I love collections of short stories, and I dove right into Amy Grech’s collection of stories in Blanket of White. This collection delves through a range of human emotion. Each story is gripping and unique and stands alone. Grech truly flexes her creative muscles by examining a range of characters, places, and emotions. This is more than just a collection of horror stories, this is a collection of human feelings.
I have to say one of the stories I found most enjoyable was ‘Crosshairs’ where a father’s teachings about hunting are taken far too seriously. I wanted this story to be longer because I was so drawn in and horrified by the story as it developed that I wanted the chance to savor it more.
The same was true with almost all of the 14 short stories in this collection. The biggest disappointment I had with Blanket of White was the dialogue in some of the short stories is very stiff and doesn’t feel natural. At moments the dialogue threw me out of the magic of the story.
“Damp Wind And Leaves” is one of the most poignant and beautiful story in the collection and was a welcome breath of fresh air to the collection. It highlights the grace of Grech’s prose and her ability to create a wholly round character in a matter of pages.
The wide range of emotions, fear, lust, love, panic, hate, and confusion permeate every story in this collection marks Grech’s skill as a writer and the scope of plots and twists each story takes highlights a vivid imagination. I look forward to more of her work in the future.
You can buy Blanket of White here.
All Hallow’s Read « Judy Black Cloud Said:
on October 27, 2011 at 12:01 am
[...] Blanket of White by Amy Grech [...]