Synopsis/blurb ....
Escape. Lust. Revenge. Rob Pierce writes with an understanding of the darkness in the hearts of people who’ve been struck and need to strike back. From gun dealers to murders to the simply self-destructive, The Things I Love Will Kill Me Yet is filled with stories of men and women whose dreams can never take them out of their realities.
Praise for THE THINGS I LOVE WILL KILL ME YET:
“Pierce’s style is spare and hard-hitting, and The Things I Love Will Kill Me Yet delivers a knockout.” —Sam Wiebe, author of Last of the Independents
Twenty plus stories from one of All Due Respect's top authors. Full list below ....
Thanksgiving, 1963
Whorehouse Blues
Ella
The Real Thing
Under the Bridge
The Leaves
Empty Kitchens
Walkin’ the Dog
A Small Knife or a Large Vehicle
Killing Animals
As Good a Cop
The Judge
Broken Window
Mud People
A Small Crew
Hemingway Drank Shots
Pancake Collection
4 from 5
Stomach Punches
The Humanity of Dogs
All My Exes Die in Texas
Twine
Dead Soldiers
Cornered
My favourite was the opener, Thanksgiving, 1963 which was worth the price of admission on its own. A tense Texan Thanksgiving family re-union set before, during and after Kennedy's Dallas assassination. Family issues, alliances and fault lines are brought into sharp focus. An important College Football game provides a distraction, or conversely serves to focus attention on an strange time for America. Additionally, brawling and selling guns - both ticks in the boxes.
The others see us engaged with .... whores, bars, drinkers, motels, winos, homelessness, romance, pool, competitiveness, bar fights, bloodshed, dog troubles, marriage woes, revenge, burglary and consequences, mud people - a weird one, pirates and midgets, troubling following you around, love issues, war, the fight game and a lot more besides.
Not every story rocked me, but more often times than not they satisfied. Overall an enjoyable
collection.
collection.
This was my fifth encounter with Rob Pierce's work, after reading Uncle Dust, Vern in the Heat, With the Right Enemies and Tommy Shakes. Just Blood by Choice left to catch up on.
Read - April, 2021
Published - 2016
Page count - 186
Source - purchased copy
Format - Kindle
There are times when a short story collection is just right, Col. I'm glad this one was satisfying. So often, the quality of a group of stories is inconsistent, so it's especially good to hear that that wasn't the case here.
ReplyDeleteMargot, Rob Pierce is equally skilled at both long and short form fiction.
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