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toffee_coffee's review
4.0
Originally posted on www.ashleyroberts5693.wordpress.com
I received this book as part of a giveaway that Caroline Smailes carried out on her Instagram during May. The prizes were great – a couple of books and a few other bits and pieces! However, at the time that the books arrived I wasn’t reading too much; I decided to pick up Freaks to try and pull me out of my ‘reading slump’ – it didn’t exactly work, but I did manage to read this book in just one night.
The book was only short, but it did manage to keep me intrigued and made me want to keep reading. With every new short story there was a new dark twist on the usual happy light of superpowers and superheroes. I thought this was an interesting change to the usual stories that are written, which may have been part of what kept me interested. However, there was also a bit of humour (though, still, on occasion the darkness appeared again) within the book. Due to this, the book was able to keep throwing different emotions at me.
In addition, this book further showed the dark side of Caroline Smailes’ writing – I can’t speak for Nik Perring though, having never read anything else of his. But, during another of Smailes’ books, The Drowning of Arthur Braxton, you can definitely see the darker and slightly twisted ideas that Smailes has.
I received this book as part of a giveaway that Caroline Smailes carried out on her Instagram during May. The prizes were great – a couple of books and a few other bits and pieces! However, at the time that the books arrived I wasn’t reading too much; I decided to pick up Freaks to try and pull me out of my ‘reading slump’ – it didn’t exactly work, but I did manage to read this book in just one night.
The book was only short, but it did manage to keep me intrigued and made me want to keep reading. With every new short story there was a new dark twist on the usual happy light of superpowers and superheroes. I thought this was an interesting change to the usual stories that are written, which may have been part of what kept me interested. However, there was also a bit of humour (though, still, on occasion the darkness appeared again) within the book. Due to this, the book was able to keep throwing different emotions at me.
In addition, this book further showed the dark side of Caroline Smailes’ writing – I can’t speak for Nik Perring though, having never read anything else of his. But, during another of Smailes’ books, The Drowning of Arthur Braxton, you can definitely see the darker and slightly twisted ideas that Smailes has.
belle_fiction's review
4.0
4.5 stars
What a delightful gem of a book! I took my time reading this because with a flash fiction collection, it is incredibly easy to get carried away and read them all in one go!
Freaks comprises of 50 illustrated flash fictions concerned with human beings who possess some extraordinary super powers including the ability to freeze time, the ability to amplify memories, the ability to enter another's dreams (which I would LOVE to do!) and the ability to mask one's true form. These stories are able to capture and convey so much feeling in so few words, and leave you asking more questions about these characters' lives.
For me, some of the strongest stories were the ones which tugged at my heart strings and stimulated my little grey cells; I'm thinking of Clipped Wings and Sixteen, which has got to be one of the most memorable and affecting flash fictions I have ever read.
I love how the authors manipulate their language use to fit the characters and situations they describe; sometimes being bold and direct (see Before I Lost You and Control) and in other stories, their language use is beautifully subtle and poetic (see Fifty Per Cent, Hello and The Six Days of Stetson.)
There are sooooo many stories I love in this collection, it would be ridiculous typing them all here, although, for me, my absolute favourites include The Six Days of Stetson, Clipped Wings, Fifty Per Cent, Sixteen, Hello, No Sudden Movements and Beauty.
What I will say about the final three stories mentioned above, is that they perfectly capture humanity in every sense; our shyness when it comes to approaching someone who might just be 'the one', when an obsession with someone becomes too much and how Beauty can capture a particular moment in time.
Freaks is a book which should be savoured in order to be fully appreciated; trust me you wouldn't want to miss out on so many beautiful words.
What a delightful gem of a book! I took my time reading this because with a flash fiction collection, it is incredibly easy to get carried away and read them all in one go!
Freaks comprises of 50 illustrated flash fictions concerned with human beings who possess some extraordinary super powers including the ability to freeze time, the ability to amplify memories, the ability to enter another's dreams (which I would LOVE to do!) and the ability to mask one's true form. These stories are able to capture and convey so much feeling in so few words, and leave you asking more questions about these characters' lives.
For me, some of the strongest stories were the ones which tugged at my heart strings and stimulated my little grey cells; I'm thinking of Clipped Wings and Sixteen, which has got to be one of the most memorable and affecting flash fictions I have ever read.
I love how the authors manipulate their language use to fit the characters and situations they describe; sometimes being bold and direct (see Before I Lost You and Control) and in other stories, their language use is beautifully subtle and poetic (see Fifty Per Cent, Hello and The Six Days of Stetson.)
There are sooooo many stories I love in this collection, it would be ridiculous typing them all here, although, for me, my absolute favourites include The Six Days of Stetson, Clipped Wings, Fifty Per Cent, Sixteen, Hello, No Sudden Movements and Beauty.
What I will say about the final three stories mentioned above, is that they perfectly capture humanity in every sense; our shyness when it comes to approaching someone who might just be 'the one', when an obsession with someone becomes too much and how Beauty can capture a particular moment in time.
Freaks is a book which should be savoured in order to be fully appreciated; trust me you wouldn't want to miss out on so many beautiful words.
queerbillydeluxe's review
4.0
This was definitely a bit different than I thought it would be, but so very awesome nonetheless. The short short fiction in this is amazing, and I loved it.
librarydino's review
4.0
This was definitely a bit different than I thought it would be, but so very awesome nonetheless. The short short fiction in this is amazing, and I loved it.
offmessage's review
4.0
Like all collections of flash fiction this is hit and miss, but the hits are frequent enough and moving/touching/thought provoking enough to make this well worth seeking out.
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