Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Sing Me Your Scars - by Damien Angelica Walters - A fine collection of speculative fiction, beautifully written

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

The Apex Voices series continues with book #03, Sing Me Your Scars, a winning collection of speculative shorts from Damien Angelica Walters.  If you've not heard of Damien Angelica Walters, well that's sort of the point of this series, which aims to introduce the reader to writers who are making waves, but are still relatively unknown.

This collection fittingly begins with the title story which is one of the best shorts I've ever read.  The way it was told was a bit like piecing together a puzzle.  It's tough to tell you more without spoilers, but it really set the stage nicely for the rest of the collection.

One of the things that sets this writer apart is her lyrical, almost poetic prose.  The stories run from powerful to gut wrenching to charming, some exhibit all of those qualities in the same tale, like "Girl, With Coin," the tale of Olivia whose pain receptors are screwed up, a disorder so rare, it doesn't even have it's own support group.

I can honestly say that Damien Angelica Walters voice is like no other I've ever read.  I loved the story about the tragedy of Alzheimer's, "Melancholia in Bloom."

Then there's, "Iron and Wood, Nail and Bone."  Why would someone have themself nailed to a cross, repeatedly?

Elsewhere, in the collection, the author deals with spousal abuse, loss, scarring, robot-love, magic, and even zombies.  All with the same literate skill.

Sing Me Your Scars is available now, both in paperback and ebook formats, from Apex Books and can be purchased through Amazon.com.

You also might want to check out the other books in the Voices series, Plow the Bones by Douglas F. Warrick and  I Can Transform You by Maurice Broaddus.  Both of these books are well worth your time.

Strongly recommended.


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