Cover Image: The Master of Chaos

The Master of Chaos

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Member Reviews

I'm always wary of short stories, they can be so hit-and-miss. This is one of those rare collections that even a short-story skeptic like me would absolutely gush over. These stories are excellently written, and unlike a lot of fairly pretentious, pseudo-modernist short stories that leave you wondering what the point of the last few pages was, none of these fall into that trap. I like Melville's way of writing, where the characters' stories are interwoven with real-world settings -there's a particularly heart-breaking one set during the American invasion of Guyana in the 80s, and an absolutely excellent one in the vein of a Gogol satire, set in modern-day Russia, that was both laugh-out-loud funny and deeply thought-provoking.
I'm knocking off one star, though , since one of the characters she sends up in a story seems to be loosely based on Khodorkovsky, who faced a brutal imprisonment for standing up to corruption, and I'm not entirely sure about her cynicism about dissidents- being jailed isn't exactly a picnic, and she seems to imply dissidents are using it as a badge of honour, which is a strange attitude-there are far easier ways of gaining public approval, and this is not really something that should be mocked.
Her stories cover a range of genres, and styles, and while you may not always agree with the conclusion, they're definitely fascinating.

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This is an anthology of fourteen stories with hardly anything common across them. The stories come from varied time periods, and varied localities (Africa, Asia, South America, Europe). Some of the stories leave an imprint on your head and heart while the rest just pass by without creating any dent. As with any anthology, the collection is fairly mixed in terms of its quality. The writing is a mix of the literal and the surreal. I enjoyed the creativity and variety the book offered, but unfortunately, I couldn't connect well with a few of the stories. The title story is one of the best in the book, along with Fable of a Laureate, Reason has its Limits, The Dostoyevsky House, & Anna Karenina and Emma Bovary Discuss Their Suicides.

I can’t help feeling that this could be a good book for the right reader but maybe I wasn’t in that target category. Unfortunately, I can’t put my finger on who the right reader would be because there is no unifying thread or theme across these stories.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sandstone Press, for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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The Master of Chaos is a compelling and unique short story collection primarily set against the recognisable backdrop of the real world but with elements of magical realism. Unpredictable, haunting, with a streak of black humour, this collection of short stories ranges across the world, from Petersburg to Guyana, Syria to London, Argentina to Edinburgh. Its diverse characters are caught up in wars or revolution, escaping the past or finally returning to confront it. There is something here for everyone to enjoy. Highly recommend.

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I enjoyed this short story collection, though can't put my finger on exactly why. As the title suggests, these are fables, and while some have clear sci-fi or fantasy elements, others are set in the real world but still have a sense of unreality to them. Well worth a read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

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