So I was given a free copy of Dark Day Dreams for review purposes, and I am so happy I got the chance to read it.
Mixing a bit of social commentary and with with science fiction, James Hawthorne’s collections of short stories are a treat. Each of the stories are a bit different – though connected with Hawthorne’s straight forward writing style and elements of the fantastic and supernatural. Since I read the collection in one afternoon, it felt as if I was binge watching the Twilight Zone or Tales from the Dark Side (which I love, btw) Like those stories, these stories stick with you.
My favorite was Beast in Show which follows a beast in a career in show business. This line stuck out long after I read it: “A gang of long-haired street punks stood twenty feet away, wearing matching black t-shirts and Levi jackets advertising their favorite bands. They smoked, spat and stared at me. I chuckled under my breath and thought about how much fun it would be to show them what real anarchy looked like. You know, the kind where your limbs can no longer follow the orders your brain is sending down the line.”
As one can gather from the title, the stories are dark, yet the collection makes one smile when reading it. I look forward to reading more from this author.
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