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angielisle's review
4.0
I expected to find more humor in this book because of the cover art but was surprised to find a much wider range of emotions covered in this collection of short stories. I should've guessed that from the title. There's a strong soldier theme in many of the stories which makes this a good gift for bookworm-soldiers hailing from Appalachia.
Like many short story collections, there were a couple tales here that didn't hook me but it was a matter of personal taste/understanding so I'm not pointing out the stories.
Four stories stood out to me the most. Jesse Knifley's Elzy Taylor and the Men from the City and Michael Knost's Knuckles in Coal Dust are great portrayals of the mind-set that Appalachian folk are known for while also shying away from the typical stereotypes, depicting characters and settings that felt real. I'm biased when it comes to Steve Vernon, his work always reminds me of people I know in real life and Dead Man's Salute is a story I can recommend to a couple soldiers I know. Paula R. Stile's The Back Roads to Hell hooked me so much that I'd like to see a series come from this character.
I devoured these stories, reading one each night before bed to prevent myself from reading the book in one sitting. I wish this book was longer, that's my biggest beef - I felt like I was just settling into the book when I turned the last page.
Like many short story collections, there were a couple tales here that didn't hook me but it was a matter of personal taste/understanding so I'm not pointing out the stories.
Four stories stood out to me the most. Jesse Knifley's Elzy Taylor and the Men from the City and Michael Knost's Knuckles in Coal Dust are great portrayals of the mind-set that Appalachian folk are known for while also shying away from the typical stereotypes, depicting characters and settings that felt real. I'm biased when it comes to Steve Vernon, his work always reminds me of people I know in real life and Dead Man's Salute is a story I can recommend to a couple soldiers I know. Paula R. Stile's The Back Roads to Hell hooked me so much that I'd like to see a series come from this character.
I devoured these stories, reading one each night before bed to prevent myself from reading the book in one sitting. I wish this book was longer, that's my biggest beef - I felt like I was just settling into the book when I turned the last page.
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