Review: Excellent short fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 21, 2011
"Unsavory Delicacies" features three short stories by author Russell Brooks, each involving food in some way. Fans of Russell's earlier novel "Pandora's Succession," will delight at seeing Ridley Fox's return. And frankly, just reading the stories involving Fox really made me want to pick up "Pandora's Succession" and read more, he's an interesting and driven character - and that comes through even in such short fiction.I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite out of the three stories, with "Creme Brule" and "To the Last Bite" being tied for first. "To the Last Bite" contains a rather delicious [ha, ha] surprise ending. Just when I was wondering how the author was going to wrap this story up, what the final conclusion was going to be - he throws the reader for a loop. And "Creme Brule" contained one of my favorite types of action scenes/stories - a professional versus a professional. The battle of wits and skills. "Shashlyk and Moreznenoe," while not my top favorite, was still really good, and seemed to be setting up the scene for a future Ridley Fox novel - fingers crossed!Fans of Russell Brooks will enjoy his newest release, as will fans of good fiction in general. Action fans should definitely check it out.FIVE out of FIVE (5/5). Great, quick read - good to the last bite, so to speak.