"MONTEREY SHORTS is a well-written and very eclectic anthology"
Travel through the Monterey Peninsula, CA area with this
sparkling multi-genre anthology put together by the Fiction
Writers of the Monterey Peninsula. From solidly grounded
contemporary adventures to light-as-air flights of fantasy,
MONTEREY SHORTS gives you a taste of what the region-and
its writers-have to offer. Walter E. Gourlay starts things off with his quasi-
paranormal story "The Reunion," where a man's memories of a
Monterey Bay soldier's club provide a curious mystery. Mark
C. Angel's contribution "Mortuary Beach" is a factual, and
thrilling, account of a diving adventure. Third is Lele
Dahle's "The Lizard Catcher," a breezily gruesome summer's
tale told from a preteen's point of view. Byron Merritt
offers "Monte-Ray Gunn," a wry futuristic detective story,
and Ken Jones follows it up with "Borscht in the Bay," a
tale of Russian refugees and a nosy retiree who's wrong
more often than he's right. "Resurrected," by Chris Kemp,
is a mother-daughter tale with a twist of the paranormal,
one in a series of stories that he has written. Frances J.
Rossi lays out a woman's search for the truth-and her
encounter with deception in "A Flash of Red." Next is "A
Place to Heal," a cautionary story about stress and the
recuperative effects of Monterey by Shaheen Schmidt. "If
the Tubs Could Talk," by Pat Hanson, is a short-short story
exploring the curious habit of tub-bathing-and the tubs
that are so essential to the process. The book ends with
Mike Tyrrel's "Dot's Dad Visits Dinosaur Town," a flight of
fantasy that any parent-or anyone who was once a kid-can
appreciate. MONTEREY SHORTS is a well-written and very eclectic
anthology. While some stories captured my interest more
than others, I found myself well-pleased by the overall
collection. The front of the book provides a map for
readers to orient themselves, and each story opens up
another part of the area to the reader's imagination. The
broad spectrum of adventure, nostalgia, mystery and fantasy
ensures that there's something for everyone. Though some of
the stories are a bit more heavy-handed than others with
their themes, the verve and enthusiasm the seeps from the
book makes such offense forgivable. MONTEREY SHORTS
delivers bite-sized travel and entertainment for armchair
readers willing to take it on. Reviewed by Ann Leveille
Posted March 30, 2004
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted November 19, 2006
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