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Storms in Jars
Every life knows times of darkness, but some know more than most....
In Smoke we meet a lonely creature, with only its own hunger for company.
Milton Hobbs and the Price of Serenity introduces us to an alcoholic looking to bargain, whatever the cost.
Kimmy’s Not Welcome Here Anymore follows the journey of a childhood friendship turning sour amid the demons that lurk in shadowy corners of a grown-up world.
These and other stories can be found in this dark collection of nightmarish tales.
In Smoke we meet a lonely creature, with only its own hunger for company.
Milton Hobbs and the Price of Serenity introduces us to an alcoholic looking to bargain, whatever the cost.
Kimmy’s Not Welcome Here Anymore follows the journey of a childhood friendship turning sour amid the demons that lurk in shadowy corners of a grown-up world.
These and other stories can be found in this dark collection of nightmarish tales.
32 pages, ebook
First published July 5, 2012
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 15, 2019
I'm actually somewhat surprised by my own rating of this book. Several months ago, I received a copy of this ebook (in a roundabout way - through a blog that I contribute to sporadically) for review. I accepted it, despite it having only one rating of 2 stars. Not exactly a shining endorsement. But, I like horror, and I like short stories, and this was very short, so I figured I wouldn't be investing much time if it did stink after all.
And then I read it, and found that it didn't.
There were some editing issues - a plethora of missing commas, mainly. Though there were some other little things I noticed, general editing clean up items such as improper capitalization, etc, they didn't really detract from the story as much as the absentee commas did. There's a big difference between "We have a basement, Detective," ("Detective" used here as a title in lieu of name, so it should be capitalized) and "We have a basement detective," which is what was in the text. The former advises the detective being spoken to that the speaker has a basement; the latter could be implying that there's a detective housed in the basement, or they staff a detective who specializes in basement work.... who knows?
But, editing aside, I quite liked the stories. They were short, but much longer, and they wouldn't have worked. All were contained in this gray zone of Info The Reader Doesn't Have, and it was good that way. We don't know what the creature in "Smoke" is - just that it's hungry and old, and its been crouching above the smoker's room at the office for a long, long time, feeding on the illness it can smell there. We don't know who - or what - the Other Beryl of the story is.
These stories are little snapshots in time - a format that I've come to discover I like more than a little bit - and around them is the void. The reader is left to fill in the whys and hows. The story is just the story and we live in that little bubble of time until it collapses with a popping noise. There's a little twist with each of the stories, and they weren't hard to spot, but still enjoyable.
"Smoke" - This one was a surprise to me, and sticks in my mind for a few reasons. First, because it was the first story in the book, and it grabbed my attention with the vague-but-vivid imagery. Second, it's not really a proper story, with a plot or anything, it just is... Much like what is described in the story. It's kind of like how poetry doesn't always have to rhyme, or that... stuff... called "free verse" (*shudder*), short stories can vary in their content and still be really good stories. Like this one.
"Milton Hobbs and the Price of Serenity" - This story was familiar, because it's been done many times before. It's your typical "Deal with the Devil" story. But what I really liked about it was Milton himself, his chutzpah... There's also a bit of an inevitability, which I liked.
"Other Beryl" - I liked this story quite a bit, though it was the one with the most need of editing. I liked how we're thrown right into the midst of this man's fears for his safety, and as the details slowly come to light, it becomes clear that his concerns are valid, but too little and too late.
"Post" - This is my favorite of the lot, if only for the perspective and the confusion. It's not often that we see this perspective in this type of story, and usually when we do, it's a kind of romanticized version. The reader is supposed to understand before the main character does, which creates this sense of dread - though we're not quite sure who we're supposed to feel for yet. What does the memory signify, or will instinct take over? When the main character finally understands, it's over and done... But the ending switches perspective again, and restarts the dread cycle... This is possibly the shortest story in the collection, but it was well done.
"Kimmy's Not Welcome Here Anymore" - This was reminiscent of Stephen King's story "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band", though this one also had themes of coming of age, and recognizing when one needs to leave a toxic relationship behind to save oneself. Quite good, actually.
Overall, I did enjoy this little collection much more than I expected to. I'll be keeping my eye out for more from this author.
And then I read it, and found that it didn't.
There were some editing issues - a plethora of missing commas, mainly. Though there were some other little things I noticed, general editing clean up items such as improper capitalization, etc, they didn't really detract from the story as much as the absentee commas did. There's a big difference between "We have a basement, Detective," ("Detective" used here as a title in lieu of name, so it should be capitalized) and "We have a basement detective," which is what was in the text. The former advises the detective being spoken to that the speaker has a basement; the latter could be implying that there's a detective housed in the basement, or they staff a detective who specializes in basement work.... who knows?
But, editing aside, I quite liked the stories. They were short, but much longer, and they wouldn't have worked. All were contained in this gray zone of Info The Reader Doesn't Have, and it was good that way. We don't know what the creature in "Smoke" is - just that it's hungry and old, and its been crouching above the smoker's room at the office for a long, long time, feeding on the illness it can smell there. We don't know who - or what - the Other Beryl of the story is.
These stories are little snapshots in time - a format that I've come to discover I like more than a little bit - and around them is the void. The reader is left to fill in the whys and hows. The story is just the story and we live in that little bubble of time until it collapses with a popping noise. There's a little twist with each of the stories, and they weren't hard to spot, but still enjoyable.
"Smoke" - This one was a surprise to me, and sticks in my mind for a few reasons. First, because it was the first story in the book, and it grabbed my attention with the vague-but-vivid imagery. Second, it's not really a proper story, with a plot or anything, it just is... Much like what is described in the story. It's kind of like how poetry doesn't always have to rhyme, or that... stuff... called "free verse" (*shudder*), short stories can vary in their content and still be really good stories. Like this one.
"Milton Hobbs and the Price of Serenity" - This story was familiar, because it's been done many times before. It's your typical "Deal with the Devil" story. But what I really liked about it was Milton himself, his chutzpah... There's also a bit of an inevitability, which I liked.
"Other Beryl" - I liked this story quite a bit, though it was the one with the most need of editing. I liked how we're thrown right into the midst of this man's fears for his safety, and as the details slowly come to light, it becomes clear that his concerns are valid, but too little and too late.
"Post" - This is my favorite of the lot, if only for the perspective and the confusion. It's not often that we see this perspective in this type of story, and usually when we do, it's a kind of romanticized version. The reader is supposed to understand before the main character does, which creates this sense of dread - though we're not quite sure who we're supposed to feel for yet. What does the memory signify, or will instinct take over? When the main character finally understands, it's over and done... But the ending switches perspective again, and restarts the dread cycle... This is possibly the shortest story in the collection, but it was well done.
"Kimmy's Not Welcome Here Anymore" - This was reminiscent of Stephen King's story "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band", though this one also had themes of coming of age, and recognizing when one needs to leave a toxic relationship behind to save oneself. Quite good, actually.
Overall, I did enjoy this little collection much more than I expected to. I'll be keeping my eye out for more from this author.
December 14, 2019
I think that this book would be perfect for people new to horror. If you want to dip your toes into horror stories and have not been over-exposed to horror in film and television, I think that this book is a great choice; however, if you've read and seen a bit, it will most probably be too light for you.
The stories were good and written quite well. E. J. White knows how to spin a yarn and bring you into an interesting idea. I found the characters to be developed enough for the stories and that in general, the length of each story felt right to me. There are some editing issues with a couple of misplaced words and punctuation, but nothing that distracted me from the stories.
I'm going to note that for once, I found all the stories engaging. It's virtually a rule of short story collections that at least a few stories won't appeal to the reader, but I thought that all the tales in this book were interesting and worth reading.
If I were reading this for my own pleasure, I would give it three stars, but I've read a lot of horror and it's not this author's fault that I chose something more suited to newcomers to the genre. Again, if you're new to horror, this is a great place to begin. Highly recommended.
The stories were good and written quite well. E. J. White knows how to spin a yarn and bring you into an interesting idea. I found the characters to be developed enough for the stories and that in general, the length of each story felt right to me. There are some editing issues with a couple of misplaced words and punctuation, but nothing that distracted me from the stories.
I'm going to note that for once, I found all the stories engaging. It's virtually a rule of short story collections that at least a few stories won't appeal to the reader, but I thought that all the tales in this book were interesting and worth reading.
If I were reading this for my own pleasure, I would give it three stars, but I've read a lot of horror and it's not this author's fault that I chose something more suited to newcomers to the genre. Again, if you're new to horror, this is a great place to begin. Highly recommended.
September 6, 2019
First of all, let's get the comma issue out of the way.
Yes, some sentences would have needed some commas. But I've read many self-published books, and nobody seems to be taking commas seriously. So commas don't make it on my list of deal breakers.
But grammatical errors are a deal breaker, and this book doesn't really have any. The language flows nicely, and it really took me with it at times. I especially liked the descriptions of details in the scenes, which gave vividity and realism to the narration. I also enjoyed the seemingly effortless way in which the author communicates the emotions of her characters.
I found all the stories strong and the twist endings unpredictable. The book is short, and each story can be read in a couple of minutes, so I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a little bit of horror now and then.
Yes, some sentences would have needed some commas. But I've read many self-published books, and nobody seems to be taking commas seriously. So commas don't make it on my list of deal breakers.
But grammatical errors are a deal breaker, and this book doesn't really have any. The language flows nicely, and it really took me with it at times. I especially liked the descriptions of details in the scenes, which gave vividity and realism to the narration. I also enjoyed the seemingly effortless way in which the author communicates the emotions of her characters.
I found all the stories strong and the twist endings unpredictable. The book is short, and each story can be read in a couple of minutes, so I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a little bit of horror now and then.
June 27, 2023
Wow - Elinor Taylor (pen name E. J. More) writes some really dark stories. The trick is that her writing is excellent, the stories make you think, and you come back for more and more of them.
I recently “met” Taylor when I read The Balloon Hunter, a new book that she co-wrote with one of my favorite authors, Hugh Howey. That book led me to another, and another, and another.
Storms In Jars was published in 2012 but the five macabre stores contained in this book are timeless. In Smoke we have a lonely and hungry monster. Milton Hobbs and the Price of Serenity finds an alcoholic wanting his sobriety and liquor simultaneously. Other Beryl tells of an elderly man convinced his wife has been replaced by an imposter. Post focuses on a man injured and confused about what has happened to him. Kimmy’s Not Welcome Here Anymore is a tale of a young teen led astray by her best friend.
This is a short (104 page) book with stories that remind me of some of the best episodes from Twilight Zone and Outer Limits from back in the 1960s. Unlike Taylor’s microfiction stories, in her The Smallest of Sparks books, these short stories give her a little more room to weave her magic; and weave she does.
I was hooked from the first line of the first story; “It was two days since the creature had woken hungry.” In the second story it starts more slower and less dramatically. In the third Taylor peaks your interest with a questioning first line; “Are you still there, Detective?” The fourth story opens by giving us a glimpse of the storyline with “At first Zachary thought he’d had a stroke just like his grandma”. And in the fifth Taylor makes the topic clear with “Kimmy was the type of friend your mother wouldn’t have approved of.”
Scary stories have never been of much interest to me but Taylor has a way of making them a must read. It isn’t how frightening the story is but how much you can relate to her characters - both the monsters and the victims. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it!
I recently “met” Taylor when I read The Balloon Hunter, a new book that she co-wrote with one of my favorite authors, Hugh Howey. That book led me to another, and another, and another.
Storms In Jars was published in 2012 but the five macabre stores contained in this book are timeless. In Smoke we have a lonely and hungry monster. Milton Hobbs and the Price of Serenity finds an alcoholic wanting his sobriety and liquor simultaneously. Other Beryl tells of an elderly man convinced his wife has been replaced by an imposter. Post focuses on a man injured and confused about what has happened to him. Kimmy’s Not Welcome Here Anymore is a tale of a young teen led astray by her best friend.
This is a short (104 page) book with stories that remind me of some of the best episodes from Twilight Zone and Outer Limits from back in the 1960s. Unlike Taylor’s microfiction stories, in her The Smallest of Sparks books, these short stories give her a little more room to weave her magic; and weave she does.
I was hooked from the first line of the first story; “It was two days since the creature had woken hungry.” In the second story it starts more slower and less dramatically. In the third Taylor peaks your interest with a questioning first line; “Are you still there, Detective?” The fourth story opens by giving us a glimpse of the storyline with “At first Zachary thought he’d had a stroke just like his grandma”. And in the fifth Taylor makes the topic clear with “Kimmy was the type of friend your mother wouldn’t have approved of.”
Scary stories have never been of much interest to me but Taylor has a way of making them a must read. It isn’t how frightening the story is but how much you can relate to her characters - both the monsters and the victims. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it!
July 19, 2023
I was gifted a copy of this book today and found myself cooking dinner, book in hand, wanting to read more. A fabulous little collection of stories from a writer who shows great skill in weaving stories and guiding readers to the dark truth.
My favourite has to be Smoke, mostly because I felt sorry for the creature, despite its monstrosity.
As another reviewer said, there is a Twilight Zone kind of feel to the collection. I liked it, despite the fact that horror isn't a genre a read a lot of.
My favourite has to be Smoke, mostly because I felt sorry for the creature, despite its monstrosity.
As another reviewer said, there is a Twilight Zone kind of feel to the collection. I liked it, despite the fact that horror isn't a genre a read a lot of.
April 4, 2025
Short stories here. I didn't "get" one of them at all...but I enjoyed the others. A nice small volume.
June 30, 2013
Five dark tales. Five protagonists wanting their lives back, to go living, but restrained by the mores of society and experience--five storms in jars that just want break and move on, but can't.
Overall, this short collection is a wildly uneven affair, ranging from the less than interesting "Other Beryl" to the genuinely affecting "Kimmy's Not Welcome Here Anymore."
The best of the lot is the aforementioned "Kimmy"--a tale of teen angst and decisions we live to regret. It strikes the right chord of familiarity coupled with unexpected hostility.
"Smoke" is a wonderfully evocative, but maddeningly elusive tale of...something. I know I'll be reading it again.
"Post" puts a mild heart-tug on a familiar tale.
"Milton Hobbs and the Price of Serenity" and "Other Beryl" are generic tales with foreseeable twist endings and are underwhelming.
Still, I have to say I like Storms in Jar (especially the title).
Overall, this short collection is a wildly uneven affair, ranging from the less than interesting "Other Beryl" to the genuinely affecting "Kimmy's Not Welcome Here Anymore."
The best of the lot is the aforementioned "Kimmy"--a tale of teen angst and decisions we live to regret. It strikes the right chord of familiarity coupled with unexpected hostility.
"Smoke" is a wonderfully evocative, but maddeningly elusive tale of...something. I know I'll be reading it again.
"Post" puts a mild heart-tug on a familiar tale.
"Milton Hobbs and the Price of Serenity" and "Other Beryl" are generic tales with foreseeable twist endings and are underwhelming.
Still, I have to say I like Storms in Jar (especially the title).
June 24, 2013
My overall impression? This collection contains mostly moralistic Twilight Zone-style stories with twist endings, a story template that is currently out of fashion. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, or that I don't like that sort of thing. I do. Also, I think the bulk of the stories could use a bit of polish (for punctuation consistency, mainly), whereas others could use a bit more work. However, I found them to be mostly well-written and well-edited.
The strongest story in the collection is "Kelly's Not Welcome Here Anymore."
The strongest story in the collection is "Kelly's Not Welcome Here Anymore."
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews