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Red: Several Marvelous, Sensational, Absurd, Visionary, Peculiar, Unthinkable, Wicked and Totally Untrue Stories
Driving home one night, Red editor Kris Goldsmith spotted a bright, red scarf lying by the side of the road. She lives beyond the middle of nowhere in rural Pennsylvania and wondered just how that scarf got there. She also wondered what reasons some of the writers she'd been working with at Boxfire Press could dream up. So she handed out a write a story that tells us where an out of place red scarf came from and why it's somewhere it probably shouldn't be. She ended up with five original, marvelous, sensational, absurd, visionary, pecuilar, unthinkable, wicked and totally untrue stories. Justin McLachlan (Time Up, Boxfire Press) brings us a superhero vigilante; Rebecca Gale's radioactive knowledge consumes minds and, well, the rest of the body, too. L.G. Fitzgerald explores a rash of disappearances in Arlington, Va. and Shaunna O'Connor makes amends at a dystopian lake. J. Allen Scott -he justifies our fear of flying.
- GenresAnthologies
124 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 30, 2012
*Goodreads First Reads Advanced Copy*
The book Red: Several Marvelous, Sensational, Absurd, Visionary, Peculiar, Unthinkable, Wicked and Totally Untrue Stories lives up to its title. At least it almost does. Someone had to think of the stories, so they can't be unthinkable.
I found the book to be quite an easy read (finished in 1 day). Each story was unique and well written though, like any book of short stories, there were some I enjoyed more. Superhero by Justin McLachlan was perfection. The originality of the story with the twist mixed in was perfect. I completely fell into his world and felt a bit sad when it was over.
Trying to Hard by Rebecca Gale was a close second in terms of enjoyment. She wove a completely believable, and somewhat scary tale of Knowledgis and the danger inherent in wanting to know too much.
L.G. Fitzgerald's story of multiple disappearances, was an enjoyable read too. It had me guessing to what the end would be, yet when I reached the end I found myself a bit disappointed, not in what happened, though in how it was described.
The two shortest stories, Sober Lake by Shauna O'Connor and A Fear of Flying by J. Allen Scott, though well written, left me wanting too much more. I almost felt the stories were too short.
I must say I enjoy seeing how one simple object (a red scarf in this case) can be used to weave many different tales.
I would certainly recommend Red to any lover of the short story and the mysterious.
The book Red: Several Marvelous, Sensational, Absurd, Visionary, Peculiar, Unthinkable, Wicked and Totally Untrue Stories lives up to its title. At least it almost does. Someone had to think of the stories, so they can't be unthinkable.
I found the book to be quite an easy read (finished in 1 day). Each story was unique and well written though, like any book of short stories, there were some I enjoyed more. Superhero by Justin McLachlan was perfection. The originality of the story with the twist mixed in was perfect. I completely fell into his world and felt a bit sad when it was over.
Trying to Hard by Rebecca Gale was a close second in terms of enjoyment. She wove a completely believable, and somewhat scary tale of Knowledgis and the danger inherent in wanting to know too much.
L.G. Fitzgerald's story of multiple disappearances, was an enjoyable read too. It had me guessing to what the end would be, yet when I reached the end I found myself a bit disappointed, not in what happened, though in how it was described.
The two shortest stories, Sober Lake by Shauna O'Connor and A Fear of Flying by J. Allen Scott, though well written, left me wanting too much more. I almost felt the stories were too short.
I must say I enjoy seeing how one simple object (a red scarf in this case) can be used to weave many different tales.
I would certainly recommend Red to any lover of the short story and the mysterious.
January 31, 2012
I received this book in a goodreads giveaway.
I was so excited when I won this book in the giveaway. It sounded like an extremely interesting concept, and I was interested to know how the authors involved handled it. I was not disappointed.
The first two stories were really good, but the last three were brilliant. I can tell that this book has a re-readability rate. I feel like I will pull something new from it each time I read this. My favorite thing about these stories is that the authors didn't take the task of writing about the origins of a forgotten red scarf too literally. Because of this, the book didn't come off gimmicky- which was my only fear with this book.
This is definitely worth checking out.
I was so excited when I won this book in the giveaway. It sounded like an extremely interesting concept, and I was interested to know how the authors involved handled it. I was not disappointed.
The first two stories were really good, but the last three were brilliant. I can tell that this book has a re-readability rate. I feel like I will pull something new from it each time I read this. My favorite thing about these stories is that the authors didn't take the task of writing about the origins of a forgotten red scarf too literally. Because of this, the book didn't come off gimmicky- which was my only fear with this book.
This is definitely worth checking out.
February 8, 2012
This review is based on a free copy of this book supplied to me by the Publisher - Boxfire Press
This is a quirky collection of five stories that each have a science fiction nugget of some sort embedded within them.
STORY ATTRIBUTES:
ORIGINALITY (standard, high, stellar) – HIGH – in how the science fiction factor is slowly incorporated into the stories
ACTION (none, some, lots) – NONE – these aren’t really action type stories, more character development stories
SEX (none, some, lots) NONE
PROFANITY (none, some, lots) SOME - in one story
The first story is about Jimmy who works at The Blue Shamrock Pub and his unhappy marriage to Emily. Jimmy struggles to find reasons not to go home this one night and when he finally does reach home he _______ (you have to read the book)
The second story is about a young girl (we never know her name) who loses her younger brother at a cabin at the lake they went to with their abusive father. We move ahead in time where the young girl is a woman and she has brought her father to the cabin at the lake to ________________ (you have to read the book)
In the third story we have a character (again not named but male in this story) who absolutely hates to fly on a plane in trouble. Having taken an earlier flight it appears that that was a huge mistake as the plane is battered in a storm. The plane does go down but our story teller survives because he _______________ (you have to read the book)
In the fourth story we run into Cal who is working within a new paradigm in philosophy called “Knowlegis” which is treating answers as physical matters. What starts out as a deep interest on Cal’s part soon becomes an obsession much to the detriment of his health and his relationship with his girlfriend who narrates the story. In the end Cal _______________ (you have to read the book)
The fifth story is about Andy who is very comfortable with his life because he knows when he is going to die. Working in a bar that burns down one night he runs into another person who rejects his helping hand to help him by telling=g him that it is his time to die. Andy goes ona quest to find out what that person and his own death have to do with anything and he soon finds out that __________(you have to read the book)
A common theme throughout the five short stories is of course the colour Red as is noted in the title of the book.
This is a quick entertaining read when you only have an afternoon to absorb some science fiction.
Be sure to see my other book reviews on Amazon
This is a quirky collection of five stories that each have a science fiction nugget of some sort embedded within them.
STORY ATTRIBUTES:
ORIGINALITY (standard, high, stellar) – HIGH – in how the science fiction factor is slowly incorporated into the stories
ACTION (none, some, lots) – NONE – these aren’t really action type stories, more character development stories
SEX (none, some, lots) NONE
PROFANITY (none, some, lots) SOME - in one story
The first story is about Jimmy who works at The Blue Shamrock Pub and his unhappy marriage to Emily. Jimmy struggles to find reasons not to go home this one night and when he finally does reach home he _______ (you have to read the book)
The second story is about a young girl (we never know her name) who loses her younger brother at a cabin at the lake they went to with their abusive father. We move ahead in time where the young girl is a woman and she has brought her father to the cabin at the lake to ________________ (you have to read the book)
In the third story we have a character (again not named but male in this story) who absolutely hates to fly on a plane in trouble. Having taken an earlier flight it appears that that was a huge mistake as the plane is battered in a storm. The plane does go down but our story teller survives because he _______________ (you have to read the book)
In the fourth story we run into Cal who is working within a new paradigm in philosophy called “Knowlegis” which is treating answers as physical matters. What starts out as a deep interest on Cal’s part soon becomes an obsession much to the detriment of his health and his relationship with his girlfriend who narrates the story. In the end Cal _______________ (you have to read the book)
The fifth story is about Andy who is very comfortable with his life because he knows when he is going to die. Working in a bar that burns down one night he runs into another person who rejects his helping hand to help him by telling=g him that it is his time to die. Andy goes ona quest to find out what that person and his own death have to do with anything and he soon finds out that __________(you have to read the book)
A common theme throughout the five short stories is of course the colour Red as is noted in the title of the book.
This is a quick entertaining read when you only have an afternoon to absorb some science fiction.
Be sure to see my other book reviews on Amazon
January 23, 2012
I received this book through the First Reads giveaway program on Goodreads.
I loved the concept of this book of short stories about a random red scarf in the middle of nowhere. What would spawn from that? Could be interesting!
Unfortunately these stories were a major disappointment with the red scarf near non-existent, except for Justin McLachlan’s Superhero, it was awesome! (And added a star to the rating) Placed at the end of this book, it definitely is the redeeming factor that makes this book worthwhile. I would love for Mr. McLachlan’s Superhero to be extended and turned into a novel. I would definitely read it!
As for anything “fantastically” edited by Kris Goldsmith I’ll pass next time.
I loved the concept of this book of short stories about a random red scarf in the middle of nowhere. What would spawn from that? Could be interesting!
Unfortunately these stories were a major disappointment with the red scarf near non-existent, except for Justin McLachlan’s Superhero, it was awesome! (And added a star to the rating) Placed at the end of this book, it definitely is the redeeming factor that makes this book worthwhile. I would love for Mr. McLachlan’s Superhero to be extended and turned into a novel. I would definitely read it!
As for anything “fantastically” edited by Kris Goldsmith I’ll pass next time.
January 22, 2012
I was very excited when I won Red in the First Reads Giveaway. The very concept - short stories spawned from the curiosity of a random red scarf in the middle of no where - is fresh and exciting. Unfortunately, the majority of the stories did not live up to that excitement. While interesting, I'd hesitate to give any of them more than 3 stars.
However, there is an exception to every rule and in this case, Justin McLachlan's Superhero is definitely exceptional. Well placed as the last story in the book, I'd give him 5 stars if I could. And if Mr. McLachlan is smart, he'll take Andy and turn him into a novel.
However, there is an exception to every rule and in this case, Justin McLachlan's Superhero is definitely exceptional. Well placed as the last story in the book, I'd give him 5 stars if I could. And if Mr. McLachlan is smart, he'll take Andy and turn him into a novel.
February 3, 2012
I received this book through the First Reads and have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Agree with other comments that it is very easy to get through in a couple of hours, but the stories do become more gripping as you go on.
A couple of them I feel could be developed further into full blown novels, especially Superhero by Justin McLachlan, there are just so many more directions this story could take.
I would recommend this to any fan of short stories.
A couple of them I feel could be developed further into full blown novels, especially Superhero by Justin McLachlan, there are just so many more directions this story could take.
I would recommend this to any fan of short stories.
March 16, 2015
When editor Kris Goldsmith saw a red scarf abandoned in the road one day, she wondered what its story was. And, like any good editor at an independent press, she put that question to several of her authors. This collection of short stories is the result.
It's a rather hit-and-miss collection, I think, but mostly hit. The first story, "Like Smoke" by L.G. Fitzgerald is the big miss, taking the most obvious path to the misplaced scarf. Interesting enough, but with an utterly predictable outcome. "Sober Lake" by Shauna O'Connor provides a darkly funny and startlingly different perspective on the making amends part of a twelve-step program. In "A Fear of Flying" by J. Allen Scott, a young man faces a difficult choice as the plane carrying him and his partner is about to crash. I liked this one a lot, possibly because I kept thinking "'Nathan Burgoine could have written this!" "Trying Too Hard" by Rebecca Gale has the worst title but the most intriguing concept -- when does one draw the line in acquiring knowledge? And finally in "Superhero" by Justin McLachlan, we meet a bartender who knows exactly when he will die, and therefore becomes a fearless crime fighter.
I enjoyed the afternoon spent reading this collection enough to re-read the stories I liked best several times over the next few days. Nice job, Boxfire Press. And thank you, Goodreads First Reads program, for the opportunity to read this book.
It's a rather hit-and-miss collection, I think, but mostly hit. The first story, "Like Smoke" by L.G. Fitzgerald is the big miss, taking the most obvious path to the misplaced scarf. Interesting enough, but with an utterly predictable outcome. "Sober Lake" by Shauna O'Connor provides a darkly funny and startlingly different perspective on the making amends part of a twelve-step program. In "A Fear of Flying" by J. Allen Scott, a young man faces a difficult choice as the plane carrying him and his partner is about to crash. I liked this one a lot, possibly because I kept thinking "'Nathan Burgoine could have written this!" "Trying Too Hard" by Rebecca Gale has the worst title but the most intriguing concept -- when does one draw the line in acquiring knowledge? And finally in "Superhero" by Justin McLachlan, we meet a bartender who knows exactly when he will die, and therefore becomes a fearless crime fighter.
I enjoyed the afternoon spent reading this collection enough to re-read the stories I liked best several times over the next few days. Nice job, Boxfire Press. And thank you, Goodreads First Reads program, for the opportunity to read this book.
September 29, 2012
I quite liked this. You all know my penchant for short fiction, so I'll mention that this is another anthology of short fiction that I'm reviewing here.
The idea behind this collection is in the description on the rear cover: "Driving home one night, Red editor Kris Goldsmith spotted a bright, red scarf lying alone by the side of the road. She lives beyond the middle of nowhere in rural Pennsylvania and wondered just how that scarf got there. She also wondered what reasons some of the writers she'd been working with at Boxfire Press could dream up, so she handed out a challenge: write a short story that tells us where an out of place red scarf came from and why it's somewhere it probably shouldn't be."
The five stories vary, and four of them step into spec-fic (and, I was stoked to find, one included a gay narrator). They all have that one thing in common: the red scarf, but from there the imaginations of the authors took different routes, and the journey was enjoyable. In a way, it reminded me of a smaller-scale Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die, another collection of short fiction (albeit a much larger one) with a single shared theme: every story includes the machine that accurately predicts death with a blood test.
Red's five stories include superheroes, Twilight Zone-esque disappearances, deeply disturbing revenge, literally poisonous knowledge, and a crashing plane that ends differently than you'd ever have considered. I liked all the stories (though the last one, by J. Allen Scott, was my favourite).
Definitely worth the read.
The idea behind this collection is in the description on the rear cover: "Driving home one night, Red editor Kris Goldsmith spotted a bright, red scarf lying alone by the side of the road. She lives beyond the middle of nowhere in rural Pennsylvania and wondered just how that scarf got there. She also wondered what reasons some of the writers she'd been working with at Boxfire Press could dream up, so she handed out a challenge: write a short story that tells us where an out of place red scarf came from and why it's somewhere it probably shouldn't be."
The five stories vary, and four of them step into spec-fic (and, I was stoked to find, one included a gay narrator). They all have that one thing in common: the red scarf, but from there the imaginations of the authors took different routes, and the journey was enjoyable. In a way, it reminded me of a smaller-scale Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die, another collection of short fiction (albeit a much larger one) with a single shared theme: every story includes the machine that accurately predicts death with a blood test.
Red's five stories include superheroes, Twilight Zone-esque disappearances, deeply disturbing revenge, literally poisonous knowledge, and a crashing plane that ends differently than you'd ever have considered. I liked all the stories (though the last one, by J. Allen Scott, was my favourite).
Definitely worth the read.
July 19, 2012
This book was given to me by a friend. I was so intrigued by the concept -- different writers given the same seemingly insignificant detail to write about. All the stories were okay, a few were so exceptional I can't wait to read more of the authors' work (and have already done so in some cases). Justin McLachlan's Superhero was such a standout I was so bummed when it ended! Andy is such an original character I really hope we see more of him and what happens to his future. The entire concept of that story was very fresh.
I also like J. Allen Scott's A fear of Flying, because I could totally relate to how awful of a situation those characters were in. Kind of nail-biting.
I also like J. Allen Scott's A fear of Flying, because I could totally relate to how awful of a situation those characters were in. Kind of nail-biting.
March 8, 2012
I was so happy to win this book in a giveaway. It is exactly what the cover says it is; Its five marvelous, sensational, absurd, visionary, peculiar, unthinkable, and wicked stories. I love reading short stories in my free time and this ranks second only to Stephen King's book Everything is Eventual. This is one that I feel every one should take the time to read and enjoy.
February 10, 2012
This book is a nice read with an excellent range of emotion, mystery, and suspense. The book ends on a high note leaving the best story for last. I received an advance copy of this book through a goodreads giveway.
September 9, 2012
What great short stories ! This was a fun read, a great little story that has to do with the scarf. I t was interesting to see how they each added the red scarf and how it symbolized something. Great short story :)
January 20, 2013
It took me a minute to realise that these stories stand on their own. I kept wanting them to be tied together. I also wasn't sure what to expect and I like what was collaborated and published.
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