Sam Kates

This is just a short story but it packs a punch, and shows what the author's capable of. It's free, too.

Dying by Numbers

Amazon.com link

My review -

From the title, this sounded like a murder mystery, but the cover conveys the truth. It’s short, maybe eighteen pages, but it packs so much in. A survivor of one of the death camps, with the help of his daughter, has found the daughter of one of his companions in the camp. One who didn’t survive.

For such a short story, this is complex and poignant. It packs so much into the present and the memories of the time in the camps. Things are never simple. Really well worth the short time it will take you to read. It’s free and gives you a real flavour of the author’s writing.

Sam Kates

Just three stories here on a single theme - but different genres. A great read.

Strange Shores

Amazon.com

My review -

This little book will give you an evening of pleasure – and you can’t say that about everything you buy! The three stories tell of people’s reactions to the loss of a loved one. In the first, Strange Shores, a teacher who has lost his wife to cancer, find a way that he believes he will reach her again. In Alfonso’s Looking Glass a young man who has lost his wife has spent three years wrapped in grief. His grandfather’s looking glass offers joy or despair. He finds a way to utilise this for his own happiness. Finally, A Matter of Perspective thrusts us into a grim, post-apocalyptic world where those few survivors live on the edge.

These three stories are very different in genre but are tied into a thoroughly satisfying whole by the overarching theme. I really enjoyed them.

Sam Kates

Sam is a new author to me and I started with this book of short stories.  It's excellent!

Pond Life

Amazon.com  Pond Life

My review -

This is a little gem. It's a book of varied short stories but each is perfect - not something you always feel about collections. There's nothing here you would say was a make-weight. There are ten stories (and an excerpt from the authors book - I haven't looked at this because I don't want to spoil it for myself) and each is beautifully written. There are a couple of stories about obsession, one about World War 2, a girl who says she can fly, a way of dealing with noisy neighbours - all human life is here! 

Sam Kates' style is easy to read; deceptively so, I think, as the language is used imaginatively and rather evocatively. The stories here range from horror to humour and sometimes one story contains both. Many have been previously published and it's evident that he is an experienced story teller. Sam Kates has form! I am very keen to read his horror novel too. I feel he's an author to watch. This collection is really excellent.