Shattering Glass - Chapters 1 and 2 (How to Survive Your First Year of College) [Kindle Edition]

Connor Coyne (Author), Reinhardt Suarez (Editor), Sam Perkins-Harbin (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

College is a strange new world. But it might be too strange for Samo, Ezzie, Marty, and Dunya. They’re just first year undergrads at the prestigious but mysterious Arkaic University, known for its site on the grounds of an abandoned mental hospital, and its curious technology that converts time into electricity.

And then there’s the matter of the shattering glasses. Ezzie has the unfortunate bad habit of causing glass to fracture, just by looking at it. The four undergrads are stalked by student organizations with a history of espionage and homicide — dreaded groups with names like the Theatre of Gold and the Artemis Club — and the eclectic sexual appetites of the older students is something to be both sought out and feared.

Obviously, college is a time of action and exploration, of soul-searching and risk-taking, but the risks at Arkaic University seem to transcend reason. Wise students will learn to master this surreal landscape to both survive and thrive during their first year of college.

CHAPTER 1: Orientation is dangerous. Five students arrive at Arkaic University from Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New York, and California, and settle into life at the Calliope Cradle Dormitory. One of them will never be seen again...

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 147 KB
• Publisher: Gothic Funk Press; 1 edition (November 6, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0064EEUI4
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Connor grew up in the East Village of Flint, Michigan, and has lived in Chicago and New York City. He earned his BA from the University of Chicago and his MFA from the New School. He has written plays, poetry, short stories, and novels, and his work has been published in Santa Clara Review, Moria Poetry Zine, Dick Pig Review, The Saturnine Detractor, and the Flint Broadside.

He has a website at connorcoyne.com and a blog devoted to the apotheosis of the Gothic. This year he published his first novel, Hungry Rats, but he is even more excited by the birth of his daughter, Mary Adelina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting so far, November 11, 2011

By 

Colin Alfred McFaul - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shattering Glass - Chapters 1 and 2 (How to Survive Your First Year of College) (Kindle Edition)

This is the first book I have read on the Kindle. I have no complaints about the way the Kindle worked with it.

This is the first two chapters of Shattering Glass. I found this installment to be an easy read; I read it in about two hours last night. So far, I really enjoy the serialization idea. I find that that I'm more motivated to read the current installment before the next one comes, and (now that I'm done) that I'm looking forward to the next installment. At least through this section, the storyline feels appropriate for a serial.

As the first installment in a serial, these two chapters serve primarily to introduce the characters and set the scene. I certainly recognize Arkaic University and it students as fictionalizations from Connor's life. On the one hand, I worry slightly that readers who don't share similar experiences might not fully appreciate those fictionalizations. On the other hand, Connor has done a very good job of generalizing those fictionalizations. I expect that any student arriving at any university with a nationally-drawn student body would know classmates who fit every one Connor's carefully crafted caricatures. They are caricatures, but not so silly that they are implausible as people. Arkaic University and the city of Arkaic are similarly caricatures of real places. Again, they are realistically drawn so that readers can identify with them even if they have not been to the specific locations that inspired them. The real-life Arkaic University inspired in me the same sense of magic when I first arrive there. But so has my current home town, and they are vastly different places. The city of Arkaic reminds me of several real-life cities that I have visited. They are all very different in character, but Connor has captured elements of decay, magic, and horror essential to all of them.

DISCLAIMER: I am a personal friend of Connor's, and have known him for several years. This affects my reading because I recognize many of the locations that Connor is fictionalizing.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling recreation of the first year college experience, November 26, 2011

By 

mel.a "archscale" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shattering Glass - Chapters 1 and 2 (How to Survive Your First Year of College) (Kindle Edition)

The first year of college is a magical time when new worlds open up, identities are created, and lasting friendships are formed. Shattering Glass recreates that magic in a way no literal retelling can. Connor Coyne's surreal and fantastical Arkaic University feels more authentic through his use of unfamiliar and mysterious realities. The reader follows the four main characters, Ezzie, Dunya, Samo and Monty as they navigate a new terrain that includes such curiosities as chain mazes underneath the campus that run a temporelectrical turbine, and a forest that has a personality all its own. The story reminds us how encounters with the unknown build character, reveal unique talents, and create strong bonds of friendship. Shattering Glass allows us to relive those glory days when the world was still a mystery and everything was possible.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome First Chapters!, November 14, 2011

By 

HColby - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Shattering Glass - Chapters 1 and 2 (How to Survive Your First Year of College) (Kindle Edition)

The first two chapters of this book are a really good read, on their own, and seem to be setting the stage for even better things to come. The characters have so much depth to them, even in only two chapters, that you can't help trying to guess where they are headed. The story is set at a newly formed college in a gothic-meets-the-future-meets-Detroit world, where everything is surreal enough to keep you intrigued without being remotely overdone. The pacing is perfect, and even just these two chapters leave you with the feeling that your mind has been just a little bit blown.

At 99 cents this is an absolute bargain, I would have happily paid more for it. I can't wait until the next installment is available!