Hello and welcome to this leg of the Velocities blog tour!
Now, thank you to the lovely people over at Meerkat Press for sending me a copy of Kathe Koja’s short story collection Velocities: Stories.
SUMMARY:
From the award-winning author of The Cipher and Buddha Boy, comes Velocities, Kathe Koja's second electrifying collection of short fiction. Thirteen stories, two never before published, all flying at the speed of strange. Dark, disturbing, heartfelt and utterly addictive.
145 pages, 13 stories, that is all that Velocities contains, 145 pages, that is all Kathe Koja need to create 13 vivid worlds! I spent 5 days reading this collection, not because I am a slow reader, this would usually have taken me a nice afternoon to get through, no this took 5 days because after each story I had to take a break and reflect on what I just read, these stories left me breathless, when I had read the 13 stories, I felt like I had read 13 novels, there is no word superfluous to be found here, more is said with what is not written here.
13 stories in 145 pages, I know I keep going on about how this is only 145 pages, it is simply because within these 145 pages, Koja have created a body of work with more creative variety than some writers manage to make in a lifetime!
When it comes to short story collections, I usually write a short summary of each story, often humours, which is a shame because I am not funny. But I cannot do that here, because I do not want to spoil any discovery of the stories themselves you as the reader would have, and I also feel that to write small summaries would be diminishing to each story, and would take something out of them. But I will tell you this, these stories are wildly different when it comes to the aspect of genre, yes, they are all very literary, but here there can be found; quiet horror, dystopian science fiction, historical fiction and a hint of crime. These stories are filled to the brim with humanity, love, loss and heartache. They will stay with you, because they are staying with me.
The stories also have theatrical feel to them, I think most of the tales would not have any problem being translated to stage or even a film adaptation, I would love to see an adaptation of the story The Marble Lily, its told entirely through a monologue, and the sheer ferocity left me staggered whilst reading it, I just would love to see the result in the hands of a talented actor and director!
Usually at the end of my posts I give a rating of a ?/5 of something found in the book I just read, just to put a fun spin on it all, but I cannot do that there, it would feel diminishing to Velocities, and a mere rating system using any numbers, whether it be 5/5 10/10 or 100/100 would be pointless! No, Velocities is simply a flawless collection, Just perfect.
So, do yourself a favour and pick up a copy of one of the most interesting releases this year
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kathe Koja writes novels and short fiction, and creates and produces immersive fiction performances, both solo and with a rotating ensemble of artists. Her work crosses and combines genres, and her books have won awards, been translated, and optioned for film and performance. She is based in Detroit and thinks globally.
VELOCITIES: STORIES by Kathe Koja
RELEASE DATE: 4/21/20
GENRE: Collection / Dark Fantasy / Weird Fiction / Horror
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