Review: He bled for this tale.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 3, 2014
Ok, just to note I managed to get a copy of this story waaaaaaay before the publication because of a contest of sorts.Now, about my thoughts on this story. First off this story really takes a detour from Todd's familiar work to a point. I've read both his novels, and I'm getting around to reading the other two stories that are a part of his Ugly Little Things collection; but like I said, this story does take a turn down familiar, and unfamiliar roads.What I mean is this is part supernatural and yet part memoir, and it works with his talent of writing such tales of the former, as well he is speaking from the heart about his own self.Since he is able to blend both very well, and while one knows this comes off as part fact and part fiction, then it doesn't feel like it's really fake, despite that he uses the Devil as opposite of his own self. So yes, he is adding another story about making a deal the Devil to the ever growing list that many have contributed before. But since he is speaking from a more personal point of view, it doesn't come across as, again, fake. This is an important topic for Todd to talk about, and he is expressing in the best manner possible for the rest of us to understand. Obviously his Grandma was important to him, and was a major influence over him as a child, and as a writer (to me at least) he is trying to find a way to honor her through his craft.A story like this can come from anyone. I can write one, Joe Somebody down the street can write one. But it takes a person who is very talented, or has a personal stake in it, or both, to write one and have it mean something.Todd is of the third option. But just because it's not his usual work (despite that the devil makes contact through him in the most interesting way), doesn't mean one should skip this story. Trust me, I mean it. Ernest Hemingway said that, "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed," and despite that Todd probably uses a laptop, he obviously bled for this tale.