Customer Reviews

Slices

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Slices contains a glorious collection of twisted, dark, and dreamlike pieces. The fantasy and horror tropes in Slices remind me, more than anything I've read recently, of the original Twilight Zone series. Featuring time slips ("Counterclockwise"), vampires ("One Last Sunset" and "Only Monsters"), serial killers ("The Thirteenth Boy") and the numerous ways in which perception governs reality ("Cold Season," "Life Story," and "Daddy's Girls"), the stories in Slices feel to me like the stories Rod Serling would be writing if he were still with us today.

The failures and beauties of human relationships are at the core of Michael's work. Few of his characters work on a solo basis, and those that do are drawn into unusual or regrettable positions. The fantasy and horror elements feel familiar in the sense that a recurring nightmare or a story heard in childhood feels familiar. These tropes resonate powerfully with the emotional problems at the heart of each tale. In my opinion, Slices is at its strongest when considering the many permutations of men's relationships, most sadly and beautifully in the context of male friendship, brotherhood, and love.

Slices

I read through this collection of creepy, thought-provoking stories and was captivated! There is a story in here for everyone who loves to a good horror tale. Each story is well written and gripping, filled with vivid detail of a world you, as the reader, willing enter in, all the while knowing something horrible is going to happen. Although its hard to pick a favorite, I think my favorite is Counterclockwise. Don't miss out on this one!

"Slices" is a collection of early horror short stories by Michael Montoure, and it is a good example of horror short stories and an author's early work.

As Stephen King noted in his forward to "Everything's Eventual," the literary world has largely abandoned this genre, everyone except for himself and now Montoure. Thus, we aren't surprised by the appearance of

(nerdjustsayityoushowoff)

a demuirge author

(shutupknowitallprickshutup)

or a well-used literary device, but we aren't disappointed, either. If all the cookbooks in print are by Julia Child, it's forgivable if your recipes have some butter. What's great is that about half of Montoure's stories go off into unfamiliar territory, providing welcome relief from King's increasingly cramped oubliette of mirrors.

Two of the stories in "Slices" -- "Daddy's Girls" and "One Last Sunset" -- filled me with great dread, and another story, "Orpheus," still makes me sad to think about. Whereas King found great strength as an author of addiction, I expect Montoure will find his in the contemplation of loneliness.