A Debacle of Donuts:
No mincing about
here, straight into the story.
Poor Claire, at
430lbs she decides enough is enough, plonks on her trainers and dares her body
to walk the mere 2 miles to the park & ride! After, she literally stomps
her way through the donut breakfast provided for her by the ever enabling
hubby, Sam..... off she wobbles.
Written with a
great tongue in cheek wit, this really had me grinning at the stupidity of
Claire and her sad issues with all of her fat; it was also kind of heart
breaking.
She finally
reaches the store and chooses a Scratch Card instead of the chocolate bar....
then the fun begins!
I can’t really
tell you what she wins! but I did love the ending.... left to the imagination
of the reader!
Loving the
little comments at the end of all of AMDs stories, little insights into how the
story developed; it’s almost as fascinating as the book.
Vermin:
A haunted house
story with every bug & creepy crawly imaginable! If this doesn’t make you
shudder just thinking about it.... then you are in for a treat with the almost
gleeful picture that AMD paints for you!
Some great back
stories to the characters, including glimpses of why the house has a supposed
haunted history, a fantastic way of telling the tale.
The continuous
onslaught of vermin is amazing; it’s like a never ending gag fest; just not of
the laughing kind :(
The ending was
enough to actually make me squirm in my seat.
I am beginning
to see a trend with AMD’s brilliantly skilled writing, it’s a sure fire horror
read but with a great element of humour too.
Smiles and
shudders - a great combination!
Taste: Part I of the Consumption Trilogy:
Well, I, erm...
where to start!
A true loves
tale with a strange obsession?
Told in a
fantastic conversational way, as part of a post bereavement confession to a
"friend", this short tale tells of a young womens obsession that just
goes a little far even for obsessives! not sure I want my floors that shiny!
As I read my
eyes got wider and wider at the story she was telling and at the end I just
wanted to run out the door and I was sitting in my own house!
AMD has such a
"fire side" element to her tales, they leave you with goosebumps and
a funky taste.
Georges Tonic:
If George's
neighbour could be more racist, sexist, offensive in any way... well AMD missed
it!
Still dealing
with the death of his wife, the final straw is the water fountain, especially
to his bladder.
As George
proceeds to enact his revenge upon the said water fountain he gets drawn in to
the "game" more and more, some of the things he gets up to are quite
amusing!
As the day wears
on poor George finds himself in the hospital as the story takes a turn and all
is revealed, have to say it really made me smile!
Brilliant read!
Aria:
In the first few
paragraphs we have the entire sad life of Mark spelled out; even his excuses
for an affair.
At first I felt
sorry for him, then the clanger on the phone comes and I actually felt my own
stomach do an elevator ride as my empathy for the wife kicked in.
Mitzi, a wise
yet unwise lady (married man, affair, but still there) and her comments rang
lots of bells for me :(
I had to laugh
at the American author taking the micky out of the British voice on the GPS for
speaking/pronouncing correct English!!
Ending and the
alternate: I liked the first one, although it was abrupt and gave no real
reason as to why. I enjoyed the alternate much more but I would have liked more
as to the origins of Aria etc, and I loved the addition of Officer Condon that
gave a real "this is not imaginary" feel to it.
AMD comments at
the end, I love these little connections with the author. She states that that
she hates this story, but I really liked it, it shows from an early stage what
incredible skill she has. I actually think this has the makings of a novel
rather than a short story.
Liar’s Tongue:
Haven't we all
had that little bump on our tongue that just longs to bitten and irritates
enough to distract.
The basic
premise is of a particularity nasty reported hounding the would be Mayor and a
gruesome tale of brutality; AMD does a good job of making political advancers
sound interesting and not just pond scum laden.
As bad gets
worse and the tongue situation continues to grow AMD unleashes disgusting
images.
The authors note
made me remember a traumatic meal in Sicily involving a squid and my mouth,
thanks for the AMD, back to the counseling!
A Concealed Hand:
Poor Bernard he
is beer soaked and trying to play Canasta with Priscilla, his wife.
Even her shuffle
style is getting on his nerves, and he thinks she is cheating, why else would
he have to stir the dog food looking stew during a shuffle!
As murderous
thoughts dance across his brain you can feel the tension in the room, almost
like you are at the table with them, as AMD does her marvelous writing trick of
putting you at the table with her brilliant descriptions!
You get a real
flavour of the rest of their lives as even the decor is explained, but don’t
take this as boring, oh no, it leaves you smirking and wiggling with discomfort
as you feel yourself watching this most uncomfy situation unfold.
The ongoing card
games become more tense and the thorn digging elements of their marriage are
reveled; then Bernard snaps. I’m not sure I will ever eat beef stew again :(
A really clever
nod to "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Poe.
This has to be
my favourite story of AMD so far!!
Singularity:
Strangely
disturbing; this was weirdly so human!
The premise of a
computer trying to fall in love with a human, not new and AMD does comment on
this in her author’s notes.
But I have never
seen this much undercurrent of dark and sinister before in such
"lovely" words.
This IS a very
short story, pretty much flash fiction, but worth every penny.
Under the Scotch Broom:
The opening line
is smirk worthy! and from then on in the story is excellent.
The seemingly
Plague infected Elvis, who knows everyone and possibly everything, has a
proposition for the Doc.
The research Doc
who just happens to have a potential cure for all germs/elixir of immortality
inoculation; I read horror; I know where this is going, maybe....
As AMD reveals
her characters and the back, and ongoing, story she delighted me with her
descriptions of Elvis falling to pieces.
As slowly the
plot thickens speeding towards the conclusion, I was sure I knew which way this
was going to end....nope! and it’s a brilliant one at that!
Allison M.
Dickson is always a superb read, her talent in the manipulation of words
to conjure up all sorts of images is excellent.
Her imagination
and ability to share those thoughts result in some real scares, none of them
overly beyond belief, such is her attention to detail and explanation.
As with all of
AMD's stories she allows you in to her thought process at the end with a little
comment - a really lovely, personal touch.
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