SIDE ROADS
WRITTEN BY RACHEL BRUNE
GENRE: SHORT STORY COLLECTION/VARIOUS DIFFERENT GENRES
PUBLISHED: JUNE 30, 2021
BLURB: Clockwork fairies, arachnid mothers, the Carnival Ghost...
The stories gathered here take the reader on a winding trip down a darkened road as the battery in your phone slowly dies. The threads of this collection weave a tale of wrong turns in the early morning hours, of faded photographs that don't quite fit one's memory, of dying monarchs and has-been superheroes.
In these pages, you will find the eerie, the grim, and the lost souls that wander the gloom. These stories were born of dark nights and cold drives and the certain knowledge that, as winter sets in and the nights grow longer, there's more out there in the darkness than the shadows let on...
Side Roads is a collection of short fiction from speculative fiction author Rachel A. Brune.
"THE POETS DESCRIBED IT AS A RATTLE, BUT HE FELT IT MORE AS A SHIRR of butterfly wings in front of his throat, as they pelter-patted against the orange walls with their unmistakable dust of death."
WHAT THIS COLLECTION DOES WELL: If you couldn't gather from the above opening excerpt from "Pierced Monarch" a story that I later found out from the author Rachel Brune was based on painting, you are about to take a ride into a word storm unlike any other. That happens to be one of the best opening lines to a story I have ever read and it is very indicative of how this collection shines with word play. While not my favorite overall story in the collection, more on those in a moment, it really does illustrate the mastery level in which Rachel Brune tells stories. Some are obscured with deep symbolism and masked layers that lead to open endings. While others tend to use strong colloquialisms and deep bent emotions that really suck you in and then release you with the kind of fervor that hits you like a ton of bricks and leaves you needing a moment to go into the next story. There are even a couple that kind of use one another with a small easter egg or reference that if you pick it up you smile because you caught it. That's what makes Rachel Brune so amazingly skilled and what makes this collection shine because of it. it's smart but not in a way that is so smart it will lose you or make you feel dumb. Although I do in fairness have to say a couple of endings I had to reread, not because of the author's investment in their writing style but because I wanted to be sure I got it and I am pretty sure a couple times I didn't. For me that's okay though, I chalk it up as an opportunity to re-read it at some point and see if I will finally get it, I like the challenge that presents, It also enhances the moments in which I do get it and makes me feel like I am smart enough to get it. A reward for being able to read an amazing story or two or half a dozen. I love a book that does that.
Don't get me wrong while the David Lynchesque/Bradbury-like stories exist here there are also conventional storytelling with clever visual elements that make you just see a story so clearly that you are feeling like you are watching an episode of The Twilight Zone or a really cool short film that you will not soon forget. Stories like my favorites "Terminal Leave", "Finding Things After You Are Gone", "Readers", and "Slither". Each has something different and unique about why I gravitate toward them the others. Not that the rest are not worthy of being mentioned, these just hit me harder but I think the power of a great collection is that we all grab onto our favorites. The other power of a great collection is when even the shortest of stories like "Membrane" or the ones like "Side Roads" that are more like novellas stick with you right after and you end up having to reread the following story because you were still thinking about that previous one or even better when it sticks with you long after.
This collection also has everything, poetry, some shorter fiction that reads like a Frost/Angelou poem like "Holes", short fiction that reminds you of a Poe, darker tales, and real honest almost autobiographical stories. The way this book is laid out even twists in its design. You get these nice little Tales from The Crypt/Twilight Zone type stories into these deep, personal couple of stories that turn you from awed, to maybe a little sick or grossed out, to emotional, and then comes the really twisted stuff.
WHY YOU NEED TO CHAMPION THIS COLLECTION: I think there is at least 1 story in here that everyone would gravitate towards and maybe even cherish. You will chuckle, squirm, cry, and even smile if you decide to take the whole thing on and I think all of that is so well worth it. So if you are someone who is looking to be dazzled by words, comforted by thoughts, looking for an emotional connection to or like being challenged by stories, this is THE COLLECTION. It is powerful, fun, and twisted and really hard to put down, and even harder not to go back to and re-read again and again. Especially if there are the ones that strike you or even more so confuse or tempt you to understand better. You know there is a movement out there amongst booktubers and booktokers to find the next great American Novel, but I say forget that because the next great American Storyteller in my mind was found the moment I started reading this collection.
Don't get me wrong while the David Lynchesque/Bradbury-like stories exist here there are also conventional storytelling with clever visual elements that make you just see a story so clearly that you are feeling like you are watching an episode of The Twilight Zone or a really cool short film that you will not soon forget. Stories like my favorites "Terminal Leave", "Finding Things After You Are Gone", "Readers", and "Slither". Each has something different and unique about why I gravitate toward them the others. Not that the rest are not worthy of being mentioned, these just hit me harder but I think the power of a great collection is that we all grab onto our favorites. The other power of a great collection is when even the shortest of stories like "Membrane" or the ones like "Side Roads" that are more like novellas stick with you right after and you end up having to reread the following story because you were still thinking about that previous one or even better when it sticks with you long after.
This collection also has everything, poetry, some shorter fiction that reads like a Frost/Angelou poem like "Holes", short fiction that reminds you of a Poe, darker tales, and real honest almost autobiographical stories. The way this book is laid out even twists in its design. You get these nice little Tales from The Crypt/Twilight Zone type stories into these deep, personal couple of stories that turn you from awed, to maybe a little sick or grossed out, to emotional, and then comes the really twisted stuff.
WHY YOU NEED TO CHAMPION THIS COLLECTION: I think there is at least 1 story in here that everyone would gravitate towards and maybe even cherish. You will chuckle, squirm, cry, and even smile if you decide to take the whole thing on and I think all of that is so well worth it. So if you are someone who is looking to be dazzled by words, comforted by thoughts, looking for an emotional connection to or like being challenged by stories, this is THE COLLECTION. It is powerful, fun, and twisted and really hard to put down, and even harder not to go back to and re-read again and again. Especially if there are the ones that strike you or even more so confuse or tempt you to understand better. You know there is a movement out there amongst booktubers and booktokers to find the next great American Novel, but I say forget that because the next great American Storyteller in my mind was found the moment I started reading this collection.
IF YOU LIKE stories by VONNEGUT, HEMINGWAY, POE, ANGELOU, DAVID LYNCH and are fans of TALES FROM THE CRYPT, AMAZING STORIES, or CREEPSHOW you should find something here you like.
YOU CAN GET "SIDE ROADS" HERE
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