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Shades
An eclectic collection of spine-tingling, gut-churning, irreverent, dark, fantastical, and sometimes downright hilarious short stories by the Edgar-nominated author of DUST and THE HUNCHBACK ASSIGNMENTS. Slade's writing style has shades of Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, William Gibson, and Ry Cooder. And he has an eye for odd details and macabre situations that is all his own. Stories Stubb - a boy named Stubb will prove he's a werewolf one way or another. Virtual Dragon - in the future Kung Fu movies will rule the box office and wars will be fought over the proceeds. Jesus Busts A Bronc - a special appearance by Jesus at a small town rodeo. A miracle? And what is Judas doing there? The Diary of Terrance Winslow - some neighbors are much, much worse than others. Snow White and the Seven Elves - how to win the kingdom and look good while doing it. Garbage Day - One never knows what's really in the garbage. Sixteen startling stories in all. About the Arthur Slade was raised on a cattle ranch in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan and he caught the writing bug at an early age. He started with poems, moved on to short stories, then graduated to novels, writing in the style of his favourite King, Bradbury, and Heinlein. He is the author of sixteen bestselling books, including the "Northern Frights" series, "Jolted," and "The Hunchback Assignments." He currently lives in Saskatoon, Canada. Visit him on the web at
- GenresShort StoriesHorror
106 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2011
14 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Arthur Slade
75 books525 followersArthur Slade was raised in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan and began writing at an early age. He is the author of the bestselling The Hunchback Assignments series of books, Dust (which won the Governor General's award), Tribes and Jolted. He lives in Saskatoon, Canada (which really is a real place). Join his creative & somewhat clever newsletter at: what a zany newsletter!
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 29, 2018
Shades by Arthur Slade is a collection of horror (“Tales of Fear and Wonder”) short stories published in 2011. The 106-page collection of 16 stories is sold on Kindle for a price of USD 0.00. This is not a Kindle Unlimited publication. I comment on each story below but recommend readers start by reading Bubbles.
Snow White and the Seven Elves A story told in eight paragraphs one line. There is no punctuation in the paragraphs and the author uses capital letters as the Muse directs. There are elves and Snow White who is not as white as snow.
What’s Coming a story of an almost repentant thief told in one paragraph with no punctuation or capital letters
Garbage Day Some families produce more trash than others but eventually, the men on the truck come around and make everything better for the following week.
Gydian Fights his Greatest Foe A story in which Gydian takes account of himself.
Fairytale Billy graduated early.
November Families change but shared memories remain in this emotional tale in which no one expresses emotion.
Virtual Dragon This very complex tale is of a near perfect VR world set inside a dystopian world. Theoretically, everyone should be happy. There is a resistance movement that believes the VR world should be destroyed; it is somehow morally wrong. But this leaves us back with a dystopian unsettling (although realistic) world. I’m confused.
Resurrection Blues Tell this story to the kids at Easter.
Walt Does The Resurrection When Disney characters were present at the Creation. Not the original one but maybe a minor, secondary one before the final conflict.
Jesus Busts A Bronc Jesus at a rodeo with Judas and the author in the audience. This story may not go over well in the bible belt but I found the wordplay interesting.
Not With a Whimper The quiet end of a marriage, the world, and time itself.
The Elephant King When reality and unreality meet; it would have worked except for the car horn.
A Time For Autonomy And on the seventh day, they arrived. A story of the writer as God.
Number Nine World The World is a Beatle
Bubbles: The Diary of Terrance Winslow This is a sample from a collection of anecdotes that make up this story. I believe this is the best story of the entire collection. “Today I followed a woman on my bus all the way to her home. I watched as she turned the keys on the lock to her house. Click. Click. Her hair was blonde. She was young and old at the same time. I did not make her ride the bus. I did not make her live there. I did not make her hair blonde. It is not my fault. When I got home I washed my hands.” (loc 1247-1250)
Stubb When you Google yourself and find your last known address was in the 1500s (years not house numbers) you may have a problem.
After a complete reading of this collection, I followed links to the author’s website, Twitter page, and Facebook page. There was a common denominator adjective used by the author, “clever.” These stories are clever in the use of language through wordplay. A reader might feel distracted by not being able to find a defined plot or a completely fleshed out character in a story. There are few endings, happy or otherwise. I recommend not reading them in order. Read Bubbles first.
I gave this four plus Amazon stars and will look for more “life observations” from this author.
Snow White and the Seven Elves A story told in eight paragraphs one line. There is no punctuation in the paragraphs and the author uses capital letters as the Muse directs. There are elves and Snow White who is not as white as snow.
What’s Coming a story of an almost repentant thief told in one paragraph with no punctuation or capital letters
Garbage Day Some families produce more trash than others but eventually, the men on the truck come around and make everything better for the following week.
Gydian Fights his Greatest Foe A story in which Gydian takes account of himself.
Fairytale Billy graduated early.
November Families change but shared memories remain in this emotional tale in which no one expresses emotion.
Virtual Dragon This very complex tale is of a near perfect VR world set inside a dystopian world. Theoretically, everyone should be happy. There is a resistance movement that believes the VR world should be destroyed; it is somehow morally wrong. But this leaves us back with a dystopian unsettling (although realistic) world. I’m confused.
Resurrection Blues Tell this story to the kids at Easter.
Walt Does The Resurrection When Disney characters were present at the Creation. Not the original one but maybe a minor, secondary one before the final conflict.
Jesus Busts A Bronc Jesus at a rodeo with Judas and the author in the audience. This story may not go over well in the bible belt but I found the wordplay interesting.
Not With a Whimper The quiet end of a marriage, the world, and time itself.
The Elephant King When reality and unreality meet; it would have worked except for the car horn.
A Time For Autonomy And on the seventh day, they arrived. A story of the writer as God.
Number Nine World The World is a Beatle
Bubbles: The Diary of Terrance Winslow This is a sample from a collection of anecdotes that make up this story. I believe this is the best story of the entire collection. “Today I followed a woman on my bus all the way to her home. I watched as she turned the keys on the lock to her house. Click. Click. Her hair was blonde. She was young and old at the same time. I did not make her ride the bus. I did not make her live there. I did not make her hair blonde. It is not my fault. When I got home I washed my hands.” (loc 1247-1250)
Stubb When you Google yourself and find your last known address was in the 1500s (years not house numbers) you may have a problem.
After a complete reading of this collection, I followed links to the author’s website, Twitter page, and Facebook page. There was a common denominator adjective used by the author, “clever.” These stories are clever in the use of language through wordplay. A reader might feel distracted by not being able to find a defined plot or a completely fleshed out character in a story. There are few endings, happy or otherwise. I recommend not reading them in order. Read Bubbles first.
I gave this four plus Amazon stars and will look for more “life observations” from this author.
June 11, 2017
This is an excellent variety of short stories. Some with extremely humorous elements, others going more for a darker feel. One thing to be noted is that some readers may take exception to a few stories around the religious aspect, however, this is down to personal interpretation and is in no way offensive. A great collection.
December 8, 2018
Never having read any books by Arthur Slade I opened this collection of short stories with trepidation. I needn’t have been worried I loved them all. My favourite was Number Nine World, let it be, let it be. Very clever use of words in all the stories. Some make you think, some make you laugh but all in all enjoyable. Highly recommend.
January 8, 2021
Great collection of short stories. The subtitle "tales of fear and wonder" is really accurate. A lot of these stories are frightening but also really draw you in with the details. Some of them make you feel like you're having a fever dream lol. A couple of them have humorous moments, like "snow white and the seven elves," "gydian fights his greatest foe" and the one about Bruce Lee's clone. Others are just plain disturbing like "garbage day," the one about the werewolf and the one about the woman who was Autumn personified. This is the second book I've read by Slade. The first one was Tribes. This definitely made me want to read more by him and I think I will be checking out "Dust" next.
February 3, 2019
I received this free book when I signed up for Arthur Slade's newsletter. I loved it! The collections demonstrates an amazing imagination and command of the English language. Every character is clearly portrayed. There's wit, variety, very human emotions and a mastery of different genres. I will definitely be looking out for more of Slade's work.
June 17, 2019
This is a compilation of short stories read by two different narrators, one female and one male. The voices are great with the stories that they tell. There’s a different take on Snow White, Jesus as a rodeo rider and some other fun twists and turns! Favorite was the Snow White story! Girl power rocks! (I listened to this book on audible.)
February 4, 2020
Very nice assortment of horror themed stories from Arthur Slade. I found myself liking the majority of them...some more than others. Definitely well worth the time and hard to stop reading once you start.
May 21, 2020
I listened to this book on Audible and the entire book is only 1hr 28 min long. The tales in this book are unusual and twisted almost as if from a child's point of view. I f strange stories are your thing then you will enjoy this set of tales.
February 15, 2018
Great book
Very good short stories was an easy read. All the stories were written as if it was you writing it
Very good short stories was an easy read. All the stories were written as if it was you writing it
March 4, 2018
Something for everyone in this book. The stories range from religious irreverence to glimpses into an insane mind. An enjoyable escape from reality.
November 30, 2016
Very entertaining! What an imagination!
January 4, 2023
There is no question I love Arthur Slade's books, have read nearly all of them and enjoyed each one. From the award winning Dust to the quirky Tribes or Jolted, each one is new and different and shows a breadth of skill in storytelling not often seen. Yet what amazed me most about this collection of short stories was that the variety of plots, storylines and genres represented far surpasses all of his previous work. The stories included in this collection are:
Stubb
Snow White and the Seven Elves
What's Coming
Garbage Day
Gydian Fights His Greatest Foe
Fairytale
November
Virtual Dragon
Resurrection Blues
Walt Does The Resurrection
Jesus Busts a Bronc
Not With A Whimper
The Elephant King
A Time For Autonomy
Number Nine World
Bubbles
From his story about a young man sure he is becoming a werewolf, to the hilarious take on Snow White as a socialite and back-stabbing money hungry wench, there is something in this collection for everyone. There is a hilarious story about accountants and how they destroyed the Knights business, because a Knight just cannot afford to fight the dragons any more. Another is about a young man enchanted and charmed by Autumn who then leaves his life, school and family behind to disappear with this apparition. This was an awesome collection of short stories and for the price of just $2.99 for the eBook it cannot be beat. I have already read it twice and know I will reread it again and again. The book also has the first chapter of Slade's award winning Dust as an afterwards so if you have not read it, you will be hooked after reading that first chapter. So pick it up you will not be disappointed!
Read the review and with links to other reviews of books by the author on my blog Book Reviews and More. And also an author profile and interview with Arthur Slade and a visual bibliography.
Stubb
Snow White and the Seven Elves
What's Coming
Garbage Day
Gydian Fights His Greatest Foe
Fairytale
November
Virtual Dragon
Resurrection Blues
Walt Does The Resurrection
Jesus Busts a Bronc
Not With A Whimper
The Elephant King
A Time For Autonomy
Number Nine World
Bubbles
From his story about a young man sure he is becoming a werewolf, to the hilarious take on Snow White as a socialite and back-stabbing money hungry wench, there is something in this collection for everyone. There is a hilarious story about accountants and how they destroyed the Knights business, because a Knight just cannot afford to fight the dragons any more. Another is about a young man enchanted and charmed by Autumn who then leaves his life, school and family behind to disappear with this apparition. This was an awesome collection of short stories and for the price of just $2.99 for the eBook it cannot be beat. I have already read it twice and know I will reread it again and again. The book also has the first chapter of Slade's award winning Dust as an afterwards so if you have not read it, you will be hooked after reading that first chapter. So pick it up you will not be disappointed!
Read the review and with links to other reviews of books by the author on my blog Book Reviews and More. And also an author profile and interview with Arthur Slade and a visual bibliography.
January 12, 2017
Got Shades from Instafreebie.
I loved most of the little tiny stories inside this book. Snow White, Garbage Day among others that i would have like to be longer stories. When first started reading this story. I had the old black and white "The Twilight Zone" popped in my head. This book felt like a New Age Color version of "The Twilight Zone". Loved that show back in the days of black and white TV's.
Thank you for letting me read it.
I loved most of the little tiny stories inside this book. Snow White, Garbage Day among others that i would have like to be longer stories. When first started reading this story. I had the old black and white "The Twilight Zone" popped in my head. This book felt like a New Age Color version of "The Twilight Zone". Loved that show back in the days of black and white TV's.
Thank you for letting me read it.
September 15, 2015
As always it difficult to rate a book of short stories. Some I liked, some not so much and I admit a couple I didn't get at all. But the ones I liked certainly desire 3 or 3.5 stars.
November 10, 2016
Short stories are difficult to rate. That being said there are some I absolutely loved and some I just didn't get at all. A lot of different genres represented in these short stories.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews