Sunday, November 6, 2016

Wasps in June

Wasps in June by Brad Prentice
Black Rose Writing: 6/4/15
eBook review copy; 182 pages
ISBN-13: 9781612965345

Wasps in June by Brad Prentice  is a so-so book containing two short stories: "Wasps" and "Ten Days in June."

In "Wasps" swarms of wasps are attacking people in an area of L.A., resulting in death. Why are they attacking and what could be behind the odd behavior? A reporter, John Walsh, tries to uncover more information as the territory of the wasps is increasing. There is more going on than it seems.

In "Ten Days in June" after a student mentions a friend dying in a car accident, professor Vincent West realizes his cousin lives in the area where the student died. He decides to take a trip to visit his cousin, Carson, over summer break. There are some strange things going on that give a new meaning to small town secrets.

While the premise of both stories is promising, the quality of the writing isn't quite up to the task. Rather than having the stories develop and evolve as facts are revealed, both stories are written in a straightforward manner using simple sentences and rudimentary language in multiple short chapters. It's sort of a "they did this, then that happened, and he went there" approach. While this may be good tactic for some readers, it wasn't quite the finely honed writing that I appreciate in short stories. Kudos for interesting plots.



Disclosure: My advanced reading copy was courtesy of Reading Deals.

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