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.