Review by MsTri -- The VD Anthology by Various
-
MsTri
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 1949
- Joined: 02 Jul 2017, 12:56
- Favorite Book: The Spirit Seeds Book 1
- Currently Reading: the Secret of Safe Passage
- Bookshelf Size: 1050
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-mstri.html
- Latest Review: Suddenly Free, Vol. 1 by Yvette Carmon Davis
- Reading Device: B07HZHJGY7
Review by MsTri -- The VD Anthology by Various
[Following is a volunteer review of "The VD Anthology" by Various.]
I previously compared reading anthologies to eating trail mix. Well, I was hungry again, and The VD Anthology fit the bill. Written by various authors, including Online Book Club veteran Tara Basi, this collection, like its predecessor, contains twelve short stories and story excerpts, each with its own "flavor," and a quartet of poems.
As before, the voices of the tidbits were varied, with some written as first-person accounts, while others were penned from third-person POVs. Some stories were easy to follow, and others took a bit more cerebral effort. What they had in common was that they were all enjoyable in their own way. Even so, I did have my favorites. "Herman Melville Cinderella" by Alexandra Liedinger was indeed comparable to the seminal work of Moby Dick, as it involved a character intent on finding his quarry - in this case, the aforementioned Cinderella - no matter the cost. "The Last Supper (at Breakfast)," authored by Black Cab Mark, saw two friends meeting for breakfast to eat their last meal at Bellanger Restaurant before it shut its doors. The repartee between the duo had me smiling through its four pages. Frank Wood's "Dear Corona" was an ode to the virus behind our current pandemic with a twist ending that explained why an ode was being written to such a deadly sickness. The yarns written by Iris Sala, Brian Kelly, Valentina Valentini, Cheryl Baden-Powell, Eliot Bryter, Calah Singleton, and David Rogers, as well as Robert Hennebry's poems, were all written well too. Even though Sophia Rainbow Haddad's "North East To North Africa" didn't appeal to me, I did enjoy the pictures that were included in the text.
Another thing I admired the authors for was their ability to create realistic people, no matter how far-fetched the situation. For instance, in the excerpt of Basi's short story, "Follow," the main character, Soph, was much like millions of rabid followers on Twitter in our current time. She pretty much lived for Her Majesty's next post. In a more realistic setting, Black Cab Mark and Nutty George, the stars of "The Last Supper (at Breakfast),” were a couple of older gentlemen that I could imagine dining at any one of our real life restaurants, provided we weren't in the midst of a pandemic. Additionally, the unnamed protagonist of "Rendition of a Life, Transposed" by Eliot Bryter was an excellent study in how one must feel while trying to memorize what things look like while slowly going blind.
The collection in question seemed to be mostly edited, as I did find a few errors but not enough to justify lowering the rating. I thereby rate The VD Anthology 4 out of 4 stars. Many of the stories include profanity, violence, and/or sexual situations, so it's not a read for the young or faint of heart. Otherwise, I do recommend this compilation for fans of short stories, people who like slightly dark tales, and readers on the lookout for new authors.
Club Verbal Discharge, from which these works originated, is "a night of readings and performances from writers, poets, actors and musicians." The works from the shows are collected in one set, thereby making up The VD Anthology. Due to the pandemic, I presume, this edition's works can be heard straight from the authors' mouths on the Facebook Verbal Discharge page, whereas the aural version of book one, Club VD Anthology, had to be downloaded after the purchase of that edition. After writing the bulk of this review, I did watch the readings for this book, and while they added additional layers to the stories, I did not allow them to change my thoughts on the book. Audiophiles may also want to listen to the tales after reading them.
******
The VD Anthology
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
I previously compared reading anthologies to eating trail mix. Well, I was hungry again, and The VD Anthology fit the bill. Written by various authors, including Online Book Club veteran Tara Basi, this collection, like its predecessor, contains twelve short stories and story excerpts, each with its own "flavor," and a quartet of poems.
As before, the voices of the tidbits were varied, with some written as first-person accounts, while others were penned from third-person POVs. Some stories were easy to follow, and others took a bit more cerebral effort. What they had in common was that they were all enjoyable in their own way. Even so, I did have my favorites. "Herman Melville Cinderella" by Alexandra Liedinger was indeed comparable to the seminal work of Moby Dick, as it involved a character intent on finding his quarry - in this case, the aforementioned Cinderella - no matter the cost. "The Last Supper (at Breakfast)," authored by Black Cab Mark, saw two friends meeting for breakfast to eat their last meal at Bellanger Restaurant before it shut its doors. The repartee between the duo had me smiling through its four pages. Frank Wood's "Dear Corona" was an ode to the virus behind our current pandemic with a twist ending that explained why an ode was being written to such a deadly sickness. The yarns written by Iris Sala, Brian Kelly, Valentina Valentini, Cheryl Baden-Powell, Eliot Bryter, Calah Singleton, and David Rogers, as well as Robert Hennebry's poems, were all written well too. Even though Sophia Rainbow Haddad's "North East To North Africa" didn't appeal to me, I did enjoy the pictures that were included in the text.
Another thing I admired the authors for was their ability to create realistic people, no matter how far-fetched the situation. For instance, in the excerpt of Basi's short story, "Follow," the main character, Soph, was much like millions of rabid followers on Twitter in our current time. She pretty much lived for Her Majesty's next post. In a more realistic setting, Black Cab Mark and Nutty George, the stars of "The Last Supper (at Breakfast),” were a couple of older gentlemen that I could imagine dining at any one of our real life restaurants, provided we weren't in the midst of a pandemic. Additionally, the unnamed protagonist of "Rendition of a Life, Transposed" by Eliot Bryter was an excellent study in how one must feel while trying to memorize what things look like while slowly going blind.
The collection in question seemed to be mostly edited, as I did find a few errors but not enough to justify lowering the rating. I thereby rate The VD Anthology 4 out of 4 stars. Many of the stories include profanity, violence, and/or sexual situations, so it's not a read for the young or faint of heart. Otherwise, I do recommend this compilation for fans of short stories, people who like slightly dark tales, and readers on the lookout for new authors.
Club Verbal Discharge, from which these works originated, is "a night of readings and performances from writers, poets, actors and musicians." The works from the shows are collected in one set, thereby making up The VD Anthology. Due to the pandemic, I presume, this edition's works can be heard straight from the authors' mouths on the Facebook Verbal Discharge page, whereas the aural version of book one, Club VD Anthology, had to be downloaded after the purchase of that edition. After writing the bulk of this review, I did watch the readings for this book, and while they added additional layers to the stories, I did not allow them to change my thoughts on the book. Audiophiles may also want to listen to the tales after reading them.
- From "A Herman Melville Cinderella."And yet, I have no audience for my story, no audience that is but the bracken, rats, and stoats, which so ably sustained me before.
******
The VD Anthology
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Suddenly Free, Vol. 1 by Yvette Carmon Davis
