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Darren Johnson’s Best Short Stories of 2018
Including nine disparate tales ranging in length from short story to novella:
THE BABY HUNTER: When mutant superhuman babies cause the apocalypse, you need... The Baby Hunter. They hunt us. He hunts them.
CHASING COWQUEST: After thirty years, it seems someone has finally broken Max's record on a mysterious arcade game called Cowquest. With his wife's permission, he's returning to his hometown to get it back.
QUINCUNX: In the final game of the Scrabble Championships, one player makes a move no one saw coming.
MALTZIE: A CAT'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: For anyone that’s ever had a special little fuzzface in their life. Adopted as a kitten, Maltzie immediately forged a bond with his humans that only grew stronger with time.
THE 2ND AMENDMENTERS: They worship the only Amendment that matters (to them). Second Amendment!
TYRONE JACKSON AND THE HALF-COURT DUNK: Harry Potter meets Boyz n the Hood in this explosive parody. Includes special bonus features.
Exclusive to this compilation:
IT WAS A GIFT FROM GOD, THEY SAID: Everyone on Earth is suddenly "blessed" with the gift of flight. Why question it?
THE BEST DAMN COP ON THE FORCE: You don't get to be the best without taking a few risks.
THE GREATEST CROSSOVER OF ALL TIME: They’re some of the worst, most poorly written characters ever created by one man in 2018. Now their worlds are about to collide. They thought they had problems before… Featuring all your favorite (and least favorite) characters from the above compilation. A thriller.
THE BABY HUNTER: When mutant superhuman babies cause the apocalypse, you need... The Baby Hunter. They hunt us. He hunts them.
CHASING COWQUEST: After thirty years, it seems someone has finally broken Max's record on a mysterious arcade game called Cowquest. With his wife's permission, he's returning to his hometown to get it back.
QUINCUNX: In the final game of the Scrabble Championships, one player makes a move no one saw coming.
MALTZIE: A CAT'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: For anyone that’s ever had a special little fuzzface in their life. Adopted as a kitten, Maltzie immediately forged a bond with his humans that only grew stronger with time.
THE 2ND AMENDMENTERS: They worship the only Amendment that matters (to them). Second Amendment!
TYRONE JACKSON AND THE HALF-COURT DUNK: Harry Potter meets Boyz n the Hood in this explosive parody. Includes special bonus features.
Exclusive to this compilation:
IT WAS A GIFT FROM GOD, THEY SAID: Everyone on Earth is suddenly "blessed" with the gift of flight. Why question it?
THE BEST DAMN COP ON THE FORCE: You don't get to be the best without taking a few risks.
THE GREATEST CROSSOVER OF ALL TIME: They’re some of the worst, most poorly written characters ever created by one man in 2018. Now their worlds are about to collide. They thought they had problems before… Featuring all your favorite (and least favorite) characters from the above compilation. A thriller.
376 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 4, 2019
28 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 27, 2023
I wish I liked the book more, because some of the concepts were interesting or entertaining. But I was not attached to any of the characters by the end of any of the stories, really. A lot of them were forgettable, and by the time I got to the crossover story, I had forgotten most of them and their personalities were just too flat to sustain themselves.
I had a hard time following what was happening sometimes. I think one of the major issues is that a lot of the stories rely on action sequences, which are notoriously difficult to write well. It was ambitious, but sadly to the detriment of many of the stories.
Some of the stories did have good parts, though. The cat one is very sweet. And the one about the 2nd Amendment is looking at important topics, and pointing out the blatant irony was funny (at least for me). I remember liking the Scrabble one as well.
Again, I really did wish I liked the collection more as a whole, but I just couldn't get invested in most of the characters or the stakes.
I had a hard time following what was happening sometimes. I think one of the major issues is that a lot of the stories rely on action sequences, which are notoriously difficult to write well. It was ambitious, but sadly to the detriment of many of the stories.
Some of the stories did have good parts, though. The cat one is very sweet. And the one about the 2nd Amendment is looking at important topics, and pointing out the blatant irony was funny (at least for me). I remember liking the Scrabble one as well.
Again, I really did wish I liked the collection more as a whole, but I just couldn't get invested in most of the characters or the stakes.
January 2, 2020
I very much loved most of these stories. I take exception to the 2ND AMENDMENTERS. No such thing as assault rifles. - made-up word. I get a bit tired of people making up what my position is to make it sound worse. I also am a big supporter of the first amendment as most of us are. And the rest of the constitution. The rest of the stories are mostly awesome.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews