Too Much: Tales of Excess

by Chuck Howe, Meg Tuite (Contributor), Michael Gillan Maxwell (Contributor)

An anthology about excess. Too Much is a great mix of new and established writers, telling us about that one time...

212 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2014

About the author

There are things about me you wouldn't understand, couldn't understand, shouldn't understand. I'm a loner, Dotty, a rebel...

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had some pretty high expectations going into this one given all I'd heard about it and all the writers I knew who participated, but I was impressed even beyond that. The pieces hang together well but hit all kinds of different perspectives on the core concept. Bottom line though is that there's some mighty fine writing here. The more I read the prouder I became that something I wrote got included. Of course, this review doesn't apply to my story. I never review my own stuff.

[Gabriel Ricard · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be included amongst so many great pieces and writers, it's kind of a big deal.

[Aaron Dietz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book tremendously. Some pieces I loved, some I skipped through a bit, and others I read with avid interest out of sheer curiosity. As an anthology it is pretty great--you will never like 100% of the pieces but if it offers pieces that you love by authors you weren't aware of before, it's done its job and this one did it for me.

I was pleasantly surprised by writers I hadn't read before like James H. Duncan who aptly recounts an experience visiting Jamaica, and I also enjoyed many writers I already knew, such as Gus Sanchez, who did a great job of creating suspense in detailing a tequila shot-drinking contest (as in, how many shots will he get down before he passes out?).

But my favorite pieces belong to Heather Dorn, who closes the book with a long riff of good poems (the selfie series is sweet!) that despite their number are never too much.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit biased I supposed as I have a piece in this anthology, but this is a great collection with a ton of hilarious and heartbreaking stories of excess, be it booze, sex, drugs, what have you. Worth a read for sure!!

[Robert Vaughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic anthology of prose and poems, edited by Chuck Howe and published by Smith's Unknown Press.