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Coward
“Corey Croft’s witty, perspicacious work of fiction Coward engages and captivates readers from beginning to end. 5 Stars.” -San Francisco Book Review
Sam is edging towards middle-age in a go-nowhere relationship with a dead-end job. His lust for life has all but dried up. Nothing he does seems to make him or his situation better. Truthfully, he hasn’t tried very hard. Whether its laziness or complacency, he’s desperate for a change that appears more impossible every day.
He feels no respect from his boss and coworkers, his friends and partner, even random people on the street. Watching his life stagnate and the lives of everyone around him steadily progress, Sam has become a timid, cynical malcontent. A man who would happily surrender, if only he could find the courage. And knew how to knot a rope.
Sam isn’t simply a coward. He’s the perfect coward. Defeated. Desperate. A shrieking violet in a culture where standing out is key. A wallflower praying to be plucked.
Following a chance meeting at a bar with a mysterious and knowledgeable stranger, Sam is bestowed with an power befitting of his many weaknesses. A magical ability which could allow him to command respect and turn his life around. Those changes that he’s craved so badly, and done so little to achieve, are his for the taking.
While he may have got his spark back, Sam is surrounded by gas soaked rags. He may use his gift to help the world, or use it for personal gain. The choice is his. What he must do is learn to control his powers, his temper, and this new thing he never had before: an ego.
That ‘chance’ meeting may not have been so random after all.
An uproarious and nail-biting social satire that seamlessly blends supernatural and real-world elements. COWARD is for fans of dark comedy and cringe humour at its finest, Kurt Vonnegut, and staring out of the window at car accidents on the highway.
Sam is edging towards middle-age in a go-nowhere relationship with a dead-end job. His lust for life has all but dried up. Nothing he does seems to make him or his situation better. Truthfully, he hasn’t tried very hard. Whether its laziness or complacency, he’s desperate for a change that appears more impossible every day.
He feels no respect from his boss and coworkers, his friends and partner, even random people on the street. Watching his life stagnate and the lives of everyone around him steadily progress, Sam has become a timid, cynical malcontent. A man who would happily surrender, if only he could find the courage. And knew how to knot a rope.
Sam isn’t simply a coward. He’s the perfect coward. Defeated. Desperate. A shrieking violet in a culture where standing out is key. A wallflower praying to be plucked.
Following a chance meeting at a bar with a mysterious and knowledgeable stranger, Sam is bestowed with an power befitting of his many weaknesses. A magical ability which could allow him to command respect and turn his life around. Those changes that he’s craved so badly, and done so little to achieve, are his for the taking.
While he may have got his spark back, Sam is surrounded by gas soaked rags. He may use his gift to help the world, or use it for personal gain. The choice is his. What he must do is learn to control his powers, his temper, and this new thing he never had before: an ego.
That ‘chance’ meeting may not have been so random after all.
An uproarious and nail-biting social satire that seamlessly blends supernatural and real-world elements. COWARD is for fans of dark comedy and cringe humour at its finest, Kurt Vonnegut, and staring out of the window at car accidents on the highway.
333 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2019
About the author
Corey Croft
5 books25 followersCorey Croft is a Canadian author who writes dark, witty, bizarro fiction which spans multiple genres and deals with topics of mental health and existentialism. He draws his inspiration from real life and his experiences with love and loss. By blending metaphor, humour and the absurd he is able to craft relatable, thought-provoking and boundary pushing character-driven stories.
While my journey started as a cheaper form of therapy, I found my passion. Now, I live to write and try to do something beautiful as I defuse the landmines in my soul.
While my journey started as a cheaper form of therapy, I found my passion. Now, I live to write and try to do something beautiful as I defuse the landmines in my soul.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 9, 2023
Sam is a complete coward and loser. He just takes abuse with a smile. He allows things to happen and just stays quiet. He gets an offer that he doesn’t even know is real. It changes his life. He starts to be someone for once but all at a price. Don’t make him angry.
Narrations by CJ McAllister was excellent.
I was given this book in exchange for a review.
Narrations by CJ McAllister was excellent.
I was given this book in exchange for a review.
August 25, 2019
The cover is cute. Well, as cute as something with gallows can be.
This is the first ARC I have requested and I felt very good about reading it, looking forward to it, planning a good review, because I have seen that people on Amazon liked it very much. So it was kind of a gut-punch when I started the prologue thoroughly confused about what just happened. I spent more than a few minutes trying to figure out how it jumped between the first two paragraphs alone. And all I was thinking was “God, if I was not required to read this to the end…”
But I am glad I did, now that I look back. It was a hell of a ride, but the more I think about it, the more I loved it. With few grave reservations.
This is both the strong and the weak point of the book, the language. Not the cussing, but the one which prompted me to check-search the phrase “purple prose”. I would have too many highlights if I marked every word that I had no idea what it meant, which is unfortunate, as I am expected to graduate from a C1 level English in less than ten months… and that was something I had against this book even before the gentleman, remarkable for his extensive vocabulary, entered the scene. Some of the words were not even a part of the Kindle built-in dictionary. It took me out of the story too many times. It was like reading a story that spend hours being polished by Thesaurus. Especially the speech tags. She “screaked,” he “ribbed,” he “whirred.”
Later I just decided to have my fun with it. There are many instances where this poetic approach tugged at my artsy heartstrings, but that came much later when the period in which I expected to be sold was overdue.
The pacing and the story. The former was not as fluid as I would have liked it to be. Few times I thought that it went too fast. It is one of the reasons why only the last two chapters I have rated as 5 and 4 stars. The other is the fault of the characters, which I’ll get on in a minute. As for the story, it ties closely to its characters. I am able to view this as a social satire. Taking into the account the whole arc the main character had, I would confirm myself in that assumption. Nonetheless, it is a peculiar story. It was different from what I have read in the genre so far, and I am thankful to the author for that. There are things which are left in mystery, but the stakes are always fulfilled. I was right on most of my theories on how this book will continue, what this and this action will mean and what the consequences will be – and to someone it may come in as a painfully slow process, I found it deeply gratifying.
As far as the characters go, if you find it hard to get through a book with unlikeable characters, this may not be a book for you. For some part, some of their behaviour is justifiable. The rest will make you want to smash your head against the wall and take a social leave. People, when all idolization is lost, tend to be real douches. You have a stereotypical angry SJW. You have a toxic girlfriend. You have an idolized love interest (she is cool, but it is true from the stance of the MC). You have the best friend who is more experienced than you are in possibly every area you can think of, and says enchanté with his fake French so many times you want to rip his head off (but the longer I think about it, the more I presume that this was the authorial intent, and the more I like it – and I do not think this is me giving Mr Croft too much credit). And then… you have Sam Florin.
Sam Florin is indeed a true coward. A despicable weakling. One who did not choose a life of mediocrity as the summary says – he opted for the life of misery. Unless you think that being miserable is the new normal.
And he is oftentimes infuriating. Loathsome. I do not have that extensive of a vocabulary as this book but I am sure there is an English word for that. But the truth is, how many of us can relate? And that is what I think the book is trying to say. It is not a new concept, but it is one that never tires me when done well. Honestly, now that I have finished the book, even the most appalling of Sam’s actions do not brew my blood as much.
So as it may be… wait until the end. I am glad I did, but it took me much willpower and many Kindle highlights where I took out my frustration to get there. Plus the issues I stated in the fourth and the fifth paragraph. I could not rate it much higher, but I would not give it less than it deserves. Perchance I would do something about that prologue. That was confusing.
A complimentary copy of this book provided in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first ARC I have requested and I felt very good about reading it, looking forward to it, planning a good review, because I have seen that people on Amazon liked it very much. So it was kind of a gut-punch when I started the prologue thoroughly confused about what just happened. I spent more than a few minutes trying to figure out how it jumped between the first two paragraphs alone. And all I was thinking was “God, if I was not required to read this to the end…”
But I am glad I did, now that I look back. It was a hell of a ride, but the more I think about it, the more I loved it. With few grave reservations.
This is both the strong and the weak point of the book, the language. Not the cussing, but the one which prompted me to check-search the phrase “purple prose”. I would have too many highlights if I marked every word that I had no idea what it meant, which is unfortunate, as I am expected to graduate from a C1 level English in less than ten months… and that was something I had against this book even before the gentleman, remarkable for his extensive vocabulary, entered the scene. Some of the words were not even a part of the Kindle built-in dictionary. It took me out of the story too many times. It was like reading a story that spend hours being polished by Thesaurus. Especially the speech tags. She “screaked,” he “ribbed,” he “whirred.”
Later I just decided to have my fun with it. There are many instances where this poetic approach tugged at my artsy heartstrings, but that came much later when the period in which I expected to be sold was overdue.
The pacing and the story. The former was not as fluid as I would have liked it to be. Few times I thought that it went too fast. It is one of the reasons why only the last two chapters I have rated as 5 and 4 stars. The other is the fault of the characters, which I’ll get on in a minute. As for the story, it ties closely to its characters. I am able to view this as a social satire. Taking into the account the whole arc the main character had, I would confirm myself in that assumption. Nonetheless, it is a peculiar story. It was different from what I have read in the genre so far, and I am thankful to the author for that. There are things which are left in mystery, but the stakes are always fulfilled. I was right on most of my theories on how this book will continue, what this and this action will mean and what the consequences will be – and to someone it may come in as a painfully slow process, I found it deeply gratifying.
As far as the characters go, if you find it hard to get through a book with unlikeable characters, this may not be a book for you. For some part, some of their behaviour is justifiable. The rest will make you want to smash your head against the wall and take a social leave. People, when all idolization is lost, tend to be real douches. You have a stereotypical angry SJW. You have a toxic girlfriend. You have an idolized love interest (she is cool, but it is true from the stance of the MC). You have the best friend who is more experienced than you are in possibly every area you can think of, and says enchanté with his fake French so many times you want to rip his head off (but the longer I think about it, the more I presume that this was the authorial intent, and the more I like it – and I do not think this is me giving Mr Croft too much credit). And then… you have Sam Florin.
Sam Florin is indeed a true coward. A despicable weakling. One who did not choose a life of mediocrity as the summary says – he opted for the life of misery. Unless you think that being miserable is the new normal.
“You are not exceptional, Sam. You know this. You are ignorant enough to chase a carrot with simple elation. However, you eliminate yourself from the race and blame it on the superiority of the other competitors.”
And he is oftentimes infuriating. Loathsome. I do not have that extensive of a vocabulary as this book but I am sure there is an English word for that. But the truth is, how many of us can relate? And that is what I think the book is trying to say. It is not a new concept, but it is one that never tires me when done well. Honestly, now that I have finished the book, even the most appalling of Sam’s actions do not brew my blood as much.
So as it may be… wait until the end. I am glad I did, but it took me much willpower and many Kindle highlights where I took out my frustration to get there. Plus the issues I stated in the fourth and the fifth paragraph. I could not rate it much higher, but I would not give it less than it deserves. Perchance I would do something about that prologue. That was confusing.
A complimentary copy of this book provided in exchange for an honest review.
September 9, 2023
Sam is a complete coward and loser. He just takes abuse with a smile. He allows things to happen and just stays quiet. He gets an offer that he doesn’t even know is real. It changes his life. He starts to be someone for once but all at a price. Don’t make him angry.
Narrations by CJ McAllister was excellent.
I was given this book in exchange for a review.
Narrations by CJ McAllister was excellent.
I was given this book in exchange for a review.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews