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Internal Difference: New fiction by Roger Granelli, Nigel Jarrett and A. L. Reynolds
The Cockatrice happily endorses the view that a book should not be judged by its cover, because the content of these is even better.
Any Kind of Broken Man: Collected Stories by Roger Granelli has been reviewed at Buzz Magazine. Isabel Thomas praises the book both for the richness of its humour and characterisation, and for its nuanced portrayal of ‘the complexity of living through shifting and stagnant economic landscapes.’ She also picks up on the variety of a collection whose characters include ‘the disillusioned old gentleman in the pub lounge who sleeps in a coffin… the carer who owns the town’s drug trade… the gun-wielding jazz musician bored of bebop and seeking new thrills.’
Jonathan Lee praises Five Go to Switzerland and Other Stories by Nigel Jarrett — ‘a polymath of the written word’ — in his review for Nation.Cymru. Focusing on Nigel’s technique, he finds much to admire in his pacing, the variety of his characters, genres, and settings, and the musicality of his prose, which matches the knowledge of music, especially jazz, which he ‘into his characters.’
Finally, A. L. Reynolds’ new novel, Seaside Towns, earns high praise at Buzz Magazine. Rachel Rees applauds it as ’a compelling love triangle between two men and the past... gentle yet searing, introspective yet intensely physical’ and urges readers to ‘seek out’ ‘this gem of a book’ — though you can order it quite easily from Cockatrice Books at the button below.