Review: Novelty, gore and strong characterization
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 2, 2012
Suzanne has a knack for realistic dialogue that allows you to get comfortable inside her characters skins.  Her focus appears to rest on her characterization, which is likely why I enjoy these stories, since I prefer stronger characters and sparser description.The Moonlight KillerWith a brief killer intro, we are introduced to Jimmy, looking for a job in stripper bar.  He is attacked by a wolf on his way out, and bitten.  When he returns home, the wound is inexplicably healed and things go from strange to even stranger.I really liked the interaction between Jimmy and Mary and the serial killer references, for contrast.  The transformation scenes also had some great detail.  The ending was both amusing and appropriate.  This was my favourite of the three storiesB.I.T.ECarly laughs at the radio proclamations of a coming apocalypse by Jebediah/Morton, but she's still compelled to listen to them as she jogs.  Things suddenly degrade and she and her family find themselves fighting to survive.  Mutants, zombies and demons?  If the end is nigh, as nature goes wild in a new way, can anyone survive, and if so, how?If you like gore and startling imagery you'll enjoy this one, although I found it a little chaotic for my liking, and I was more inclined to the opening and closing stories of this collection.  This one has a bit more "bite" than the other stories, however, and is entertaining just in its novelty.Welcome to the FutureRay Simmons is presented as a troublemaker, a rebel with a learning disability, an overbearing father and a distaste for "freaks".  Out of options, he allows himself to become the subject of an experiment, an augmentation, in hopes that it will provide him with solutions.  He gets the results he is looking for and more, including some unpleasant side-effects and a view of the future he doesn't want.This had a sci-fi feel to it, but it was more of a horror story with a human interest flavour.  While it was a good story, I think it would have been better as a longer tale, with a little more background for Ray.  He's an intriguing character and I would have loved to see more lead-in and a better sampling of his family dynamics.All three tales were fun and shocking in places.  The first was my favourite, but I think Suzanne offers something for an assortment of tastes here, whether you like your horror gory, intellectual or genuine.  I'd rate this a 4.5, with a 5 for the first story, a 4 for the second, and the last one falling somewhere between the other two.