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Voices, Old & New
Voices, Old & New is a collection of short stories featuring the very best submissions from Indireads’ 2nd Short Story Competition 2014.
- GenresAnthologiesIndia
252 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 15, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 11, 2015
For the first time ever, a Summary of the book doesn’t gloss up or exaggerate the contents. ‘Voices, Old & New’ is exactly what it promises to be – a fantastic collection of short stories. There can be no other explanation for it. Never has a book of short stories impressed me so much as this one! The language and the editing – complete with the grammar, are perfect, and it is a real treat to read such beautifully written stories. Easily, this tops ALL the Indireads books I have read so far.
Now for the review – how do I write the reviews for the book of short stories that requires special attention and special mentions for each and every story? Do I elaborate on the minute details of every story and write a review that is as long as the book? Or write a review of stories that affected me specially? For the sake of brevity in the review, I have decided to choose the few stories that affected me the most. These are not necessarily the most popular or this doesn’t mean the other stories are in any way lesser – these are the stories that left a lasting imprint in the mind of THIS reviewer.
Boomerang – well, fitting twist, excellent start to an amazing book, though it is dark! Brings out the perils of online chatting and what might come out of it – with an unusual twist. Ruchi Singh, ma’am, hats off!
Revenge – how can short phrases make a story so complete? I was initially left searching for the rest of the story before I realised that this is the perfect ‘short story’. *smile emoticon*
A Slave to Thee – Okay, this was the story that ‘totally’ threw me off guard. The most quirky of this set, in my opinion! And so is the ending. John Sequeira, please give us more such stories!
Prejudice – another gem. It talks about a doctor who gets her opinion corrected by a common girl, twice. A real treat!
The Ballet Lesson – Reverence. Ray-vay-rahnss. (You have to read the story to get this reference!)
The Message – paranormal at its best.
Between Him and Her – Forbidden but still enticing. The extreme gentleness of unattainable love!
Meeting By Arrangement – serendipity. That is the best word to describe this story.
Only You – ‘Promise’ will become the new ‘Always’ to some Harry Potter fans reading this story!
SPECIAL MENTION:
To author Farida Rahman for giving some thought provoking stories! I really loved reading them.
To Sabahat Muhammad – for an excellent cover design! I have never seen a more fitting cover for a book!
WHAT I LIKED: Everything – almost.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER: As is expected, there are some stories I feel are lacking in certain elements. But even those stories have that charm. So no real complaints!
VERDICT: Don’t miss it! Go for it, definitely.
For complete review, visit http://readmuse.blogspot.in/2015/01/v...
Now for the review – how do I write the reviews for the book of short stories that requires special attention and special mentions for each and every story? Do I elaborate on the minute details of every story and write a review that is as long as the book? Or write a review of stories that affected me specially? For the sake of brevity in the review, I have decided to choose the few stories that affected me the most. These are not necessarily the most popular or this doesn’t mean the other stories are in any way lesser – these are the stories that left a lasting imprint in the mind of THIS reviewer.
Boomerang – well, fitting twist, excellent start to an amazing book, though it is dark! Brings out the perils of online chatting and what might come out of it – with an unusual twist. Ruchi Singh, ma’am, hats off!
Revenge – how can short phrases make a story so complete? I was initially left searching for the rest of the story before I realised that this is the perfect ‘short story’. *smile emoticon*
A Slave to Thee – Okay, this was the story that ‘totally’ threw me off guard. The most quirky of this set, in my opinion! And so is the ending. John Sequeira, please give us more such stories!
Prejudice – another gem. It talks about a doctor who gets her opinion corrected by a common girl, twice. A real treat!
The Ballet Lesson – Reverence. Ray-vay-rahnss. (You have to read the story to get this reference!)
The Message – paranormal at its best.
Between Him and Her – Forbidden but still enticing. The extreme gentleness of unattainable love!
Meeting By Arrangement – serendipity. That is the best word to describe this story.
Only You – ‘Promise’ will become the new ‘Always’ to some Harry Potter fans reading this story!
SPECIAL MENTION:
To author Farida Rahman for giving some thought provoking stories! I really loved reading them.
To Sabahat Muhammad – for an excellent cover design! I have never seen a more fitting cover for a book!
WHAT I LIKED: Everything – almost.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER: As is expected, there are some stories I feel are lacking in certain elements. But even those stories have that charm. So no real complaints!
VERDICT: Don’t miss it! Go for it, definitely.
For complete review, visit http://readmuse.blogspot.in/2015/01/v...
February 23, 2015
It was interesting and eye opening to read this book. Aptly named Voices, it brought to me the voices of a variety of authors. Some were suave, some raw but all very straight from the heart and that made me realise that after all, though we place such an emphasis on editing and story structure, what we look for in stories, are ideas. Thanks Naheed, Indireads for bringing those into focus. The presentation is superb, the sectioning into categories and the recommended reads makes for easy picking.
About the stories, I didn't read the paranormal section so won't comment on that. The thrillers made me wonder the same thing as I usually do while watching the bashing so prevalent in Bollywood flicks these days - why have people become so blood thirsty? The stories I most appreciated are The Ballet, Meeting by Arrangement, Only You and The Difference. Since I'm a romance junkie, it's not surprising that most of my picks are from the romance section, so other authors shouldn't mind *smile*
I'm glad I downloaded this collection.
About the stories, I didn't read the paranormal section so won't comment on that. The thrillers made me wonder the same thing as I usually do while watching the bashing so prevalent in Bollywood flicks these days - why have people become so blood thirsty? The stories I most appreciated are The Ballet, Meeting by Arrangement, Only You and The Difference. Since I'm a romance junkie, it's not surprising that most of my picks are from the romance section, so other authors shouldn't mind *smile*
I'm glad I downloaded this collection.
August 14, 2017
Voices New and Old – A fine collection of 26 short stories complied by Indireads. All the stories were good; some of the stories had rare mysterious ending, some tad boring, some like an abstract painting – kept me wondering and confused. Categorizing the stories under various genres was a good approach and will help the readers to pick their favorite segment. I particularly liked the Romance section as a good number of the stories where refreshing, believable, bold and out of the box. A special mention of a thought provoking story For Heaven’s Sake - Why? by Farida Rahman.
January 23, 2015
An anthology of stories should tell about the spring of the life as well as the winter, it should present the tears as well as joy. At the same time it should explore life from different perspective. From this viewpoint ‘Voices old and new’ is a perfect collection.
This collection of stories presents all auras of life-may it be good, bad or ugly. The book consists of twenty six stories of different genre proudly marching ahead, presenting different shades of life.
The first thing you are going to notice is the cover-where an old transistor set peacefully coexist with the latest touch screen Smartphone-both old and the new have their places under the blue sky.
The first story of the collection is ‘Boomerang’. A spoiled teen is on his way to cyber chatting, cyber dating and ultimately cyber netting of girls-some fake pictures doing the trick and then some intimating talks in the virtual world let the girl flies fall in his trap. When he ultimately meets the girl in real world she discovers with horror that he is a different guy altogether-who can resort to threat of blackmailing and more for his lust. But have he ever imagined that the screw can turn on him?
Nobody gets prepared for the climax to the story. It is a crude description of things that happened with the boy. The twist in the tale presents a shock to the reader for which he was not mentally prepared. The conclusion of the story is memorable, too.
READ THE COMPLETE REVIEW AT
https://eokhardahreview.wordpress.com...
This collection of stories presents all auras of life-may it be good, bad or ugly. The book consists of twenty six stories of different genre proudly marching ahead, presenting different shades of life.
The first thing you are going to notice is the cover-where an old transistor set peacefully coexist with the latest touch screen Smartphone-both old and the new have their places under the blue sky.
The first story of the collection is ‘Boomerang’. A spoiled teen is on his way to cyber chatting, cyber dating and ultimately cyber netting of girls-some fake pictures doing the trick and then some intimating talks in the virtual world let the girl flies fall in his trap. When he ultimately meets the girl in real world she discovers with horror that he is a different guy altogether-who can resort to threat of blackmailing and more for his lust. But have he ever imagined that the screw can turn on him?
Nobody gets prepared for the climax to the story. It is a crude description of things that happened with the boy. The twist in the tale presents a shock to the reader for which he was not mentally prepared. The conclusion of the story is memorable, too.
READ THE COMPLETE REVIEW AT
https://eokhardahreview.wordpress.com...
January 28, 2015
I loved some of the stories so much; they have left an impression on me, like an after-taste that lingers after a sumptuous meal.
The beauty of the story The Ballet Lesson which unfolds during a ballet; the simplicity of The Talk; the enormity of a person's grief in The Last Thread , the absolute horror I felt reading Where Darkness Reigns, the sweet feeling of happiness which is bestowed on the deserving person in the Only You; the to-the -point and deep Revenge, the haunting and shocking Within; the cruel punishment in the Boomerang ; the sweet and innocent romance in The Difference ; the oh-so –sweet Meeting By Arrangement are my absolute favourites.
The anthology in no way is boring. All the above stories and the others , bring their own flavor to the book making it, like I already said, a very sumptuous meal!
Read more here...
http://beeafteryou.com/voices-old-and...
The beauty of the story The Ballet Lesson which unfolds during a ballet; the simplicity of The Talk; the enormity of a person's grief in The Last Thread , the absolute horror I felt reading Where Darkness Reigns, the sweet feeling of happiness which is bestowed on the deserving person in the Only You; the to-the -point and deep Revenge, the haunting and shocking Within; the cruel punishment in the Boomerang ; the sweet and innocent romance in The Difference ; the oh-so –sweet Meeting By Arrangement are my absolute favourites.
The anthology in no way is boring. All the above stories and the others , bring their own flavor to the book making it, like I already said, a very sumptuous meal!
Read more here...
http://beeafteryou.com/voices-old-and...
February 10, 2015
Voices, Old & New is a collection of short stories by various Indireads authors.The stories are of different genres and lengths so you never know what you will find as you turn the page and go to the next story.Some of the stories were very well written and left a lasting impression on me .Some of them were too short and over before I had gotten my head around what was going on but overall,I loved the collection and enjoyed the whole book.All the stories stand alone and share no connection with each other.
The genres were Romance,Crime and Mystery, Drama and Paranormal and we had almost six stories in each genre.Read More
The genres were Romance,Crime and Mystery, Drama and Paranormal and we had almost six stories in each genre.Read More
July 31, 2016
Nice lit journal with a wide range of excellent writing in various genres. I especially enjoyed "Meeting by Arrangement" by Maria Perry Mohan. Not a single wasted word, the story is full of wonderful sensory details and the fresh scent of India.
April 22, 2015
Hi this a compressed review of the book. Click on the link for full review:
https://vishalbheeroo.wordpress.com/2...
First of all, I wish to thank Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan who sent a copy to me after I made a request. A big thank you to all the authors for the effort in the making of the book and, of course Indireads who are encouraging authors who write Asian stories. I apologize for putting the review quite late due to time constraint.
The best thing about collection of short stories or what is called in new modern, literature parlance 'Anthology' is a journey depicting various expression and colors of life. Some stay with you for a long time, some provide moments of longing to enjoy the memory of a fling and the rest is a blissful experience. 26 Stories by 26 different authors in Voices, Old & New finding expression in Crime and Mystery, Drama, Paranormal and Romance. At one glance: Voices, Old & New is an experience, poetic and at times lyrical voices that finds echo with your literary sense making it an unforgettable experience. An attempt by the talented writers to explore the fear of the unknown, exploring the sensitivity of human relationships or theory of relativity and, of course, romance that shines through all seasons.
Final Words:
Voices, Old & New is a beautiful journey, exploring the different facets of humans and their world. 26 stories that is sure to win your hearts and make short stories the new genre of novel-writing. The anthology evolves at quick pace where talented writers whose narratives explores the sensitive and crazy side of life is sure to win your hearts. The book is a gem where all the stories not only entertain but brings to the forth the sensitive side and subjects that are deeply explored. Honestly speaking, I can't point out at weakness in the selection of short stories and perhaps the only is that the makers robbed me the pleasure of finding faults. Not a dull moment. Voices, Old & New is a must read and must buy. Great initiative by Indireads. It's a compilation of best short stories from winners and finalists of the Indireads second Short Story Competition 2014.
https://vishalbheeroo.wordpress.com/2...
First of all, I wish to thank Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan who sent a copy to me after I made a request. A big thank you to all the authors for the effort in the making of the book and, of course Indireads who are encouraging authors who write Asian stories. I apologize for putting the review quite late due to time constraint.
The best thing about collection of short stories or what is called in new modern, literature parlance 'Anthology' is a journey depicting various expression and colors of life. Some stay with you for a long time, some provide moments of longing to enjoy the memory of a fling and the rest is a blissful experience. 26 Stories by 26 different authors in Voices, Old & New finding expression in Crime and Mystery, Drama, Paranormal and Romance. At one glance: Voices, Old & New is an experience, poetic and at times lyrical voices that finds echo with your literary sense making it an unforgettable experience. An attempt by the talented writers to explore the fear of the unknown, exploring the sensitivity of human relationships or theory of relativity and, of course, romance that shines through all seasons.
Final Words:
Voices, Old & New is a beautiful journey, exploring the different facets of humans and their world. 26 stories that is sure to win your hearts and make short stories the new genre of novel-writing. The anthology evolves at quick pace where talented writers whose narratives explores the sensitive and crazy side of life is sure to win your hearts. The book is a gem where all the stories not only entertain but brings to the forth the sensitive side and subjects that are deeply explored. Honestly speaking, I can't point out at weakness in the selection of short stories and perhaps the only is that the makers robbed me the pleasure of finding faults. Not a dull moment. Voices, Old & New is a must read and must buy. Great initiative by Indireads. It's a compilation of best short stories from winners and finalists of the Indireads second Short Story Competition 2014.
February 22, 2015
A beautiful collection of stories categorized according to their genres, so I could choose which story I wanted to read depending on my mood. The stories are filled with surprises of twists and turns. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and quite sad at times to see some stories so short.
February 10, 2015
This is a collection of short stories by Indireads. All the stories are very well written. The stories are of all genres, so you don't get bored reading it.
February 3, 2016
Rating Edit: 3.5 stars
Voices, Old & New is a collection of 26 short stories, featuring stories across 4 genres - Crime/Mystery, Drama, Paranormal, and Romance.
Normally, I don’t go in for short story collections; no particular reason, just prefer full-length books.
So this book happens to be the very first anthology that I have read. Which is why, going in, I did not have any expectations or preconceived notions.
Okay, that is not completely true. While I did have an open mind, I was looking forward to mainly reading stories from the genre of Crime/Mystery and Romance. Interestingly, after reading the book, the two genres that I found the most engaging stories in were - Drama and Paranormal.
If I had to pick only one, the segment I liked the most is Paranormal, which is surprising, even to me. Mostly because, I don’t read that much paranormal (if at all), but these stories have made me do a re-think about the genre as a whole, and I am certainly going to look up more full-length books in this genre.
Coming to the stories in this book - most of the stories are well written; some experiment with existing ideas, and give the readers a new lens to view those familiar themes from, which I found especially interesting.
Listing some of my favorites stories in this book-
Crime & Mystery
Boomerang by Ruchi Singh
Within by Ada Wiam
Drama
Prejudice by Shivani Shourie
The Ballet Lesson by Roshan Radhakrishnan
The Outsider by Sanjay Madhavan
Paranormal
A Night at the Temple of Circe by TF Carthick
The Message by Sid Balachandran
Overall
Indireads has included a good mix of stories; the variety held my interest. I would recommend this book solely on the basis of the stories that I mentioned above. They alone make it worth the read. But there are some other lovely stories in this book too (especially in Drama & Paranormal), which many may enjoy.
Disclaimer: I got this book as a free gift for subscribing to the Indireads newsletter.
Find more book reviews @ www.shanayatales.com
Voices, Old & New is a collection of 26 short stories, featuring stories across 4 genres - Crime/Mystery, Drama, Paranormal, and Romance.
Normally, I don’t go in for short story collections; no particular reason, just prefer full-length books.
So this book happens to be the very first anthology that I have read. Which is why, going in, I did not have any expectations or preconceived notions.
Okay, that is not completely true. While I did have an open mind, I was looking forward to mainly reading stories from the genre of Crime/Mystery and Romance. Interestingly, after reading the book, the two genres that I found the most engaging stories in were - Drama and Paranormal.
If I had to pick only one, the segment I liked the most is Paranormal, which is surprising, even to me. Mostly because, I don’t read that much paranormal (if at all), but these stories have made me do a re-think about the genre as a whole, and I am certainly going to look up more full-length books in this genre.
Coming to the stories in this book - most of the stories are well written; some experiment with existing ideas, and give the readers a new lens to view those familiar themes from, which I found especially interesting.
Listing some of my favorites stories in this book-
Crime & Mystery
Boomerang by Ruchi Singh
Within by Ada Wiam
Drama
Prejudice by Shivani Shourie
The Ballet Lesson by Roshan Radhakrishnan
The Outsider by Sanjay Madhavan
Paranormal
A Night at the Temple of Circe by TF Carthick
The Message by Sid Balachandran
Overall
Indireads has included a good mix of stories; the variety held my interest. I would recommend this book solely on the basis of the stories that I mentioned above. They alone make it worth the read. But there are some other lovely stories in this book too (especially in Drama & Paranormal), which many may enjoy.
Disclaimer: I got this book as a free gift for subscribing to the Indireads newsletter.
Find more book reviews @ www.shanayatales.com
March 15, 2017
Nice collection of short stories of various genre...romance, paranormal, drama, crime and mystery. Nice collection of short stories by Indireads authors. Some stories are heart touching, some soul touching. each story of each genre holds a unique story with a message within which leaves the reader spell bound and thoughtful after each story.
Enjoyed reading the stories, each and every one of them... Nice worth n definitely a good and must read and keep too.
Enjoyed reading the stories, each and every one of them... Nice worth n definitely a good and must read and keep too.
August 30, 2015
A beautiful anthology. All stories were pleasant reads. My personal favorites were 'seven forty two ' and 'Keep the lid on'.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews