Words to live Never steal from a drunk in the woods.
An epic and sudden blizzard is blanketing Mount Tom Regional High School . . . in October. A dangerous man is stalking the hallways, and three teens harbor a secret that may get everyone killed if they don't figure out how to stop the snow and the rampage.
Epic Award nominated author Howard Odentz is the author of the Dead (A Lot) Trilogy (zombie apocalypse), the stand-alone horror novel Bloody Bloody Apple , and the short story collection Little Killers A to Z .
Author and playwright Howard Odentz is a life-long resident of the gray area between Western Massachusetts and North Central Connecticut. His love of the region is evident in his writing as he often incorporates the small towns of the Bay and Nutmeg States into his work.
The mysterious has always played a major role in Howard's writing. He is endlessly fascinated by the psychological aspects of those who are thrown into thrilling or otherworldly circumstances.
“I like writing about my part of the world,” he says. “After all, this is New England. There’s more than enough paranormal activity here to keep me inspired for years to come.”
This is a really good short horror story. I wasn't sure where it was leading, but I was enjoying the ride. This is what I call fun horror, with a great unexpected ending! Great winter read!
Nothing better than reading this book a second time!!
Back in 2011, we had a banner year for weather here in western Massachusetts. We had an extremely rare tornado which tore through a few nearby towns in June. Then, in October, a few days before Halloween we had a freak snowstorm with thunder snow and lots of ice. (We had no power for over a week.) I wonder if that storm influenced this story?
There's always a certain amount of fun in reading a story set in a place with which you're familiar. One night in mid October, a group of school kids looking for some marijuana end up in the woods. They find a drunk man and an abandoned sack which contains, guess what? Weed! Of course, they take it and off they went.
The next day in detention, it begins snowing at an unnatural rate of speed and a man turns up looking for his sack. What happens next? You'll have to read this short story to find out!
Actually read on the plane home from Sydney to Melbourne on 14/1/2018, but GR's read date bug won't let me change the dates to reflect that, putting it here for future reference.
21/1 - I didn't enjoy this, it was too juvenile and the MCs were too stupid for me. I know, they're marijuana-smoking teenagers, but I still expected a bit more intelligence from them and much better dialogue from an author with six books to his name.
28% - 'Jackie wasn't deterred. She stepped up and over the felled tree. "Come on," she said. "If someone's dead I wanna see." Danny snorted. "This from the girl who got us all detention because she wouldn't dissect a frog." "Yeah, so," she shot back. "Frogs are all oogy and stuff." Danny and I looked at each other and shrugged because she had a point.'
So, dead and probably rotting and stinky bodies aren't 'oogy'?
41% - 'He wasn't a kid at all. He was a man, and he wasn't even all that young. He had thick white hair and scraggly face scruff. How he ever managed to slip into Ms. Balsam's detention unnoticed, wearing our clothes and acting like one of us, was totally insane. Suddenly my blood ran cold. Crap. Was he a narc? Was he here to bust the three of us for pot or to haul Lilly Scalia down to the police station for being so stupid?'
Is that meant to be funny!? What a stupid line!!
59% - 'What did the guy mean when he said it wouldn’t stop until he had his bag back?'
Don't the words kind of speak for themselves? What other meaning could be gleaned from what he said?
63% - '"There's a door at the back of the library,” I blurted out. Both Danny and Jackie stared at me blankly. I shook my head. “It’s the big room with all the books in it."'
That's just terrible dialogue!!! I don't care how little these kids study (or how much weed is clouding their brains), there's no way they wouldn't know what a library is or even where on the campus it's located.
71% - 'Seeing outside made my head hurt. I didn't understand what was going on. Where was all the grass?'
OMG!! So what's happening is that supernatural forces have caused an October blizzard and everything is covered with snow, including the grass that whatshisname up there is finding so mystifying. Is this an argument for the idea that marijuana kills brain cells?
84% - 'There was nothing to say. There was nothing to do. We were trapped with no way out, and he had a very, very big whip. "My bag, chickens," he roared. "Where is it?"'
Really?! He called them 'chickens'? That's so unlikely considering the context and his previous behaviour (including the lopping of a teenage girl's ear).
There were other instances of awkward dialogue, stilted writing, 'bare' instead of 'bear', but I decided that half an hour was enough time to spend on this review so that's it from me. I would have to get a five star recommendation from a trusted friend before reading another Odentz book.
When a group of kids stumble upon a drunk in the woods, they find just what they were looking for in his bag so they take it and run. The next day while they’re in detention at school, it begins to snow and it quickly turns into a blizzard - this wouldn’t be so strange except it’s the middle of October. Then the man from the previous day appears and he’s a whole lot more sober and a great deal more dangerous. He informs them that, unless they return his bag, it won’t stop snowing and that’s the easy part. The school has been locked down and he has helpers who may be little but they’re very very capable of inflicting pain should the boss’ demands not be met.
Snow by author Howard Odentz is a short story, something I am not usually a fan of. However, this one is a horror tale with a bit of humour and a great twist at the end. Fun seasonal tale that works all year round.
3.5
Thanks to Netgalley and Bell Bridge Books for the opportunity to read this story in exchange for an honest review
OMG - this is one crazy @$$, horror, x-mas holiday short story! (34 pgs) Kinda funny in some parts as it centers around snarky teenagers in high school. Definitely a change of pace from what I usually read! Wow.
This was a very short quick read with a winter theme. Pretty creepy and fun. I also like that it has a very positively treated queer teen character. All of the main characters are teenagers and could have been a little bit better developed, but I'll forgive it since it was a very fast reading short. All in all, a fun fast read.
This was such a fast paced read, and I'll admit I had no idea where it was going at first. A wild ride, with a relate-able narrator and a voice that felt realistic. I wasn't sure where it was going, but as quickly as it was getting there I had no choice but to hang on for dear life. Suspenseful to the end, the twist had me laughing out loud and immediately texting my friends to give it a try. Definitely worth a one click, and I can't wait to read longer works by this author! ~ George, 4 Stars
This was a fun quick read pretty well paced and keeps you guessing until the end. The overall message don't take a drunks bag lol. Good quick read I'd recommend it.
This is one of those tales where it’s best to avoid all spoilers in advance. Yes, some readers might figure out the twist ahead of time, but I’d hope that everyone else would allow themselves to be surprised if possible. There is something to be said for that in my opinion, especially when reading an author who has taken as many creative liberties with his subject matter as Mr. Odentz has. He did an excellent job of providing a few clues early on without totally giving it all away, and I enjoyed the process of seeing if my first impressions of what I was about to read were correct.
I was disappointed by the way the ending fizzled out. The beginning and middle were so strong that I went into the final scene expecting the same sort of pacing and plot twists. There was so much more the author could have done with those pages, and I would have happily gone with a much higher rating if he’d taken his premise to its logical conclusion.
All of the main characters were bored teenagers who regularly used various substances and refused to obey authority figures. I struggled to relate to them due to how wild they were and how often they tested the boundaries of everyone around them, but I also thought they were accurate depictions of the sort of teens who make these types of life choices. Not every character is going to be lovably and cuddly, after all, and it was interesting to see how they reacted once the dangerous man arrived at their school.
Snow by Howard Odentz is as near perfect a short story as I have ever read. It occurred to me at one-third of the way into the story that every paragraph served a purpose. There were no wasted words. Each paragraph enticed the reader to go on to the next one. There was no sense of an author writing, “Oh, I forgot to mention this so I will explain things in the next couple of paragraphs.” This story charged forward at a very aggressive fast pace and then rewarded the reader with a nice surprise at the end. Many readers might figure out what was coming at the 90% point but if they don’t, the surprise is clever and twisted. Best of all, the price on Amazon is USD 0.00. I gave this novel five Amazon stars and will certainly download his longer novels, even the one with the weird price of USD 3.03.
Other than an interesting, bizarre, and twisted story, the Odentz use of language also captures reader attention. At times it requires reflection to parse meaning. In contrast, there is dialogue that appears “normal” which is hilarious in context because a reader won’t expect it at the point in the story where it appears. Here is a difficult to parse sentence:
“I needed it (flashlight) if I was going to go spelunking in The Toke and Blow in search of a guy who could understandably murder us on the spot for committing coitus interruptus in search of a bone.” (Kindle Locations 110-112).
I look for stories I can use in my English as a Second Language university class. I can not estimate the time it would take me to explain the above.
Here is a passage I found hilarious:
“THERE’S A DOOR at the back of the library,” I blurted out. Both Danny and Jackie stared at me blankly. I shook my head. “It’s the big room with all the books in it.” (Kindle Locations 387-389).
It would be difficult to find a more unlikely group of misfits existing as close friends while in high school. Tyler seems to be normal and acts as defacto leader although each of the other two might depose him depending on the situation. Jackie, a boy trapped in a girl’s body, took the lead when refusing to dissect a frog. That caused the Terrible Trio to experience Saturday detention because all laughed as Jackie assigned a new name to the Biology teacher. The three decided the Friday night before Saturday detention was a good time to get stoned as a type of preparation for the punishment to come. During the Friday festivities Tyler was the leader. Danny was never a leader but he did find the smokables and it was his actions that drive the story plot.
I consider this 34-page short story suitable for the YA genre. The Amazon page for this story does not list it as that way. Perhaps the language used to depict of Jackie’s sexuality (confirmed lesbian) Danny’s sexuality (confirmed gay) and Tyler’s sexuality (not into boys anymore) was too direct for the PC (Political Correctness) police. My question is always, “Will I let my 15-year-old son read it?” I will recommend he read it as a condition of getting more time on his PC (Personal Computer). This is good storytelling and writing.
A funny and cleverly twisted short story best to be enjoyed in December. When a bunch of kids find a bag with weed in the woods, they think they are in for an early Christmas treat. However, the next day during detention class some mysterious guy appears, demanding back his bag - little do they know he is not after the weed at all, and he is very angry! I didn't see that coming!
A good little story with a surprising twist at the end that makes you think. Great character building in such a short space, and vivid scenery... read it!
I bought "Snow" as a short story to help read myself into Christmas. Even though it's set in October, it is a Christmas-related story albeit in an unconventional way.
I won't go into to the story, other than to say that it involves some teens doing things they shouldn't, a big bad who is a threat to them and some snow. Although the opening sentence reads:
"The night my friends and I almost triggered the next ice age, I was with Danny McDermott and Jackie Kagan"
I didn't feel any real sense of threat in this story and certainly nothing that meant anything to anyone except some high school kids with a lot of growing up still to do.
The writing is slick and skilful. The pace is fast. The idea is novel. It's a good goosebumps story to tell around a campfire.
But mostly what it is is disappointing. It fizzles out rather than ends. It never gets beyond a cartoon view of the world. This idea, in the hands of King or Simmons, might have been chilling. In Odentz's hands, it's a draft for pitching an episode in a teen high school drama.
Bell Bridge Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Snow. This is my honest opinion of the book.
Getting detention on a Saturday is unbearable, so Tyler, Danny, and Jackie decide to drive around, looking for something to smoke that would take the edge off. Coming across something promising in the woods, they take the item, which unknowingly triggers an event that the three could not have predicted.
Snow is a delightfully twisted tale and, although short, features an interesting premise and complete characters. The author crafted a good horror story out of few pages and I would very much like to see what he can accomplish in a full novel. I would definitely recommend this novella to other readers and look forward to more by Howard Odentz in the future.
This was a fun short horror story. I had read Bones, another short horror story by Howard Odentz and liked it so thought I'd try this one. It was different in that I really had no idea where it was going. The story starts with a group of high school kids looking for pot in the woods. They stumble upon a passed out drunk with a bag that contains the weed they were looking for. So they take it and all is well and good until an out of season blizzard starts and drunk guy from woods comes looking for his bag. Nothing really scary in this story and some humor as well. Overall a good, well written story that is well developed and ties together nicely with a nice surprise twist at the end
When some students looking for some weed to smoke end up near the woods, they stumble upon a drunk man. They search his bag and find some weed, so of course they take the bag! Next day in detention, it starts snowing really heavy. It's mid October and shouldn't be snowing, but it doesn't cause them concern until it starts to become a blizzard and all they see is white. Next thing they know, the drunk man from the woods appears in the detention room and starts demanding his bag back. When he cuts off the teachers ear, they know they are in trouble! What can they do when they have nowhere to go?
This was quite a good read!! For such a short read, it packed a lot into it. I'm not a great fan of extremely short stories because I always feel like something is missing, but this one actually felt complete. It's funny, I began this just before we had blizzard conditions here in Ireland!! It's the worst snow we've had in decades and all I could think about was this!! Ha.
Anyway, this was a good read with an awesome twist at the end. I will have to check out more from this author.
Partia mladych ludi v meste natrafia na opiteho chlapika a vezmu mu batoh. Na druhy den, ked su za trest po skole, ten chlapik pride a ziada si tasku spat. Kniha sa vola Sneh, lebo napriek tomu, ze je oktober, vonku zacne strasne snezit a za vsetko moze ten chlapik, ktory zacne v skole nahanat studentov. Nebolo to vobec strasidelne, nemalo to spad a chvalabohu to bola iba poviedka. Skoda, anotacia vyzerala slubne, no poviedka sama o sebe nestala za to.
Another will written fantasy thriller short story by Howard Odentz about school kids being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a quick read. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or 🎶 listening to 👍novels 🔰🏡😠 2022
Don't steel any weed from a man you don't know. He might come back (even if you're having a detention Saturday at school). The characters were crafted in a modern way, you read a lot about growing up in an US town but the horror elements of the novella (e.g. the mysterious man and his whats about) were a bit too short for my liking. Otherwise a solid read with a moral. Recommended!
I liked this story a lot. Was fast paced and to the point. I liked where it went and the writers style. Recommended for those looking for a good, quick read.
I only have this 3 stars because I would have loved to have seen this in full novel form and not just as a short story. All I have to say is, along with the caution by the author, there are certain People you just don't want to make angry!!😨
This one is a short story that can be read in an hour. The story was bizarre and kept me wondering right till the end. A really cool and twisted story that I think most people will enjoy. Well worth reading.
My third Howard Odentz work in 3 days! Really good, especially with Christmas just around the corner. Why is that? Well, I won't tell you. I want to stay on the "nice" list. Now to find more by my new favorite author.
Completing your GR reading challenge with less than 9 hours left in the year? Classic Nic.
I won't lie, I picked this story at random from Kindle's free short reads section. It was...weird. And highly juvenile. But I didn't see the twist coming until it was nearly revealed, so. There's that.