ISBN #: 978-0741473608
Page Count: 159
Copyright: March 9, 2012
Publisher: Infinity Publishing
Book Summary:
(Taken from back cover)
Poe's stories aren't just good reads. They're thought provoking experiences. Poe's introduction, Beyond the Bright Light, as heard on radio is a must read for the curious. Discover what lies beyond and fourteen entertaining tales. Poe delivers another crop of twisted stories. Disturbing, weird and rich with dark humor, his tales examine our relationships, society, religion and even politics with alternative histories and flat out science fiction. Hags, trolls, djinn, knights, bears, aliens, this book has everything. Readers sit back and enjoy the wild ride. It's easy to see why reviewers compare Frank to Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe.
Kathy's Review:
Let's just get something out of the way. Frank's twisted tales are in need of a twisted editor. Or just a regular editor. By the second page, I had my red pen out and was editing as I went along. That's not a good sign. I won't waste any space going into the details of what needs editing. Just read my post, Editing Is Your Friend, and we'll move on.
Despite the fact that this book bears many markings from the Red Pen of Grammarsmack, I found all of these twisted tales to be engrossing. Disturbing, but engrossing. Definitely not for the easily offended or easily weirded-out. There's some graphic sexual content in here, as well as violence, rape, murder, cannibalism and bestiality. This is a collection of short stories, poetry and artwork (some is the author's and other artists are also featured) that feature some everyday people, and some historical and fictional figures. Poe takes simple ideas (for instance, two rival actors at a Medieval Times-type show) and weaves them into intriguing tales.
I particularly liked "Dreams of Djinni," a story-within-a-story about a mysterious not-for-sale broken pearl ring on display at a store, "The Brothers Chi" is an interesting telling of the history of China with a bit of political satire thrown in, and "Tolkien Revisited" offers a spin on how the story "Lord of the Rings" came to be. Each offers something unique and, as the title suggests, twisted.
A note on the author: he is a survivor of MS and is donating partial proceeds of his book sales to charity. He is to be commended both for his personal triumph and his generosity.
Support a good cause and check out some twisted tales - as long as you have an open mind and don't get turned off by the weird stuff.
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Thanks for the review. Although the book was professionally edited, I like to note advanced reading copies contain some errors.
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