Review: Stories with good potential but not seeming quite fully cooked
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 5, 2014
As usual I received this book free for the purposes of review.  Despite that kind consideration I give my candid opinions below.This collection of four short stories amounts to a couple hours of reading; keep this in mind if considering paying full price for it.  I'd categorize the stories as tales of the everyday but always with some wry twist, somewhat reminiscent of the Twilight Zone.On the positive side, these are quick and efficient tales; the author doesn't waste much time getting to the heart of things.  Depending on your point of view that efficiency can be viewed as a good thing or a bad thing.  These are real quick jabs of stories, nothing long, drawn out or overly complicated.  I'd not be surprised to see them in some of the pulps of the 50s and 60s.  Kelley's stories are also reasonably original and thought provoking.To the negative side, Kelly's surprise twists seem to be somewhat forced and lack subtlety.  They don't quite live up to the polished refinement of the masters of this genre, but then not everyone can be a Bradbury or an Asimov right out of the gate.  Further, two of the four stories just seem unfinished.  In Twilight Zone terms it's like turning off the TV three minutes before the real ending and things end with a rather muted "huh..." rather than the usual "oh!"In summary, these stories have potential but they just don't seem quite fully cooked yet.  They're the kernel of good ideas but just need a bit more hammering out and detail.  Also, for the current asking price I'd expect much more content.  This book really flies by.