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Nasty Snips edited by Christopher C Teague
01/03/2003 . Source: Donna Jones 
pub: MT Enterprises. 158 page enlarged paperback. Price: £ 5.99 (UK), $11.99 (US). ISBN: 0-9536833-0-3. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.pendragonpress.co.uk
'Nasty Snips' is a collection of short stories that fall under the genre of horror. Short stories ranging from a few pages to a few paragraphs to even the odd poem. The brainchild of editor Christopher C Teague and the work of over thirty writers.
I have to admit that I have never read anything quite like this before. The actual idea to publish stories that people wouldn't normally be exposed to is a very good one.
Mainly for the writers involved. Obviously the only problem with that is that you aren't going to get a sustained quality of writing throughout the book.
The overall, unfortunately, are mediocre fare. A few are downright awful. But you should be looking out for the ones that really stand out. In this publication, there are a couple that shine. I would be interested to see if any of these writers actually publish more of their work.
Down to the nitty-gritty of the thing. Some of the stories are badly written in terms of how language is used or rather misused. Throughout the book there are quite a few errors in punctuation and spelling. Y and T crossover and the odd flipping on the keyboard.
All of which really should have been picked up by editor Christopher Teague and amended. Other stories are literally not to everyone's taste and that is understandable because each writer has his or her own style.
Some of the pieces were the chuckle-at-the-absurdity-of-it kind that make great diversions.
One story sticks out for me, 'Persuasion' by Doug Hewitt was very good. The sense of irony at the very end was well-written into the overall piece. The characters too were developed very quickly and effectively.
Another one called 'The Child Catcher' by Darren Floyd was really quite terrible.
It smacked of an unedited train of thought exercise that I did many moons ago
in an English lesson. Riffing on 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' and Stephen King's
'IT' really didn't help it at all.
Overall, I think this is one you should hire out from your local library. It deserves a showing just for the fact that out of all the really bad short stories there is bound to be one that's an uncut diamond.
Donna Jones
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