3 Story Reviews -- Reading on the Wrong Side of the Road

Leigh M. Lane reviews Writers on the Wrong Side of the Road story by story at her blog, The Cerebral Writer . My stories being many, they get the eyeball several times, with varying degrees of welcome. The one she liked the least appears to have been disliked because of the genre; the one she likes the most " resets the bar". I can live with that.
 :  ) 



"The Cenotaph" by Casey Wolf – 4.25 stars

Past and present collide when a camper stumbles upon a long-forgotten memorial.

A thoughtful commentary on perspective and war, this story does a great job at showing the fears and expectations that arise when one considers leaving for war. Some of the shifts are a little jarring, but may be intentional in an attempt to pull the reader into the protagonist's confused state of mind. Overall, this is a very good story.

 "Triona's Beans" by Casey Wolf and Paivi Kuosmanen – 2 stars

A young girl goes on an intergalactic adventure with little people that look like feathered beans.

I had great difficulty getting through this story, which reads like a very young children's fantasy. This story does not belong in a dark speculative fiction anthology.

 "Pronghorns" by Casey Wolf – 5 stars

A double suicide goes to "Plan B" when initial plans go awry.

"Pronghorns" is a darkly brilliant commentary on life and death. It is well-written, gripping, and has a shockingly profound ending. This is one of those stories that resets the bar.