Elemental

by Stephanie Bretherton, Zena Barrie, Mark Bowsher

“Elemental is an exhilarating and enormously varied anthology of short stories from seventeen previously published authors. At times savage and riddling, at others gentle and profound, these tales deliver short, sharp shocks of literary brilliance.” Jude Cook, novelist and literary critic

From the ephemeral to the earth beneath our feet, from fire in the heavens to the water of life, from atoms and molecules to modern relationships, seventeen authors explore ‘the elements’ through the form of the short story.

Whether in the building blocks of the universe or the climatic conditions that sustain us, whether in the finer points of music and desire, or in the perfect conditions for creating wine and wonder, these are the fundamentals that shape who we are and how we live.

Playfully working with mystery and humour, poignancy and myth, futurism and the ancient past, the magic of fiction has the power to enlighten a deeper sense of truth.

***Why not enjoy some entertaining, dip-in-and-out reading and discover a diverse range of talented authors you may not have come across before? Short story anthologies also make great gifts for the readers in your life!***

Contributors: Zena Barrie, Mark Bowsher, Stephanie Bretherton, Jamie Chipperfield, Sue Clark, Jason Cobley, Stevyn Colgan, Samuel Dodson, Elena Kaufman, A,B. Kyazze, Pete Langman, Virginia Moffatt, Ivy Ngeow, Penny Pepper, Eamon Somers, Nicole Swengley, Damon Wakes

171 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 26, 2024

About the author

Born in Hong Kong to a pair of Liverpudlians (and something of a nomad ever since), Stephanie is based in London but manages her sanity by escaping to any kind of coast. Before returning to her first love of writing fiction, Stephanie spent many years pursuing alternative forms of storytelling, from stage to screen and media to marketing. Meanwhile, an enduring love affair with words has led her down many a wormhole on the written page. Drawn to what connects rather than separates, Stephanie has channeled a lifelong curiosity for science, history and spirituality into her debut novel, Bone Lines, and into short stories, poems and various works in progress. This includes ideas for the continuation of the Children of Sarah series, of which Bone Lines is the first story.

Reviews

[Fatguyreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elemental is the third book of short stories from Breakthrough Book Collective ( the first two which I have also read being Order and Chaos and Taking Liberties ), and again, a fantastic job has been done.

It's a collection of 17 thought provoking short stories, each themed around the elements, a few I particularly enjoyed were "Grape Expectations" by Ivy Ngeow, "Everything Is Made Of Spoil" by Zena Barrie and The Elements Of Style" by Samuel Dodson.

But all in all, I throughly enjoyed all 17 short stories. It's a book that can be dipped in and out of, but I read it in two sittings.

The stories are very varied, and all truly entertaining and well written from 17 obviously immensely talented authors.

There's humour, there's mystery, there's sadness. You'll laugh, you might even cry.

Be sure to pick up your copy to enjoy this excellent collection.

And with Christmas coming up, this would also make a great gift for the readers in your life.

5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.

[Emily Pankhurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was made up of 17 short stories, each being a unique take on an element. It was very interesting to see how each author made a story from an element. Some of them required more thinking than others, but all of them gave you pause for thought in one way or another.

Each story was a good length to read inbetween doing other things. The stories were all open ended, giving you as the reader the opportunity to finish it as you wished. This technique added to the overall thought provoking experience. 

Some of the stories did have splits in them, but as a whole it was one chapter, one story. It was up to you to decide which element that story related to. 

The characters that were involved in the stories were all good and I wouldn't mind reading more about them. I was sad when some of the stories ended because I just wanted to keep on reading them! 

Each story had a good amount of detail that balanced well with the story that was being told. Nothing was overbearing as I got fully immersed in each story. 

Overall a good collection of thought provoking stories that were great for dipping in and out of.

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology has an imaginative theme with all the seventeen individual stories blended around an ‘element’. All the writers who have contributed to this set of stories have their own sense of style and whilst I won’t single out any story for particular praise, I will say that I found much to enjoy in all of them. It’s an easy book to dip into and out of which is I what enjoyed most and found that I finished it, quite easily, in a couple of sittings.

I sometimes think that short stories can occasionally miss the spot but it’s not so with this collection which showcases a talented bunch of writers who certainly bring skill to their stories. The writing is good, and each thought provoking story is imaginatively described, I’ve enjoyed reading them.