Short Stories Volume 1

Title: Short Stories Volume 1

Author: O.J Warden

Publish Date: 25th April 2022

Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery, History Fiction

Pages:41

Start Date: 30th June 2022

Finish Date: 30th June 2022

Summary

This is a collection of nine short stories covering various genres. Each story has its unique blend of storytelling and a different perspective on ways of thinking.

Review

This is a fantastic collection of short stories. The stories are told in the first person and third-person perspectives, and as they are all different, I'm sure there will be something for many readers to enjoy. I have never reviewed a collection of short stories before, so I will review each story individually and rate them, then make an average rate for the whole book.

Death

I found this interesting, and I loved how Death was like a human/angel that comes to collect you. I liked that escaping death unbeknownst to Harry meant having to carry out a contract as he was allowed extra years. I would love to see a book was written about this one story-line, to see Harry carrying out his contract and how he copes with it.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Acceptance

I found this story quite weird, and it started with the character taking drugs. It takes us on a little journey of the drugs taking effect and then them high in the clouds, then waking up not under the influence of the drugs. I love the title, Acceptance, and I feel this is because the character accepted the journey. They accepted the feeling the drug bought them. The ending was weird but also another part of acceptance. It has left me wanting to know more, to see if they take more drugs to experience the high again.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Underground

This is very much a shock factor story. I felt like there were twists and turns, and I honestly did not know what would happen next every moment—saying that this was not my type of story. I am not a horror type of person.

Rating: ⭐️

Perception

This story is so well written that it took me a couple of reads to understand what it was about. It is all about perception; how one person sees it is not how another person may see it. Someone may see it like every day, but someone else may see it as genuinely harrowing. Out of all the stories, this has amazed me; O.J Warden has just blown it out of the water. To describe it the way they did, I mean I am awestruck.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Missing

At first, I thought that this was a story about grief as it sees Arthur and Bruce at their friend Clark’s funeral. Then all of a sudden, in the end, it changes, so they are missing. I would love to see this develop into a story; maybe find out where the boys are and kind it into an escape story.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Attraction

I think this one is about grief as we discover their mum is dead, and they miss them and want to take their mum’s hand. As if they do not want to live any longer without their mum. I liked how it was styled like a letter to their dad. I believe it is a suicide note, and the title is Attraction because they are attracted to death; they want to go.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Conspiracy

Set in 2049, even though he did not name the virus, I could see it being Covid-19. I saw this as an alternative universe to what we live in now, and I loved it. I could imagine that this could have been our lives if we did not get things under control.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Invasion

Oooh, this one gave me chills, but at the same time, it made me feel sad for Kai. He signed up for this alien army because he thought he had no one, so he had nothing to lose. He wasn’t trained enough to deal with what he had to face. He must have been terrified.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Deception

This one was confusing, and I felt as if I was Karl as I was very much reading it, going, what the hell is going on! But once again, I loved it. The fact that O.J. Warden can make me feel like a character is fantastic!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

O.J Warden reached out to me and asked me to read their book and give my honest opinion, and honestly, I am so glad they did. It is different to what I read, but if this is the first of their work, I am genuinely excited to see where their work goes and how they progress. O.J Warden is a phenomenal writer, and I am just in awe of their work. Okay okay

Average Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️