Title: Steel and Bone
Author: Penny Freeman (editor)
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories
Format: ARC
Pages: 375
Reason Read: ARC Review
Rating:

My Thoughts

I’ve read short stories for school, but I’ve never read nor reviewed a book of short stories before. It was an interesting experience.

While I did enjoy some of the stories, I realized I’m not a huge fan of short stories because I want more. I want more than just a snippet. I want all the details. I want the character development and the relationship development, etc. If it were more like a cartoon and I got an episode at a time, like comic books, then I’d be okay with that because I’d know I’d get more (at least I think I’d be okay with that). But, in this setting, it was like watching a one-episode sitcom already in the middle of the series.

I also found it hard to get my bearings on the next story having just come from a completely different one. It’s not like finishing a book and then starting a new one. It’s like being thrown into something similar but completely new and being expected to know exactly what’s going on. I had to read one story each day to give myself time to move on.

I also felt like I was playing the lottery. I didn’t know if I’d get a good short story or one that bored me to tears. For the most part, I liked the short stories. There were three, “Sindisiwe” by Scott E. Tarbet, “Island Walker” by C.R. Simper, and “The Steel Inside” by Gail B. Williams, that I enjoyed a lot. And, there were two that were torturous get through because I was so bored.

I’m glad I had the chance to read STEEL AND BONE because it showed me that short stories aren’t really my thing, or at least a whole novel of them isn’t. I don’t think I’ll be reading any other compilations of short stories in the future.