because of the wry humor.

I loved this book. I just wish I could convey a better feel for this collection. If you enjoyed stories like Saki’s The Open Door or The Great God Pan, then you will adore The New Death and Others. I hope I’ve convinced you to give it a try.

Just don’t read it in a setting where they’re likely to call the men with the long-sleeved, white jackets if you start laughing insanely in public.

Happy Reading!(less)

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Feb 22, 2012 Jennifer Leigh rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1000000-pages-books, 2012-reads, review-for-author, short-stories

Originally posted on my blog: http://a-librarians-library.blogspot....

This 100 page work is comprised of 44 short stories and 19 poems. To me, some of the individual stories read like a telling of a mythology, complete with the mythological morals, which is an aspect of this work that I can appreciate. There are also a lot of vignettes that are purely satirizing the world today, which are humorous. But then there were other stories that completely lost me, whether because I didn't quite understa...more Originally posted on my blog: http://a-librarians-library.blogspot....

This 100 page work is comprised of 44 short stories and 19 poems. To me, some of the individual stories read like a telling of a mythology, complete with the mythological morals, which is an aspect of this work that I can appreciate. There are also a lot of vignettes that are purely satirizing the world today, which are humorous. But then there were other stories that completely lost me, whether because I didn't quite understand some of the names/terms that were thrown in to the story, or a drastic switch between the "mythological" elements and the modern elements.

Some of the poems did not sit so well with me. Most of poems took the very standard 4-line stanza format with some of rhyme scheme. This is fine. But what needs to stay consistent is the use of punctuation. Punctuation in poetry is such a powerful element, and every piece of punctuation (or omitting it) should be purposeful, and there are times where I feel like there was an inconsistency in punctuation usage. And because of this, the poems irked me. If you are going to correctly punctuate sentences within the poetic lines, then it needs to be continued throughout. But "Under the Pyramids" is an example of inconsistent punctuation, where some of his stanzas have correct punctuation, and other stanzas have no punctuation. And it just doesn't sit well with me, and it takes away from the enjoyment of the poem itself because the way in which I read it is thrown off.

Despite of some of my unsettling feelings, it is obvious and apparent that James Hutchings has a knack for linguistics; his language usage throughout this work is really effective! With his language choice, he creates vivid metaphors and powerful descriptions which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. However, with such a large vocabulary, there were times that I felt he threw in a "bigger" word just because he could, and sometimes the vocabulary usage also took away from story being told.

Probably my favorite short story in the bunch was "The End," which tells a tale of 5 friends who all find out they are each some sort of paranormal creature (vampire, demon, etc) and are now wondering if all of the humans have become extinct. Just the witticism that fills that story, a long with the intriguing idea of such a paranormal future, made for an interesting thought. I also really enjoyed the snarky story told in "The Doom that Was Laid Upon Fame"--there is such a truth to that one!

Overall, the flow of this collection of short stories was a little off for me. While I understand that there does not have to be a connection from story to story, I feel that some sort of flow should be evident in a compilation such as this, and to me there is not. The order choice, if it was deliberated, is not evident or prominent to me. Though I did think that the ending poem was well chosen.

I gave this collection 2 stars. I found a lot of good qualities within this Short Story Collection. However, there is some definite room for polish, and maybe some reorganization/evidence of connection to be more prominent. Overall, I found many of the pieces in this work to be engaging and humorous, while still others I felt like there was almost "trying to hard" effort. Hutchings has a great writing style, but something in this short story collection was just lost to me.
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Jan 23, 2012 Tim Knier rated it 2 of 5 stars

This compendium reads more like a writer’s sketchbook or workbook than a publishable portfolio. There is no central focus or thematic organization to this collection. The prose pieces are admirable by themselves, and they would create a charming—or chilling—world if assembled with more reason. The major flaw lies in the alternating poems that distract from any enjoyable flow.

Presented in some peculiar typesetting, the prose pieces are parables wherein characters such as Fame, Fortune, Destiny,...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Vanya D. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, paranormal-urban-fantasy

Umm, okay. I got this book - a collection of short stories and poems - from the author in return for an honest review. I hope he doesn't change his mind when he reads what I have to say about his work. LOL
Anyway, just a side note here - I didn't read the poems. Sorry, but I'm not a poetry person.

Let me start off by saying that the stories are all dark humor, dark fantasy, dead on sarcastic and super thought provoking. The author addresses very important issues in each story, though they are so...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Shell rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this collection of poems, flash stories, and longer works. It made me laugh and made me think. The poems were great to read out loud with the rhythmic pattern of writing. The longer stories were very interesting, but the flash stories really made me think. The collection is a mishmash of dark fantasy, ironic fairy tales, satire, and twist minds, which obviously Mr. Hutchings has.

My favorites are The Auto-Pope, where a robot is elected Pope, an untitled poem that will ma...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Mireille Chester rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I got an email a couple of weeks ago asking me to do a review of a book, my first move was to email back saying that I wasn't really a book reviewer, but that I would be happy to do this if he was still interested since I love reading new authors. So, I guess I'll start this one off by saying that I received a copy of this book from the author for my honest opinion.

The New Death and others is a compilation of short stories, flash fiction, and poems written by James Hutchings. Mr Hutchings h...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Lacey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Quick Message:

Before I begin my review I have to fair warn that this isn’t going to be the typical review I do, on a count of this is a collection of 40 short stories and some poems. I’m going to base my review on the overall view of the authors writing style and then depict my favorite pieces and add in a few tidbits here and there. With that said here’s the review:

First Thoughts:

First thing you must understand about his book/short stories is this isn’t classified in any way as Young Adult and...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Natshane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: attractive-covers, first-impression-check

One word: Amazing.

I think the last time I read this kind of book was when I was 6, The New Death and others is a compilation of short stories and poems with a twist of humour and sarcasm that would certainly leave you laughing. The stories and poems in the book was told in both modern and classic adaptation, each story was entirely different yet commonly amusing. It was hard to pick favourites but I would say some stories were that funny/creative/unique that it left a huge impression in my mind...more

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Feb 04, 2012 Mallory Anne-Marie Forbes rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: essayists and essay readers, readers interested in mythology, legend, Lovecraft, history

An appealing collection from the mind of Author James Hutchings, “The New Death and Others” ranges back and forth between prose stories and poetry, ancient myth, modern-day culture, and pretty much everything in between. The author even takes on the Lovecraftians. Since Mr. Hutchings traverses such a wide range (19 poems and an amazing 44 stories), I recommend this book be sampled at a variety of settings and times. Like a devotional, like a book of essays, one prefers to pause to read one or tw...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Janus Vielle (The Blair Book Project) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-request

This book is way outside my comfort zone but since I’ve been trying to move outside my boundaries, the New Death and Others is just one of the books I needed to do so.

I’ve read a couple of anthologies before, but usually it’s a collection of stories and poems from a variety of authors, so I was a little surprised knowing that the author of this book solely wrote the stories and poems. I may not be a writer but I know that it’s hard to create anecdotes that would only take up a few pages and yet...more

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Nov 23, 2011 The Haunted Rose rated it 4 of 5 stars

The New Death and Others is a collection of some entertaining short stories and poems. I could tell I was reading something that took alot of thought and talent because I laughed out loud several times to the point where my librarian told me to shut up. I would like to tell you my viewers about the most ironic funny ones.
The End-
This one had me laughing becuase what are the odds of 2 vampires, a succumbus, a demon, and a regenerate coagulate rage of murdered children on a camping trip together?...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Madeline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2012

I enjoyed reading this collection of short stories & poems; especially the poems. I found myself laughing out loud at certain parts of some stories. Some of my favorites were: Everlasting Fire (the part about the office party & their Secret Satans), Under the Pyramids (this was a poem), and I thought it was written beautifully. It reminded me of Edgar Alan Poe's 'The Raven'; not that they're similar in context, but just by the style in which it was written. I also liked: The Uncharted Is...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Trevor Kidd rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: indie-fiction

New Death and Others is a short story and poetry collection that defies genre categorization. It is an overall fun, enjoyable read, although it lacks a unifying central thread. The most common element to these stories and poems is the sometimes creepy, dark, mythological and often cynical tone.

New Death and Others has a great tone that is entertaining to read. The short stories often left me with a smirk on my face. The creepier stories and stories with mythological themes are fun too.

Another e...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Natella rated it 4 of 5 stars

My rating is actually 4.5 of 5 stars.

The content of this collection ranges from satire to horror to the fantastic, and many of the stories end with little twists. The author is unapologetically opinionated in matters of politics, religion, and morals but I didn’t find that off-putting. The first story that opens up the collection is one of all the gods picking dominions, but no one wants to be the God of the Poor. Throughout the collection, the author’s uniqueness and creativity becomes pretty...more

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Dec 05, 2011 Sandra "Jeanz" rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is a kind of Anthology of short tales and poetry. I had a mixed reaction to the book, not being what I call a "Poetry Person" I didn't expect to like those parts of the book and it turned out that in some cases I loved the poetry the most! I really loved the Poem about "Weary Love", I also enjoyed the "Under The Pyramids" Poem.
The short tales contained quite a bit of irony within them that I found different and yet enjoyed. I found the short tales to be like a cross between Aesop's Fa...more

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Dec 08, 2011 Maxine rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you like your short stories cynical and twisted, or your fairy tales fractured, then this is a perfect coffee table book full of cynical and twisted tales, interspersed with some very good dark poetry.

Mr Hutchings left a message on my blog asking if I would read and review his book. I had put the call out to ‘independent authors’ in an earlier post for my 2012 Reading List, but I think this was a random request and I’m so pleased to have been asked as this little book really tickled my sense...more If you like your short stories cynical and twisted, or your fairy tales fractured, then this is a perfect coffee table book full of cynical and twisted tales, interspersed with some very good dark poetry.

Mr Hutchings left a message on my blog asking if I would read and review his book. I had put the call out to ‘independent authors’ in an earlier post for my 2012 Reading List, but I think this was a random request and I’m so pleased to have been asked as this little book really tickled my sense of humour and touched those dark chords that draw me to unsettling and unusual fiction.

I have never read a book quite like this, it has no particular order, being a total mix of work which makes it perfect for picking up and selecting a page at random. I didn’t like some of the stories, but I did appreciate most of them, and the poetry I thought was wonderful.

An obvious cat lover, there are several references to cats throughout, such as the disturbing How the Isle of Cats Got Its Name and the gorgeous little poem My Cat is Not Like Other Cats, which all of us cat lovers can definitely identify with! In The Death of the Artist it is revealed that all writers and artists have cats, a fact which takes on a sinister significance; and now I fully understand that when my Tenshi is staring intently at nothing she is actually enhancing her mental powers!!

Of all the short stories I really liked the atmospheric The Scholar and the Moon which has less of the cynicism that prevails in most of the other work, and the nightmarish The Dragon Festival. The poetry, as I have said, is very good with some of it being based on actually stories by Lovecraft, Dunsany and an author I have only just recently ‘discovered’ - Clark Ashton Smith.

Yes, some of the stories are corny or just plain silly, but others have a touch of sheer brilliance to them. If you tend to get bogged down with some heavy reading, which I do on occasion, this is a breath of fresh air. I didn’t want to put it down, and looked forward to the twisted endings and the clever play on words and ideas. Even the corny stories got a giggle as well as a groan out of me.

If you want to inject a bit of random fun into your reading I recommend you check it out(less)

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Jan 21, 2012 Heather rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry

The description of this book was definitely interesting. I enjoyed the way the writer switched between short stories and poems. Unfortunately, I didn't really like the short stories. They were full of puns and I think would be funny if they were told on stage by a comedian, but not so funny as the written word. The author definitely has creative ideas and it would be interesting to see what kind of stories he could tell that were a little more serious.

On the other hand, I did like most of the po...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Kimba (Caffeinated Book Reviewer) rated it 2 of 5 stars

The New Death and others is an interesting collection of short stories and poems. As with any collection of stories, I liked some of them, hated a few and others were just OK for me. Two memorable ones were “How the Isle of Cats Got Its Name" and "Weary Love"

James Hutchings has an active imagination. This body of work is a smorgasbord of myths, fables, parodies and puns. There were political and religious views woven into a lot of the work. Some racial and ethnic profiling may upset the unsuspe...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Dennis Quinn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: shortfiction, poetry

This collection is a mixed bag of achingly poignant vignettes and snickering irony that entertains as well as it enlightens. The stories and poems read as beautifully as ancient parables, each piece artfully crafted and lyrically delivered. Hutchings shows a fondness for withholding revelation until the very last word of a tale, to powerful effect. He also indulges in the occasional punning spree, deploying wordplay with such reckless abandon that readers may dare commend him for his crimes. Arc...more

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The Indie Exchang...: Giveaway of 'The New Death and others' (ebook) on Kate Wood's blog.	1	3	Jun 22, 2012 07:51am
The Indie Exchang...: Jez's Bookcase giveaway of The New Death and others	1	3	Feb 10, 2012 07:55am
The Indie Exchang...: The New Death and others on Claire Reads	1	5	Feb 09, 2012 07:56am
The Indie Exchang...: Murderotic giveaway of The New Death and others	1	12	Feb 06, 2012 11:09am
The Indie Exchang...: The New Death and others on Julie Catherine.	1	9	Feb 03, 2012 09:17am
The Indie Exchang...: GIveaway on JC Martin's blog.	1	5	Feb 02, 2012 06:22am
Creative Reviews: 44 stories. 19 poems. No sparkly vampires.	1	5	Jan 27, 2012 07:40am

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“On the box he had a stack of magazines. Without seeing the covers, I knew they were pornography. Precious finds in the days before the internet. The combination of glossy pages and sperm is the smell of boyhood for men my age. You used to find them hidden in the bushes. I guess kids stole them from the shops and then were too scared to take them home. Sometimes they'd be damaged by rain or fire (masturbation and setting fire to things: the two great impulses of boyhood), the paper as brittle as an old man's skin. Meanwhile, as I found out years later, girls were reading 'romance novels' in the comfort of their bedrooms. Men, have you ever read those things? Damn.” — 1 person liked it

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