Ryan’s Reviews > Thrilling Tales of Modern Men: Stories > Status Update

I liked the final image the reader is left with. But the story was all over the place. 2.4

Dad's Way: A Hilarious '90s Sitcom is about a sitcom that ran for 10 years and the creator has just passed away and wants to do a reunion special that the creator wrote. The cast peaked with the show and haven't done anything of note sense. Mike, the lead, is slowly losing it as he needs to get revenge on a coyote for killing his dog. I loved Jason's story line. This felt like pieces of an ideas.

Fun Run is about an unhinged guy that has a horrible sense of humor, wants a friend? This story was my least favorite. It the wildcard story. I thought it was going to be revealed that this guy is the guy behind the self help class they ditched, but it is just a crazy person. I did have a laugh at the bad taste of the self help being all about slavery. 1.5

Mr. Liptapp's Sword is a story about a history teacher finding an ancient sword that consumes him. The story keeps flipping back and forth from the past to the present. In past we see him find the sword and become crazed by it. He talks to it and the sword wants blood. In the present he is chased by men trying to take the sword. The story is quick and fun. But you have to suspend disbelief a little. 3.5 for fun

Gideon's Wife is about Tracy who loves putting down other people, and look like she is rising above it. She is surprised when people actually like her husband. Her husband is a bit of a doof but a nice one. The book does end before she gets the comeuppance but it is coming. I think this story was okay it is the shortest story in the collection. 2.5

Last Night of the Runaway Adventure is a coming of age story about to runaways. One goes home but the other stays away. The most serious of the stories so far. The brother Wayne is the worst. It took me a while to differentiate who was who with the names Burt and Ben. I felt this was the most personal story. 4

The Institute of Man is a crazy story that dips into Science Fiction. About a man goes to a place called the Institute of Man to cure his balding, they do but that is when the trouble starts his hair will not stop growing. I felt this story was the most zany and had the Coen Brothers tone. I enjoyed this story and how crazy it gets. The ending was great and on theme. 4.4

The ending had a good surprise scenario, but I felt it lacked a good wrap up with a lot of unanswered questions. I wanted more from the narrative. 2.8

The Book Burner had one of the best opening scenes. The story fizzles a little after that. The story stars off with a book burning inside a bookstore. We learn about both the writer and the book burner. Tye story has good ideas about who owns a story, and literary theft. The story felt like an Elmore Leonard story with some quirky characters.

This story took a little way to find itself. I loved the end, things escalate to a crazy level. The end monologue was great, I was bummed we went to the son's reaction, and broke the rant up. 3.4