Fantastic Shorts: Volume One

by Phillip McCollum

Are you a fan of the upside-down worlds of the Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, or Black Mirror? Then spend some time reading these 26 twisty, turny stories that cross genres and blur the lines between reality and fantasy.

In Seven Hundred and Seventy-Six, a timid bank clerk working in the Arizona frontier encounters a strange man and an even stranger gun.

In Halfway, detective Marty Quinn comes home to find his wife murdered and a high-tech entrepreneur is a prime suspect.

In Captain Coffee, a caffeine-powered superhero comes to the rescue.

...and many more fun ways to spend a few minutes of your day.

Phillip McCollum spent 52 weeks writing 52 stories, all released over two volumes.

378 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 28, 2018

About the author

Phillip McCollum spent 52 weeks writing 52 short stories in an effort to prove to himself that he might be cut out for this writing thing after all. He hails from Southern California where he shares living quarters with his wife, son, and an old cat.

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Shorts lives up to its name! Its short stories range from the past to the future and cover a variety of genres, including science fiction and fantasy. What they all have in common, however, is the ability to draw the reader in from the first few sentences. The author does a terrific job of hooking the reader in and then steadily building the tension until the story's end. Great description and fluid prose too. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable collection.

[Buttercupp77 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best collections of short stories I think I've ever read. (My other favourite collection is Jeffrey Archer's A Twist in the Tale, which is comparable in terms of how they read).

Spanning multiple genres and central characters, the author is able to convey a whole world as well as a strong sense of character in rather short pieces. I am very eager to see how the author would handle longer fiction. In addition, each story evokes a specific mood/feeling/theme: some are more playful, others are darker. All of them are interesting and worth reading!

Virtually all of the stories in this collection have some sort of a twist. I don't think I saw any of them coming, which is what has me so excited about these tales!

Unfortunately, short stories tend to leave me wanting more, and that's probably my biggest critique - I want more of those worlds and characters!

I will definitely be following this author and looking for more of his works!

I received a copy of this book through Voracious Readers Only.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been following this author’s blog for several years, so I knew he was a great writer. Fantastic Shorts is just that, a collection of short stories, each so different and unique, but all pull you in from the start and keep you turning the pages. A few of my favorites were WAKE, HALFWAY and OUT OF THE PICTURE. A special surprise was THE HUFFALLUM. How can you not love a story with an Aunt Doodleflukes! McCollum has a remarkable imagination.

[Vicky Quenault · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories were well written and some were quite clever. A good read if you like short stories.
I received a complimentary copy from VRO in return for an honest review.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

At what moment can we turn back? When do we realise that the path we are on could make it break us? When does choice become Destiny? An intriguing collection of tales where different encounters lead to new reflections on life...or not in some cases. A free copy from Voracious Readers.

[Tim Roberson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful assortment of short stories that should appeal to most any audience. Mostly in the realm of sci-fi or fantasy but enough realism to make it work in any genre. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection and look forward to more of this author’s work.

[Craig Russo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eh. Not bad. But only two of the stories actually interested my.