Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "strange"

Dark Flash 3 by Maria Haskins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I usually try to catch Maria Haskins' flash fiction when it's posted online or on the R.B. Wood podcast because I know it's always enjoyable. I did manage to catch quite a few of the stories from Dark Flash 1 & 2 when they were posted, but this year I somehow missed them all, so I was very happy to find that the 9 recent flash fiction stories she'd written for the podcast were available in this collection. I was eager to read it and it didn't disappoint. If you've ever read any of this author's fiction you'll know how brilliant it is. This collection of stories is quick to read, and the word that springs to mind for most of the stories is 'strange'. Strange in a thought-provoking, evocative, and intriguing sense.

There are shapeshifting wolves, dragons, and other strange other-worldly delights. Maria Haskins' talent is to take the ordinary and distort it to create something extraordinary. Stories that will definitely make you think. I enjoyed all the stories, but I think my favourite is "Sunlit Surface, Depths Below". That one is poignant and masterly in the way it uses imagery to express feelings and emotions.



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The Trains Don't Stop Here by Martin Cosby

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book is a real treasure trove of stories. I enjoyed every one of them and was completely immersed in the strange and dark tales. Martin Cosby has a way of writing that draws you in and keeps you interested. There are themes that run through this collection of stories, including loss and grief, mental illness, the past, fear and ghosts. Each story is a complete world in itself. There are similarities in the circumstances some of the characters in different stories find themselves in. Many of them are lost for some time, either in darkness or looking for someone in some unfamiliar place. The overriding sense you get is that this author is a masterful storyteller who is able to manipulate both the characters and the readers with the twists and turns. Many of the endings of these stories are not clear cut and you find yourself wondering about what it all meant, but it's almost like a puzzle that slowly slips into place as the different elements of the story start to make sense the more you ponder them and it adds depth to the tales. Many of the stories have dark and sometimes sinister elements.

As well as similar themes, two of the stories are linked in a very creative way, with the same characters appearing in the later story and being instantly recognisable, as these are characters and stories that will stay with you long after you have finished reading them.

All of the characters in this book seem like real people and their stories seem like they really could have happened even though these are mostly very odd and unusual tales. The author has a wonderful way of describing surroundings and people that makes them seem all the more real. He also uses imagery effectively to add further layers to his complex storylines.

I read Martin Cosby's book Dying Embers quite a few years ago and really enjoyed it, so I was thrilled to see he had published another collection. I am pleased to say that this collection did not disappoint. I am looking forward to more stories from this talented writer.



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