Magical Roads
Kia Zi Shiru
5 Times Chaos
Fiction, YA Collection/Fantasy
***+
Description
A boy prepares to leave the safety of mother and home, a girl pushes boundaries without understanding the consequences, a young man reflects on his first family hunting trip, a traditional family vacation takes on deeper meaning... the author shares four short stories in this collection. This title also includes a preview chapter from a longer book by author Kia Zi Shiru.
Review
Yes, I'm on a bit of a short story kick. The holidays are busy, and with so many projects competing for attention, they fit my fragmented concentration better than longer works right now. That said, this isn't a bad little collection, though the author seems to be trying a little too hard for "surprise" twist endings - which is odd, given how heavy-handed the teen sex and pregnancy metaphor was in the tale Hatchling. Two of the stories also seemed to end just before the story proper actually started. As for the preview, I confess I didn't finish reading it, so I cannot comment except to say that I didn't feel, from the offered synopsis, that it would be my cup of cocoa. (I also don't like being force-fed a sales pitch.) I've definitely read worse, though.