Reviewed by: Keith Nixon
Genre: Thriller / Mystery / Short Story
Collection
Approximate word count: 10-15,000 words
Availability
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Author:
Gerard
Brennan lives in Northern Ireland with his family and is currently studying for
an MA in creative writing at Belfast University. Gerard has previously published
several other works including the novel, Wee
Rockets, a novella, The Point and
contributed to a number of anthologies.
You can
learn more about Gerard on his website.
Description:
A
collection of five short stories, some previously published in magazines,
anthologies and websites.
Appraisal:
Like the
previously reviewed Possession… these
are very well written story nuggets, all quite different, but all based in
Belfast.
In Bouncer a hard man ‘door manager’ tries
to relate to his gay son. It’s an unusual mix of angst, violence (as the
bouncer struggles to reconcile his feelings whilst on the job) and touching
humility. It’s well done.
Hard Rock is entirely different. It’s a grimy
story of excess, manslaughter and attempted necrophilia. The protagonist, a
rock star called Joey, has a girl in his hotel room after a gig but it all goes
horribly wrong. The following quote is an example of the writing:
I stood up and looked around the
room. Cocaine on the table. Dead girl cuffed to the bed. Dead fat man laid out
on the floor. Blood-covered rockstar, stinking of puke and clutching the murder
weapon, swaying on his feet.
Nothing But Time is a very brief story about a tout
in prison and realizing it’s going to be a long stretch. The writing made me
very glad I’ve never been put inside.
Day-Tripping is perhaps the oddest of the
collection. James goes round to his
estranged friend Mattie’s place. James has
a decent job, Mattie is a dope head. James ends up in hospital after an accident.
However the incident brings the pair back together and they become friends
again – in the strangest of circumstances.
Swing is again about friends, although
Conor and Stevie are both at school. Conor used to be the cool kid, until his
parents swinging activities becomes public knowledge and his stock plummets.
Stevie is there to defend him until Conor goes one shocking step too far.
These
stories are very well written, tight and neat that leaves the reader with
sometimes shock, often surprise and sometimes questions. The characters are
excellently drawn in a very small number of words. The dialogue is neat too. It
doesn’t take long to plough through this collection, however I suspect it’s
something I’ll go back to a couple of times…
FYI:
Adult
language and situations.
Format/Typo Issues:
None.
Rating: ***** Five Stars
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