A review by landturn
Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke

dark funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
That's not his child!

I never felt so adamant about saying something like that.

Sour Candy is as good as the cover art. It was the outline of a smokey-red background by massive antlers from a deer skull that caught my initial attention.

In that space is a nightmare that confronts only Phil, the main character. SMH: I couldn't help but feel for him.

​That thing is not his child.

Sour Candy is well-suited for the Kindle app it's hosted on (or e-readers in general). It's a short story. It's not bogged down with fleeting details. And the vocabulary level isn't rudimentary, but bite-size intervals of reading aren't hindered by persistent definition lookups.

I first learned about Burke's work through his story in the anthology Dark Cities (C. Golden). If you liked "The Dogs" (Scott Smith) in that anthology (and I did!), then give Sour Candy a try.

Sour Candy is one of, according to his bio at the end, Burke's works optioned for a movie. Optioning is no guarantee for movie production, but I hope it works out in his favor.

https://landturn.com/reviews/sour-candy-kealan-patrick-burke