J. G. Clay – DaneCobain.com

J. G. Clay – Peace and Quiet. Time and Space. | Review

Title: Peace and Quiet. Time and Space.

Author: J. G. Clay

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 224

Rating: 4*/5

J. G. Clay – Peace and Quiet. Time and Space.

Disclaimer: J. G. Clay is an indie writer friend of mine. While I aim to be unbiased, the relationship should be disclosed.

This one’s a hard one for me to review, because I enjoyed it but it wasn’t perfect. There were quite a few typos dotted throughout, and I often found it difficult to tell what exactly was happening. That latter issue, though, is due to the fact that Clay has created such a dynamic world that I felt like a visitor in a foreign land, like when you’re on holiday and can’t understand what you’re looking at or what strangers are saying as they walk past you.

I couldn’t decide whether to give this a three or a four, but bear in mind that a three is average. It’s an above average book, but it could do with an extra round of proofreading. I also preferred Clay’s first book – Tales of Blood and Sulphur – but I think that’s because I was able to see more of the different backdrops that exist inside his head.

Overall, though, this is a pretty good read, especially for a book from an indie press. Worth reading for horror fans.

J. G. Clay

Click here to buy Peace and Quiet. Time and Space.

Rosy Thornton – Sandlands | Review

Title: Sandlands

Author: Rosy Thornton

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 266

Rating: 8/10

Rosy Thornton – Sandlands

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

This was an interesting book to read and review, because it’s a contemporary collection of short stories that reads like a modern classic. The stories here cover all sorts of subjects, from the trivial to the sublime, and they’re all subtly linked together by the landscape.

It’s interesting, because the stories themselves are almost like parables or mini metaphors, and I think it’d take me a couple of re-reads to get the most out of the book. That said, even on the first read, you get a great idea of the way that the different stories are interlinked, and you start to notice certain elements, like the pub called The Ship, that are repeated throughout the book.

In many ways, it reminds me of Tales of Blood and Sulphur, a collection of horror shorts by J. G. Clay, a friend of mine and a fellow writer. His work is the same, in that the central stories are all interlinked; that said, they’re written in very different styles, and that would be like comparing Stephen King to Ernest Hemingway.

Thornton is the Hemingway, and there’s something about her style that really does remind me of the old man’s writing. It’s good to see that new writers are still putting work out there like this, which has a lot of fun with language whilst simultaneously making the reader think about what they’re actually reading.