Live by the Sword (or Pen?): A Review of Steve Morris’s “Jumble Tales”

The landscape that used to be the medium of the short story is quickly becoming an arid wasteland left to the childish musings of novelists interested in making a quick buck. Some, like Cormac McCarthy, have completely abandoned the medium as pointless. There are a few writers out there who are valiantly trying to keep the short story alive. Steve Morris is one of them.

With his second short story collection, Jumble Tales, Mr. Morris illustrates eighteen individual stories with grace. His strengths lie in his ability to seamlessly bring us into the narrative, providing the reader with just enough to follow through the tale without being bogged down with trivial information.

Many of the stories introduce a type of twist at the end, which, for the most part, is used effectively. There are times, however, that some of these twists seem a bit forced. For me the twist at the end of The Best Policy was jarring and, for me, took away from what otherwise would’ve been a great tale.

The stories that I enjoyed most, however, were the ones where the twists were less jarring or completely absent altogether. One of my favorite stories was One-Nil, an elegantly told story of a soccer player’s redemption. While reading, I could almost taste the grains of dirt between my teeth, and I actually found myself reading this story over and over again. Ships That Pass is another favorite that will be familiar for anyone who feels that they never have enough time alone with their significant other.

Steve Morris shines as a writer of short stories. In his introduction, he broaches the subject of writing a novel. There are parts of me that hope that he doesn’t. Not because I don’t think he would be a proficient novelist, but because I worry that the short story landscape may become more barren.

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Keep it Short: A review of Steve Morris’ In All Probability

I need to pretext this by saying that I love good short stories. The problem is that many authors cannot pull it off properly. The characters usually seem too thin (sometimes non-existent) or the stories omit any descriptions to make room for dialogue or narrative. In All Probability is interesting because I felt myself feeling empathy for most of the characters while enjoying a well written prose. Morris does well at spinning intriguing tales where the characters seem, well, human.

The diversity of the stories was also interesting. Not only do the characters come from all walks of life, convincingly told by the way, but the stories range from the subject of haunting spirits to espionage to dreams and memories.

The book is dense with short stories, and, while their are some that I think could have been better, most are very well done. I almost want to complain about the brevity of most of them, but some part of me thinks that is one of the things that I liked most about the book. I very much enjoyed reading a whole story while I was eating my cereal or in one of the other few calm moments of my otherwise hectic life.

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Complex-light: A review of Ami Blackwelder’s The Hunted of 2060

Perhaps an allegory for the “monster inside all of us” is something that should be embraced rather than feared. Indeed the “monster” manifests itself in many ways in Hunted 2060, in the main character April’s ability to change into a beast, and the militia’s actions in seeking out and exterminating the Shapeshifters. Initially something that is feared, the beast soon is shown to be something of beauty and grace. In April’s eyes, the beast that she can become is an avenue of acceptance that she seems unable to find in any conventional ways.

Initially, I thought that the futuristic technological horizon of Hunted 2060 was a means of showing a yearning to return to simpler times. This seems to be accentuated by the April’s interest in Old English Stories.  Sometimes, though, the involvement of the technology was distracting and slightly confusing. Indeed, it sometimes felt out of place when the characters used their hologram watches or any of their other advanced tools.

This is really a minor issue in the context of the whole work. Hunted 2060 explores the complexity of a young woman trying to find some kind of acceptance. Rather, it points to the need in all of us to do the same. Even though this subject could be heavy, Ami Rebecca Blackwelder handles it gracefully and with more than just a little lightheartedness.

The action in Hunted begins almost immediately and doesn’t let up until the last few pages of the work where we find an interesting story of redemption for one character and the anticipation for a new beginning for others. Ranging in themes from familial betrayal to the needs to belong, the relationships in Hunted feel natural and even familiar. Even the stress relationship between April, her sister, and her mother – and believe me, it’s stressed – doesn’t feel forced. Overall, Hunted 2060 is a good read for anyone who is looking for a recreational read that actually has some depth to it, but doesn’t feel too heavy handed.

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