tortoisebook

Smashwords book reviews by tortoisebook

  • Isle of Stumps on July 13, 2011

    This is a collection of 3 short stories. 'Isle of Stumps' is about a young man set adrift on a raft after failing a military test. He ends up on a remote island inhabited by grotesquely deformed people. The locals shun him and refuse to allow him to be part of village life. How far will he go in order to fit in? I was slightly disappointed with the sudden jump to the ending of this story although that did impart a shock factor. 'Swallowing a Boot' is about a group of army recruits whose every move is watched by their drill sergeant. One night a recruit sneaks out to buy junk food. He succeeds but is found out. I didn't quite get the meaning behind this story. Why did he take the risk knowing he'd probably get caught? Had conditions in the camp driven him to delirium and a need to rebel? The final story is 'Eight Legs to Doomsday' about some robot spiders set to take over the world. One tries to warn the humans but gets swatted with a newspaper leaving the rest to our imaginations. Also in my Kindle copy was an excerpt from Dennis's first novel, which I didn't read, and another short story 'Perfect' which I enjoyed about a man who prides himself on being perfect but who is actually very lonely. In all a good, well-written set of stories although not particularly to my taste.