Random very short stories and poems. Some of the stories were very funny. I am not a fan of the poetry portions ( I just don't like poetry, nothing against his in particular) but the story portions made up for the poetry part. I would recommend it to a few of my friends because I think this is a pretty decent read. ( )

This review can also be found on my blog, Now is Gone on June 22, 2012.

Book Info: Genre: Short stories/Poetry; Fantasy/magical realism
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Readers

My Thoughts: These very enjoyable short stories and poems run the gambit from humorous – the demoness who inflicts ironic punishments – to Lovecraftian – the poem about Cairo – to thought-provoking - “The God of the Poor” among others. I found myself laughing (for example, at the Holmes satire), thinking and thoroughly enjoying myself throughout reading this book. There was not a single story or poem in this book that I did not enjoy. There are a lot of themes that show up time and again – the town of Telelee, the various gods and goddesses, puns galore, thought-provoking ideas...

If you like stories of any type, if you like reading at all, you will definitely find something in this little book to enjoy. I imagine that most people will enjoy them all, just like I did. If you don’t yet have this terrific little book, go grab a copy now!

Disclosure: I received a free e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Death gets a roommate...

An electronic Pope faces a difficult theological question...

A wicked vizier makes a terrible bargain...

44 stories. 19 poems. No whiny vampires. There's a thin line between genius and insanity, and James Hutchings has just crossed it – but from which direction? ( )

The New Death and Others is a collection of 44 stories and 19 poems. Some of the stories are so short they could be a vignette…if they’d been drawn instead of written.

Irreverent, cheeky, sarcastic and very amusing is how I’d describe this collection. I skipped only three items: Under the Pyramids, The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune and The Garden of Adompha because I couldn’t get into them. The rest were pretty funny, at least to me they were. I’ve been told I have a strange sense of humor sometimes though, so what amused me in this collection may not be quite so amusing to others.

A fast easy read and an enjoyable way to pass the time. I groaned, snickered, giggled and even LOL’d my way thru this hodgepodge collection. A great way to pass the time.

*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page on my blog. ( )

If you like anthologies check out The New Death and Others by James Hutchings. This is a book of flash fiction and poetry that deal with mythology, fairy tales and horror. Most of the stories that are here are less than 1,000 words. They make you think and laugh while looking at the dark side of fantasy. This collection has a little of everything, including monsters who are afraid that people are no longer scared of them, A man longing for the perfect woman and a funny tale of two demons in love.

The first story in this collection is called The God of The Poor and deals with the gods deciding on which one of them will have dominion over the poor. In this story, I felt the gods were a metaphor for how most people think of the poor and it really set the stage for the rest of the book. In the next story called How The Isle of Cats Got Its Name, James Hutchings creates his own mythology. It is set in the fictional city of Telelee and follows a powerful sorceress named Abi-simiti as she collects all the cats in the city to take to an unnamed island. Her plan is to torture cats as part of a musical instrument that is meant to impress a god. Abi-simiti makes a crucial mistake and the cats have the last laugh. Anyone who is a cat lover should enjoy this one along with another story in the collection called My Cat Is Not Like Other Cats.

There are a few stories in The New Death And Others that I really enjoyed. One in particular was The Doom That Was Laid Upon Fame. In this story the goddess Fame is blamed and punished for giving people who are unworthy fame and fortune, but she finds a way to get out of trouble with help from the seldom heard about fifth member of the four horseman of the apocalypse. Another good one is Weary Love, that is a funny short poem that tells what happens when the god Commerce takes over for Love. Some other stories here that were very similar that I enjoyed was Fame's Beloved, The New Death and The New God. If you like short stories and poems that are funny, dark and gives a satirical look at life, you will enjoy The New Death and Others. There are a lot of good ideas in this book, in particular I enjoyed The stories involving the land of Telelee. I enjoy it when authors create their own mythology and I hope to hear more stories set in Telelee from James Hutchings in the future. ( )

If you really like Lovecraft, you might like this too. Not very original, though. ( )