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This Weak and Idle Theme
Aliens with wings. Mysterious deaths. Monsters and swords and heroes. Inspired by everything from nightmares to writing contests, each of the ten stories included in this collection offers something unique, whether it be horror, fantasy, science fiction or humor. Included are two short stories previously published in now-closed magazines, a short story that prompted the creation of a full-length novel, and a five-part series previously available only in separate e-book forms. Also included in this collection is the short story "So It Begins," a companion piece to the upcoming novel (tentatively titled at the time of this publication) The Dragon Three.
224 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2013
4 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Perkins
25 books119 followersVictoria Perkins began writing at a young age and story-telling even younger. After graduating from Kent State University with a BA in English, Perkins held numerous jobs, including working customer service and teaching at a private school before, in December of 2012, she began to work full-time as a writer-for-hire.
She has five standalone young adult novels as well as a six-book series, Star Riders, two short story collections, a collection of plays, a book on writing, and a cookbook that she wrote with her mother and grandmother
In her work as a writer-for-hire, she has contributed to hundreds of short stories, novellas and full-length novels for clients all over the world, some of which have made various best seller lists. She makes her home in Northeastern Ohio near her family.
Note: This is her professional author page. She loves to interact with readers, but do NOT send a friend request if you intend to send messages asking about her personal life or are treating this website like a dating app.
She has five standalone young adult novels as well as a six-book series, Star Riders, two short story collections, a collection of plays, a book on writing, and a cookbook that she wrote with her mother and grandmother
In her work as a writer-for-hire, she has contributed to hundreds of short stories, novellas and full-length novels for clients all over the world, some of which have made various best seller lists. She makes her home in Northeastern Ohio near her family.
Note: This is her professional author page. She loves to interact with readers, but do NOT send a friend request if you intend to send messages asking about her personal life or are treating this website like a dating app.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 16, 2013
Review by Martin Mosfeldt of "This Weak and Idle Theme" by Victoria Perkins
This anthology has the tone of a summer’s day. It plunges young heroes into epic fantasies and dystopian futures, and the short stories’ levelheaded mood keeps complexity in short reins, where good is good, bad is bad, and passion yields to reason.
Dark plots unfold, but the entertainment stays communal, thanks to a clever device that they don’t teach in author-school: the book is structured like a TV-series, with the author introducing each episode just like a TV-speaker does, and with fast TV-like shifts of setting, too.
Plot, not character, drives the yarns. The recurring theme is violent death as an antecedent to action or as a consequence of inaction. Like in Greek tragedy or dramatic opera, someone must die, but I do not always understand the necessity thereof; in the futuristic “Still Free” it seems irrelevant, whereas in the dark “The Way It Ends” it is inescapable.
The stories are more lovely and more temperate than their sinister theme, due to lyrics like this, “The girl laughed, a light, melodious sound that danced across the mountain breeze,” and like this, “Her mind immediately returned to a childhood of Sunday mornings in church, unable to process what she was seeing in any other way,” but also because the stories shy away when it gets too sinister.
The title “This Weak and Idle Theme" refers to Puck’s address to the audience in act five of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, in which Puck apologizes for any offence. I cannot imagine why one would be taken. Victoria’s heroes remind me of James H. Schmitz’s Telzey Amberdon character, whose cheerful disposition stays intact despite the gruesome adventures she is put through by her author.
Besides being an author, Victoria is also a teacher, which shines through in her English, enough so that she mocks linguistic slipups in the foreword. Editors say third person omniscient is the better way to tell a tale, but Victoria’s mastery of narrative voice puts that to shame, balancing vocabulary against accuracy so stories flow and speakers seem natural. I enjoyed the good writing.
So who will be entertained and educated by this collection of short stories? My thought is, “Someone young,” because of the young, unsophisticated heroes, but perhaps also someone with an interest in science fiction, fantasy and well-written English?
Martin Mosfeldt is a senior businessman and author from Europe. His CV is published on the open Internet.
This anthology has the tone of a summer’s day. It plunges young heroes into epic fantasies and dystopian futures, and the short stories’ levelheaded mood keeps complexity in short reins, where good is good, bad is bad, and passion yields to reason.
Dark plots unfold, but the entertainment stays communal, thanks to a clever device that they don’t teach in author-school: the book is structured like a TV-series, with the author introducing each episode just like a TV-speaker does, and with fast TV-like shifts of setting, too.
Plot, not character, drives the yarns. The recurring theme is violent death as an antecedent to action or as a consequence of inaction. Like in Greek tragedy or dramatic opera, someone must die, but I do not always understand the necessity thereof; in the futuristic “Still Free” it seems irrelevant, whereas in the dark “The Way It Ends” it is inescapable.
The stories are more lovely and more temperate than their sinister theme, due to lyrics like this, “The girl laughed, a light, melodious sound that danced across the mountain breeze,” and like this, “Her mind immediately returned to a childhood of Sunday mornings in church, unable to process what she was seeing in any other way,” but also because the stories shy away when it gets too sinister.
The title “This Weak and Idle Theme" refers to Puck’s address to the audience in act five of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, in which Puck apologizes for any offence. I cannot imagine why one would be taken. Victoria’s heroes remind me of James H. Schmitz’s Telzey Amberdon character, whose cheerful disposition stays intact despite the gruesome adventures she is put through by her author.
Besides being an author, Victoria is also a teacher, which shines through in her English, enough so that she mocks linguistic slipups in the foreword. Editors say third person omniscient is the better way to tell a tale, but Victoria’s mastery of narrative voice puts that to shame, balancing vocabulary against accuracy so stories flow and speakers seem natural. I enjoyed the good writing.
So who will be entertained and educated by this collection of short stories? My thought is, “Someone young,” because of the young, unsophisticated heroes, but perhaps also someone with an interest in science fiction, fantasy and well-written English?
Martin Mosfeldt is a senior businessman and author from Europe. His CV is published on the open Internet.
November 19, 2014
What a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Each story is different and unique and keeps your attention. I enjoyed each one. I read this in a couple of hours and was not disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews