I’m not usually one to read short stories. That isn’t to say I don’t ever read them but they aren’t usually the first thing I will pick up. However when I was contacted by the author about reviewing this anthology of short stories, I had to say yes. I follow the author on Twitter and am subscribed to his Booktube channel – the books that both he and his partner read are very much my tastes too so I was intrigued to see if any of this would play a part in his own writing.
Find Shards on Goodreads
First of all – how amazing is the cover – shards of glass intertwined. I love it!
You may be wondering why the anthology is called Shards and to put it simply, each short story is a Shard where the author, C J Cummings, lists the key themes for that shard. There are a number of different themes throughout and the stories span the genres including science fiction, dystopian and contemporary.
The first story is actually one of my favourites – The Light – as it tells the story of a father and son fishing trip where everything changes. I found this a great example of the authors writing and ability to weave an interesting tale.
Another tale he told, Soil In The Eye, actually focused on a major fear of mine – being buried alive – and it is a credit to the authors writing that I actually started to feel a little panicky and almost as if my breath was restricted. The story was written so vividly – you could almost imagine that it was you stuck there yourself.
My favourite shard overall had to be This One House. Fantastical and totally unique in its concept, I loved how the story was told over the time by the narrator, a narrator that you probably wouldn’t expect. They say you don’t ever see what goes on behind closed doors – but what if part of the door itself does? This was written so beautifully and I loved the ending of this story in particular, I felt it was very fitting.
Overall, this is a great collection of short stories or ‘shards’. With something for everyone, it is easy to get lost within the writing and vividly imagine that you are there within the story yourself. The stories were beautifully written and even if you aren’t normally a short story reader, I would urge you to give this a go. Absolutely fantastic.
Shards will be out in paperback and on Kindle on Amazon in the coming weeks. Be sure to keep an eye on the Goodreads page or my Twitter for more information closer to the time. I am going to be giving the authors collaborative effort with Mark Ryan, Birdsnatch: A Tale Told Twice: Volume 1, a read very soon and I’m quite excited. What have you been reading lately?