I am becoming quietly addicted to really good collections of shortstories. What makes a good collection? Variety, as far as I amconcerned. Oh, and spot on characterisation, wit, good qualitytechnical work and a structure that build up to a quiet pay-off or ahumdinger of a reveal. Genre is irrelevant but anything that smacksof vanity or self-indulgence sends me to the land of escapism(currently three-in-row games on the iPad). Now that is humiliating. To have your reader rather play a mindless freemium game instead ofplough through your prose is not the highest of recommendations. Ifyou have a recommendation, let me know (please don't include yourown, let someone else do that for you).
Bob Walker is a writer I came across a few months ago when his shortstory series A Little Known Fact About Ducks was recommendedto me. I can't remember who recommended Bob but I am so gratefulthat they did. One of his regular readers is Gavin Wilson of@TheOrangutan fame, so that should tell you how good Bob is at hiscraft. Although he cites his favourite authors as David Eddings,Iain Banks and Irvine Welsh, there is more than a little of Pratchettin some of his work.
I think that the collection shows a writer developing and growingmore confident as it progresses. Certainly, there is a world ofdifference between the first story, Slow (which is good) andthe second, Heaven's Greatest Deity. The latter shows Bob in full Pratchett mode, weaving a tale ofoffice politics taken to the ultimate conclusion. It also givesthe collection its title (of which you need to read Bob's story tofind out what it is). It made me laugh out loud, not just for theabsurdity of the whole scenario.
The stories are not long but theyare powerful. Ripples isperhaps my favourite for it's pure shock value. It gets you rightbetween the eyes. What is so good is that it is a short of only 200words in length that transports you to another time and another worldwith such economy, yet still delivers a magnificent twist.
The Gift is the sort ofstory that would not be out of place in The Twilight Zone. Bob puts together a magnificent opening of planetary explorationgoing wrong in the vicinity of Jupiter. It is reminiscent of 2010by Arthur C Clarke and for a while you do think that things are goingto go very much in that same direction but then Bob slides in a slytwist that turns everything on its head. To say too much would givethings away, so I won't. However what is on display are some defttouches when it comes to describing things and establishing dramatictension. It's good work and fun to read.
It's not all sci-fi. Betweenthe Tracks is a more personaltale of growing up, playing dares by railway lines, that packs thethe biggest uppercut of the lot. If you have to read one of Bob's stories,read this one.
Short story writing is a craft that thrives on Wattpad because it is ideally suited to the way we use the platform, and the devices we read on. I am amazed at the number of crappy novels that do well and yet short story collections typically languish with a couple of thousand reads at best. It's time shorts were pushed front and centre. Writers like Bob have a talent that more people need to read.
A Little Known Fact About Ducksisn't a long collection but I'd like to think that it is acontinuing one and that Bob is working on more ideas. Let's hope so.
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