Dopamine Hole: Stories

by Josh Czuba

203 pages, Paperback

Published December 12, 2025

Reviews

[Cameron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this collection of short stories more than the execution. The impact our digital habits are having on us is a fascinating topic, but these stories often felt shallow. I found myself wanting more and never connected to the characters or stories.

I hope he continues to write and refine his craft as I realize this is a debut.

[Priyaanka Arora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading these stories. My favourite was Lorenzo, Aquarium - it was so immersive and balanced absurdity and realism with humor. When he told his boss he works at the aquarium now.. 🤣

I like that the book doesn’t take itself too seriously and I like that every single story was primarily a story: it had something to say but it also had a story to tell.

The main criticism I have is that I heard the same “voice” across many or most of the stories. Would benefit from changing that up, as it feels a bit repetitive like I’m reading a montage of one person’s (crazy) life.

Ironically, the book got me to put my damn phone down and read a physical book. It was reminiscent of reading Uncanny by Paul Jennings as a child. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and would read more from this author.

[Zeke L · Rating 2 out of 5]

These work a lot better as visual projects - without narration the style is extremely grating.

[Naveen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a promising debut from Josh Czuba, primarily known for his short-form content focused on reclaiming focus, attention, and passion in a society where technology and distraction dominates. When his content pivoted more towards his own writing, a book (or at least anthology collection) seemed inevitable—and here we are. The back of the book is a reasonably accurate disclaimer. This collection of stories truly feels like a fever dream, written with experimentation and uniqueness, presenting surreal depictions of questionable characters in the modern world.

My ratings for the individual stories are:
- House Fire: 4/5
- Lorenzo, Aquarium: 3/5
- Carnivore Diet: 3.5/5
- Closers: 3.5/5
- The Suburbs: 4/5
- Phantom Pain: 2/5
- No Returns: 3/5
- The Perfect Girl: 3/5
- Sight Unseen: 3/5
- Academic Integrity: 4.5/5
- AssassiNation: 2/5 (this feels written in poor taste given recent events)
- Third Grade: 3/5
- Dopamine Hole: 2.5/5

I appreciate the experimentation with the narratives and the typography across the collection. The use of varying font weights, styles, and sizes differentiates this anthology from other novels, let alone short story collections. The stories benefit from the non-standard choices, save for a few exceptions, and they help the reader to engage with the material, resulting in memorable tales that linger in the mind.

What I dislike about most of the stories is their lack of closure. In Czuba's defense, he does say that this collection "throws you into a fever dream and leaves you to fend for yourself," and dreams are notorious for being confusing or not making any sense at all. However, how rigidly can one stand by this? I am partial to short stories that wrap up the majority of loose threads and present some kind of resolution, even if they do not address every question and end in an unsatisfactory way. When there's such little material to work with, careful consideration needs to be made so that the final tale still has something meaningful to say, otherwise an author runs the risk of writing flowery, vivid descriptions that lead nowhere.

Vivid descriptions and striking imagery are probably Czuba's strongest traits; they are on full display here. It was easy to visualize the situations being described (some of which were quite unsavoury) as I read each story and I was immersed in the longer stories.

In conclusion, I am happy that I took a chance on this. Not everything was to my liking, but I can see the makings of a fantastic author here and I look forward to future publications from Josh Czuba. I would like to see how he handles a full-length novel with more plot threads to follow and eventually resolve.

Also, the cover is fantastic! It's a great addition to any book collection.