8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A collection of stories that left me with mixed emotions, April 24, 2008
This review is from: Fear of Gravity (Paperback)
*Since I noticed this review is really long, read the last three lines for a quick summary of the book if you dont want to read my review* =)
Brian Keene's short story compilation book is definitely a fun and quick read. It's nice to have a book you can open up and read a couple of pages and be almost done or completely done with a story in just a few minutes. Great for a bus or cab read or even a bathroom read. I know I gave it 4 stars but sometimes when I think of a couple of the stories, I want to drop the rating to a 3. But then there are stories in there that I thought were really great and it makes me want to give it a 5. So I'm going to settle with a 4.
Flying High Again - Just an Intro to the book. Basically Keene talks about what the meaning of Gravity means to him. I rolled my eyes, but whatever.
Dust - Pretty boring in my opinion. Takes place a few days after 9/11. It's about a girl named Laura who is very upset because she lost her boyfriend/fiancé/husband, Dallas, on 9/11. He was in the tower at the time it happened. A few days after the attacks, she is let back into her apartment to get her personal belongings. There is dust everywhere and all Laura can think about is that all that dust is the towers and dead people. Longing for Dallas, she starts to see and hear him everywhere in her imagination. Or is it her imagination? 1 star
Babylon Falling - Pretty good read. About a squad of soldiers who are going on a convoy to Baghdad from Kuwait (I think). There's a pretty bad dust storm brewing up and when they pass a crazy old man in a nearby town, the storm gets even worse. It gets so bad that some of the vehicles in the convoy get lost. The storm doesn't break until morning and when it does, nothing goes right for our survivors. A lot of gore in this story. 4 stars.
Slouching in Bethlehem - An interesting story that probably could've been a lot better if it was a few pages longer. Mary and Joe (hmmm... Bethlehem), are without home. A couple whose lives were once decent, nothing special mind you, but at least decent. An apartment, low paying jobs, and happiness. But an addiction to crack has made them what they are today. Just a homeless couple living in a makeshift cardboard box home in the back of some alley by an adult video store. They are visited by a stranger who speaks of old times even though they have no clue what he's even talking about. Promising to make them wealthy beyond their dreams if he can have 5 minutes with Mary, they succumb to his promise and whatever goes along with it. I wish the story had been longer, but I liked what was there. I'll say something about this story in my comments because I don't want to ruin anything. 3 Stars (4 or 5 probably if the story was longer)
Red Wood - Not that great. It's about a forest that's alive and pissed and evil I guess. Trees that attack are just dumb stories in my opinion. The best thing about the story was the character development though. I really felt for the 5 people (Dad and his friend, 2 brothers and their friend) that went out on a hunting trip. Maybe I wouldn't have if Dad hadn't been sick, but that really took a grip on me. 2 stars (Added a star for the character development).
The King, in: YELLOW - I don't see why a lot of people liked this story. Maybe there was a message here and I just didn't catch it. It's a story that just seemed like an everyday life story, that turns bad in the end, and instead of being shocking, it seemed more sad than anything to me because it seemed senseless. It's about a couple who have been together for quite some time. The girlfriend makes a lot more money than the boyfriend, but I don't think either cares that much about that. Both want kids and both want to get married, but not just yet. They are both not in a place, career wise, just yet to have that bother them. One night while going out to eat, the girlfriend mentions how boring their life has become, not in a bad way, but just not in a spontaneous fun way that it used to be. Then they come to find out about a play that starts at midnight called `YELLOW'. After seeing this play, a boring life they will have no more. 3 stars
I am an Exit - There is nothing I can really say about this very short story without ruining it. I will say that I liked it a lot. 5 stars.
Purple Reign - A beautiful day with clear skies is interrupted by a giant blue helium balloon floating by...and releasing a purple mist that turns liquid and falls onto the ground. Any living creature hit by this purple menace turns into a violent killer. As the mist rolls down the street of a small neighborhood, a 14 year old boy rushes his kid sister with her friend into the house to wake up their mom. Hours go by and then there is a knock at the door. Even though I kept thinking of The Mist and Cell, both by Stephen King, I still give this 4 stars.
Castaways - A knock off of the TV show Survivor is on it's first day of filming. The cast and crew make it to the island to find out that they are not alone. I really hated the things on the island and it seemed like Keene was high on something when he started to write about the sexual activities. I actually caught myself saying "Are you f&*%ing kidding me?" when Antoine died the way he did. 2 Stars
Marriage Causes Cancer in Rats - Harold, an electronic store sales manager, has found out that he has terminal cancer. His cysts have turned into tumors. Yet that is not why he's so upset and down. He thinks about his wife and child who are dead... along with his mistress who is also dead. His tumors are throbbing with pain while he thinks about his lost loved ones and why they are dead. In the middle of the night he wakes to a phone call and finds out his tumors are much more than tumors. The story was decent, but there was something really stupid in this story that made me think of a movie, and if I tell you that movie, then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about...so I ain't saying... lol. 3 stars (more like 2.5)
The Garden Where My Rain Grows - Definitely my favorite story in the book. The rain has come, and it won't end. Our world has been completely flooded. A couple floors of sky scrapers are the only thing that are above sea level now (along with mountain ranges that are more like beach front property now). Few survivors are left in the world. Some are normal and some are psychotic killers that have been nicknamed `Satanists'. This story revolves around a group of 18 living in one of the few remaining floors of one of the skyscrapers in NY. Sometimes they get visitors who trade with them and also tell of stories from across the country. People going crazy... salvation... and even sightings of strange creatures. I just deleted about 5 lines of this review cause it's to hard for me to really explain what happens in this story without giving anything away since it's a short story. Imagine watching a movie called "Water World 2: What Water World Part One Should Have Been Like" (I didnt see that the top reviewer for this book wrote the comparison to Water World also when I wrote this...SORRY..but hey... I think MOST people are gonna think it to when they read it..hehe). There were a couple of parts that could've been better, but it's a short story so I forgive any mistakes that I didn't like. Plus the ending was actually really good. I was thinking it was going to be a weak one, but I liked what happened and what was said. 5 stars
All in all, `Fear of Gravity' is a pretty good read. Some stories were ok... some decent... and some were really worth reading. For a collective book of short stories, it's definitely a good buy.
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Future of Original/Fresh/ Horror, January 5, 2005
This is the best HORROR short story collection I have read since 1986 when King's "Skeleton Crew" came out. There are NO RETREADS here. Mr. Keene is bold/brave and jump starts the horror genre into the new millenium. But it's not JUST horror. It's literature and fiction and I think people who HATE horror will still appreciate Keene's stories. All of the stories are good with the standouts, in my opinion, being the following 4 (without giving too much away):
"Babylon Falling" (American soldiers face an ancient evil - not Iraqi troops - in this Gulf War set masterpiece.)
"Castaways" (Cast and crew on a Survivor-esque TV show find out that their secluded island isn't so desserted after all.)
"The King in Yellow" (A unique, disturbing, creepy wild ride. I needed a shower after reading this one.)
"The Garden Where My Rains Grows" (What Waterworld should have been. Set in a post apocolyptic world where it started raining one day and never stopped. Full of roving satanist gangs, sea monsters and tons of creativity. I hope he visits this world again. It would make a great novel or even a movie.)
The other stories are awesome as well but I don't want to give anything else away. Buy this book and you will cherish it. You will not lend it out to friends because you will miss it. It's that good.
Other stories include: I Am An Exit, Purple Reign, Marriage Causes Cancer In Rats, Dust, Redwood, Slouching in Bethlehem, and more.
P.S. Mr. Keene's sequel to his smash hit "The Rising" is coming out soon. It is called "City of the Dead" and picks right up where "The Rising" left us.
Visit his website WWW.BRIANKEENE.COM
Keep your eye on Keene!!!
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best short story collections you'll find.......anywhere!!!, December 10, 2005
This review is from: Fear of Gravity (Paperback)
I must confess that I was a little reluctant before reading this because the only things by Keene I had ever read were his other short story collection No Rest At All, which is really good, but some of the stories don't cut it, and 4x4(No, I still haven't read The Rising or City of the Dead. Shame on me!) of an anthology in which he had several collaborations with his fellow writing buddies Mike Oliveri, Mikey Hyuck and Geoff "COOP" Cooper. I was a bit disappointed with that anthology. It was either hit or miss plus way overhyped. I reviewed it here on Amazon so check it out if you have time. Anyway's on with the review of Fear of Gravity. Fear is not a thick book, about 230 pages, but I read it in one sitting. It's that good and I usally don't do that one sitting. Let me get the negative out of the way first. There are 11 stories in this book, 2 of them I didn't like. Secondly, as stated before there are only 11 stories. Why couldn't there be more stories!!! Like at least 15 or 16. Of course then I would just complain and want more. Now to the good part. I can honestly say the last short story collection I found to be this good was and this original was Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes and that's been a while. What makes Keene so great is his originality and ability to take even stale story ideas and give them a swift kick in the backside. The stories.....the first one in the book is one that I just didn't like and it's titled Dust. I won't say what it's about but just know it's not that great. Next, is one of my favorites called Babylon Falling. Great story about a group of soldiers getting caught in a sandstorm and wonder into enemy territory in Irag and find something more terrifying than enemy soldiers. After this one is Slouching in Bethlehem. It's one of Keene's Prosper Johnson stories of which I think this is the second one he's published. Won't tell you anything about it because I don't want to ruin anything. Next up is Red Wood. Highly original and soon to be a full length novel called The Hollow, which is the paperback version to be released in I think June and the limited hardcover called The Rutting Season will be out in Jan. About a group of hunters who....well go on a hunting trip and find out nature has a personality all it's own. He leaves this story open making you want more....which is coming soon. Next, The King;In Yellow, which is very creepy and twisted and I won't tell you anymore because it's hard to tell what it's about without giving much away. Story number 6 is I am an exit. Great story about a man who encounters an injured man on the highway and well I can't really say much about this either without giving away the great twist ending. Next up is Purple Reign and my third fave in the book. About hot air ballon's that release purple mist/cloud's on the world and madness and murder insue. An instant classic! Man it's good! Next up is not even really a story and seems like a waste of time to me so I won't mention it. My favorite story is next or it might tied with The Garden Where My Rain Grows. It's aptly named Castaways. It's a superb story in every since. It's about 8 contestants who have been selected by a survivor type show to stay on an island and the last one to leave wins a cool million. However, there is rather beastly creatures on this thought to be uninhabited island. Again, great characters. After this comes another good story that really shows emotional depth. It's called Marriage Causes Cancer In Rats. About a man who finds out he has terminal cancer and well.....has past regrets that come back to haunt him. Last but definitely not least is The Garden Where My Rain Grows, which is an indirect sequel to Keene's other novella published in 4x4 and No Rest At All called Earthworm Gods. Earthworm Gods is now a full length limited edition novel(soon to come to paperback also) from Delirium with a sequeul later this year. The Garden Where My Rain Grows is also a novella and is also wonderful. So much originality! So much character depth. The only thing I'll tell you about this novella is that one day is started raining and didn't stop. Did that peak you interest? Good, now go get this collection of fine stories and read read read. Be sure to get Earthworm Gods too in novel form. I think it's going to be called Love and Worms in paperback form. The bottom line: THIS IS A MUST HAVE COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES BRIMMING WITH ORIGINALITY, GREAT CHARACTERS, LOTS OF DEPTH, AND PLENTY OF ACTION WHERE THE ONLY REAL FLAW IS NOT ENOUGH OF THESE WONDERFUL STORIES!!!! FEAR IS DESTINED TO BE A CLASSIC!!! BUY IT NOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!
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