Review of Tales from the Gray Area
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Maria_Kubicova
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- Latest Review: Tales from the Gray Area by Curtis Stephen Burdick
Review of Tales from the Gray Area
[Following is a volunteer review of "Tales from the Gray Area" by Curtis Stephen Burdick.]
Tales from the Gray Area by Curtis Stephen Burdick is a book that blends science-fiction, reality and fantasy. The book is divided into seven mystery novellas, each with its own unique plot and cast of characters to keep the reader engaged. The amazing cliffhanger ending is the one thing they all have in common.
The book starts with a tale of 108 children who were born with a weird symbol on their necks. This symbol is written in an ancient language and appears on each person in the same place. The tale follows several characters as they try to figure out what this odd phenomenon means. There’s also a narrative about lethal octopus-like monsters, a lady with the power of soothsaying, an alien emperor, and many more.
The stories are very brief, yet despite their ease of reading, they contain depth and meaning. Every novella in the book has a fantastic narrative, demonstrating that the author’s aim of pushing the boundaries of reality and science was accomplished. It’s difficult to review more than one story at a time, especially when they all have such different storylines. Though I believe it is a good thing that the book is arranged in this way since with seven stories of the same genre, everybody may find the right one for them.
Another aspect of the novel that I enjoyed was its characters. They each have a distinct personality and a unique way of expressing themselves. The author clearly took the time to properly develop each of them and give them a specific role in the story. The conversations and interrelationships amongst the characters were also amazing. Especially in the story “Vacation from Hell,” which is about a fallen angel who borrows a human body and falls in love with the human family.
As previously said, each story has an open conclusion, forcing readers to use their imaginations to guess what will happen next. I typically dislike endings like these because they leave the reader with so many unanswered questions. If the questions are concerning events that have already occurred in the tale, it is even more irritating. This, thankfully, was not the case. The author perfectly describes the tale, leaving no crucial issues unanswered and even hinting at what occurs beyond the conclusion, reducing the options and leaving the ending a little less open and weirdly satisfying.
There was nothing about the book that I didn’t like. It was enjoyable to read, and it appears to have been professionally edited. As a result, I rate it four out of four stars and suggest it to anybody looking for a collection of short creative science fiction/fantasy stories.
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Tales from the Gray Area
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Tales from the Gray Area by Curtis Stephen Burdick is a book that blends science-fiction, reality and fantasy. The book is divided into seven mystery novellas, each with its own unique plot and cast of characters to keep the reader engaged. The amazing cliffhanger ending is the one thing they all have in common.
The book starts with a tale of 108 children who were born with a weird symbol on their necks. This symbol is written in an ancient language and appears on each person in the same place. The tale follows several characters as they try to figure out what this odd phenomenon means. There’s also a narrative about lethal octopus-like monsters, a lady with the power of soothsaying, an alien emperor, and many more.
The stories are very brief, yet despite their ease of reading, they contain depth and meaning. Every novella in the book has a fantastic narrative, demonstrating that the author’s aim of pushing the boundaries of reality and science was accomplished. It’s difficult to review more than one story at a time, especially when they all have such different storylines. Though I believe it is a good thing that the book is arranged in this way since with seven stories of the same genre, everybody may find the right one for them.
Another aspect of the novel that I enjoyed was its characters. They each have a distinct personality and a unique way of expressing themselves. The author clearly took the time to properly develop each of them and give them a specific role in the story. The conversations and interrelationships amongst the characters were also amazing. Especially in the story “Vacation from Hell,” which is about a fallen angel who borrows a human body and falls in love with the human family.
As previously said, each story has an open conclusion, forcing readers to use their imaginations to guess what will happen next. I typically dislike endings like these because they leave the reader with so many unanswered questions. If the questions are concerning events that have already occurred in the tale, it is even more irritating. This, thankfully, was not the case. The author perfectly describes the tale, leaving no crucial issues unanswered and even hinting at what occurs beyond the conclusion, reducing the options and leaving the ending a little less open and weirdly satisfying.
There was nothing about the book that I didn’t like. It was enjoyable to read, and it appears to have been professionally edited. As a result, I rate it four out of four stars and suggest it to anybody looking for a collection of short creative science fiction/fantasy stories.
******
Tales from the Gray Area
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Tales from the Gray Area by Curtis Stephen Burdick
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Satwik Mohanty
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- Latest Review: Killing Abel by Michael Tieman
The stories were quite interesting to read but I did not like the open endings. More than a few questions were left unanswered. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Latest Review: Killing Abel by Michael Tieman
