Review: Four gripping page-turners...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 3, 2012
Finished "Cauldron" last night - very entertaining!! I for one love the short story genre, and I respect an author who can craft an effective one. I think the medium presents certain inherent challenges (eg. establish a connection to characters and create tension in a far shorter period of time than with a full-length novel). The best make this appear seamless (O'Henry, Julio Cortozar, Murakami, to name a few) and the medium tends to quickly expose the hacks "...with extreme prejudice" :)On to "Caludron Gristle"...* 'EAT' - very creative! Don't think I've ever read a thriller / horror story about competitive eating before! This story had the feel of one of the old Hammer House horror films. I could practically see Vincent Price sporting the full-length cloak and wielding the bladed scepter after the true nature of the competition had revealed itself. 'Eat' was a good choice for a lead-off story as the novelty of the topic quickly hooks the reader and the reveal & denouement sets the tone for the remaining stories to come. "Gristle" indeed! My 3rd favorite of the "Cauldron" stories.* 'Expansion' - I kept thinking of the monolith from "2001 Space Odyssey" but with teeth :) The university setting was a good vehicle for quickly introducing the protagonist and for creating a locale which most of your readers could relate to. I found myself visualizing my undergraduate university campus being attacked by the monolith and even at one point got caught-up in the whole "Where would I go?" (if in fact said events had occurred on my campus). Mixed emotions about the encounter with the "red necks" in the cave. The physical challenge to get to the cave, and the various evacuation attempts being made by the masses were compelling, however I felt things escalated perhaps a bit too quickly to mindless violence regarding the 'necks versus the Prof & Student once in the mountain cave. I *DID* appreciate the conclusion of the story, and I enjoyed the exploration of the various ways in which people might react when faced with the demise of civilazation. Enjoyable, but least of the 4 offerings IMO.* 'Fishing Hole' - LOVED IT. I swear I could see that poor b#stard with Cthulhu on the end of a rod & reel and his helpless son watching only meters away and yet powerless to come to his aid. The multi-generational tie-in (eg. He would succeed where his father had failed, and so on with the next generation) was quite enthralling. The underlying moral of *WHY* the men in this family continued to dedicate years of their lives to what amounts to a Hobson's Quest (eg. Money? Revenge? Rite of Passage?) was also quite thought-provoking.  My favorite of the four "Gristles".* 'Hospital' - Having previously read 'Mountain Man', I appreciated the tie-in (eg. Gus' reference in 'Mountain Man' to the hospital incident; very Stephen King-esque crossing over from one novel to the other). The tension builds palpably in 'Hospital', and one can truly relate with the protagonist's conflicted thoughts of not "being stupid" (and leaving behind what could be a treasure trove of critical medical supplies) versus taking the chance of being swarmed by the zombie hoard which was no doubt waiting within the wings of the "abandoned" hospital. A nice twist however on the "Don't get eaten by Zombies" challenge which is typically presented in such literary offerings. Once again (as in the full-length 'Mountain Man' novel) we find that humans can be every bit as malevolent as the undead. I appreciated the creative spin on the zombie hoard as well - not just another herd of amblers and shamblers in this case - and the "chumming" scene was quite intense & not for the feint of heart. A strong addition to "Gristle" and my 2nd favorite overall.Great collection of fast-paced page-turners! As with Keith's other offerings, I found myself struggling to put "Cauldron" down and feel as if I could have read these in one sitting. Alas, like a supremely sweet pettifor these stories need to be savored, not gulped-down en masse.A solid four stars out of five. For the asking price, this is an absolute steal. Don't think twice.Cheers!- Savage