Adrienne Silcock

The extended review can be found on The Review Board:

Disclaimer: May Contain Slight Spoilers

The story starts off with two couples. Both of them get pictures taken of them while posing in front of a statue called El Beso (The Kiss). Although a brief meeting, it leaves quite an impact on both couples.

Dialogue between Rita and Tom sets the stage. It was Tom's inner thoughts, not Rita's admiration for Simeon's looks, which really peaked my interest. The chance encounter becomes significant when Rick is called upon to take a case involving embezzlement of company funds. His client is none other than Tom, the gentleman he met near The Kiss.

In the past, Rick has been the pillar of doing the right thing, yet Tom's case causes Rick to blur his normally defined lines.

The author does a great job in really bringing the reader in based on dialogue along due to the innuendos. She also has a clear cut way in how she wants to use the conflict of each of the characters as well as excellent pacing with the drama.

I did notice as I read this copy of The Kiss, there were no quotation marks anywhere in the work to separate dialogue from narrative. This did make it difficult in quite a few parts to follow. In addition, in some places, there wasn't a clear breakdown of which character was saying what. It would help from a visual standpoint if the quotation marks were present. (I do recognize in different parts of the world that single quotation marks are used, as opposed to double quotation marks for dialogue.)

It would have also been nice to have italics to point out the inner dialogue and thoughts of some of the characters as well, like Tom's thoughts on Rick in the beginning or when Tom and Rick meet with each other for the case.

Despite these suggestions, I highly recommend The Kiss for its wonderfully complex characters, interesting plot, and great pacing in action.
… (mehr)

**Note: Under normal circumstances, I would wait until the other reviewer was prepared to post. However, I've been granted the go ahead to proceed. Once the other reviewer is prepared, this review will show up on The Review Board.*

The title threw me a tad. I would have thought (without knowing the premise) the work was about aliens, since the title hints at science fiction.

Disclaimer: Very slight spoiler.

Before I get into the meat of “Vermin”, which is the main story, I’d like to share my thoughts on some of the stories that followed “Vermin”. The author added these stories because she felt they connected with some of the themes brought out in “Vermin”.

T’ Ain’t Long Until Saturday: I was definitely able to see the struggle with loneliness once a loved one has passed on. It reminds me of my grandmother, who has had a hard time coping since my grandfather died of cancer two years back. Nan has no interest in having a new beau but would like someone to talk to from time to time.

The Girl: This definitely fit the outcast component of Vermin. It is a microscope into the judgmental nature of small town folks and puts into question, “Which is the more tolerable sin?” This is reminiscent of the conflict in “Notes on a Scandal.”

Angel: The whole feel of this story is quite telling. George caused me to feel conflicted. He had ways about him that were bigoted, yet weren’t in an overly hateful way. His interaction with David demonstrated that he was slightly open to change, which was why he was a little upset once David left.

To me, those were the works that really did well to compliment Vermin. ”Robert’s Garden” is borderline; “Beating Mediocrity” and “Something to Tell Tommy” seemed slightly off.

Now let’s talk about Vermin.

Vermin was such an endearing story between Darren (the little boy) and Glory (the main character). Glory’s jargon and her takes on different situations has a “laugh at my pain” factor. I loved that she was willing to step out of her comfort zone to be there for Darren.

In addition, the banter between Jim and Glory made me smile. Yes, they were good friends, but the way Glory cared about Jim mirrored something slightly deeper. The most striking thing is that Jim didn’t have to necessarily live this way (he had resources), yet he chose to do so.

Vermin also demonstrates that two people can go through the same thing and yet have different perspectives. One would think that Sis and Gloria would have a closer relationship since both went through abuse. However, Sis’ way of dealing with the tragedy was putting up a fence of denial and treating it like it was “no big deal.” Sis contends that it didn’t impact her but it did. It rendered her emotionless because she equated displaying emotion with being abused. Sis learned as long as you don’t stir the pot, you have less of a chance of backlash.

Gloria took the brunt of the abuse, yet Sis doesn’t seem the least bit grateful. She is judgmental at almost every turn, deeming Gloria crazy and failing to put the pieces together at the damnation the abuse has done to her sister. How a girl interacts with her father marks the building blocks of how she will interact with other men in the future. Gloria is the product of fighting internal and external demons that have contributed to her overall stagnation. Not everyone has the strong will to crawl from abuse’s wrath unscathed; some stench lasts a lifetime.

I like the way Vermin outlines social stereotypes and prejudices. Although I applaud what the writer was attempting to do with the additional stories, I believe Vermin does just fine standing alone.

I hope the author does consider doing an electronic copy so that others have the chance to enjoy this powerful work of awareness.… (mehr)