Customer Reviews

Flashing the Dark

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Here are 40 fabulous short stories from one of dark fiction's finest authors of poetry and prose, who has collected in this slim volume some of his most mind bending tales of otherworldly darkness. If you think you don't have time to read, please reconsider, because these stories are "flash fiction", super-short stories that blow past the reader so quickly you'll hardly realize how stunned you are until you stop of think about it. It's shocking to note that even though one of these stories is only a mere two sentences long, the impact of the story is tremendous. The breadth and depth of Mr. Boston's wide-ranging intellect is evident in the incredible scope of these tales, which are terrifying, disturbing, bizarre, surreal and even laugh-out-loud hilarious, but weirdness rules. Example: in one of my favorite stories, "The Elongated Years", not only does time become elongated, but the people living within it become elongated as well! And "The Escape of the Circus Freaks" is no joking matter, but an oddly heartwarming incident. Truly horrifying is "Severed Yellow Children", and you must read about the giant flea who has dogs running around on it, biting. Bruce Boston is joined by his talented artist-writer wife, Marge Simon, for collaboration on two excellent stories, and she has also provided the searing cover illustration for the collection. Even if you think you don't have time to read, you'll have time for this collection, and I bet you'll find time to read it twice. I did! For more information about Bruce Boston, please visit his website at [...]. And while you're there, drop in and visit Marge Simon [...].

Bruce Boston is a first-rate poet even when he is writing fiction. Some of these "flash fictions" originally appeared as prose poems. Boston is well-known for his "novel of the sixties," Stained Glass Rain, and even this work, mazny passages are lyrical. I recommend this book to anyone, whether they have read any of Boston's or not.