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A review by ponch22
The Last Star & Other Stories by D.L. Orton
4.0
Read an ARC version of this as one of [a:DL Orton|13506103|D.L. Orton|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1427753745p2/13506103.jpg]'s proofreaders. It's a pretty enjoyable collection of short stories!
"The Last Star" tells the story of two nearly eternal beings as they witness the Heat Death of the universe. The two characters have a unique relationship. I wish there had been more about their creation though. The male seemed to be an AI created in the near future and the other a human whose consciousness was transferred into an AI, I believe. Somehow it seems these two are the only eternal beings, but it's still a decent story about the end of the world.
"Just Friends" is about two college-aged kids who grew up together and is from the point of view of the guy who's had a crush on the girl for forever. It's a classic story (who hasn't been there) but the dialogue felt a little unbelievable. Or maybe it's the history they share through dialogue—it's so crazy what these two friends have done (without doing what they want to do).
"Phoenix" is a fun little bit of nonfiction with some misdirection and surprises. I forgot that it wasn't fiction as I read it and that gave me some fun ideas about what I was reading!
"My Kingdom for a Double Espresso" is all about an awkward morning after. But not a morning after sex but rather after a night when he fell asleep while she wanted to have sex. Felt like a real, yet heightened, first fight.
"Down in Flames" is the second non-fiction story of the collection. Originally I thought it was going to be a cloying retelling of the 9/11 aftermath but it quickly became something much more personal and emotional. Probably the best piece of the collection!
"Willing" is about a new divorcée who gets into a flirtatious text conversation with a much younger man. It explores the emotions & feelings of getting back in the game after being out of it for so long.
"The Idiot's Guide to Writing Workshops" is a very inside-baseball, tongue-in-cheek look at writing and editing and proofreading. Some parts went over my head (I knew some of the abbreviations she pokes fun at but not all) while other parts were quite helpful (Hugs!)
And finally, "The Devil and a Hard Place" is the NSFW finale where Orton lets her naughty side out. I've never been a huge fan of the R-rated scenes in her other books but this story worked, maybe because it was a standalone piece of erotica and not a few sexy scenes peppered in throughout a standard story.
Overall, the collection averages out to 4*. Definitely worth the time it took to read!
"The Last Star" tells the story of two nearly eternal beings as they witness the Heat Death of the universe. The two characters have a unique relationship. I wish there had been more about their creation though. The male seemed to be an AI created in the near future and the other a human whose consciousness was transferred into an AI, I believe. Somehow it seems these two are the only eternal beings, but it's still a decent story about the end of the world.
"Just Friends" is about two college-aged kids who grew up together and is from the point of view of the guy who's had a crush on the girl for forever. It's a classic story (who hasn't been there) but the dialogue felt a little unbelievable. Or maybe it's the history they share through dialogue—it's so crazy what these two friends have done (without doing what they want to do).
"Phoenix" is a fun little bit of nonfiction with some misdirection and surprises. I forgot that it wasn't fiction as I read it and that gave me some fun ideas about what I was reading!
"My Kingdom for a Double Espresso" is all about an awkward morning after. But not a morning after sex but rather after a night when he fell asleep while she wanted to have sex. Felt like a real, yet heightened, first fight.
"Down in Flames" is the second non-fiction story of the collection. Originally I thought it was going to be a cloying retelling of the 9/11 aftermath but it quickly became something much more personal and emotional. Probably the best piece of the collection!
"Willing" is about a new divorcée who gets into a flirtatious text conversation with a much younger man. It explores the emotions & feelings of getting back in the game after being out of it for so long.
"The Idiot's Guide to Writing Workshops" is a very inside-baseball, tongue-in-cheek look at writing and editing and proofreading. Some parts went over my head (I knew some of the abbreviations she pokes fun at but not all) while other parts were quite helpful (Hugs!)
And finally, "The Devil and a Hard Place" is the NSFW finale where Orton lets her naughty side out. I've never been a huge fan of the R-rated scenes in her other books but this story worked, maybe because it was a standalone piece of erotica and not a few sexy scenes peppered in throughout a standard story.
Overall, the collection averages out to 4*. Definitely worth the time it took to read!