Postcard For Reader

Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow

Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow
Author: Daniel Nayeri
Novella Reviewing: "Room With A View", aka Blow
Publisher: Candlewick Books
How Received: BEA11

Straw House: A Western sizzling with suspense, set in a land where a rancher grows soulless humans and a farmer grows living toys.

Wood House: This science-fiction tale plunges the reader into a future where reality and technology blend imperceptibly, and a teenage girl must race to save the world from a nano-revolution that a corporation calls "ReCreation Day."

Brick House: This detective story set in modern NYC features a squad of "wish police" and a team of unlikely detectives.

Blow: A comedic love story told by none other than Death himself, portrayed here as a handsome and charismatic hero who may steal your heart in more ways than one. With humor, suspense, and relatable prose, this hip and cutting-edge collection dazzles.

At BookExpo America, they were handing out copies of Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow - well, not full copies. Each copy they gave only had one of the four novellas in it.

I was lucky enough to get the last story starring Death - well, not really; it's narrated by Death. Who, as far as characters go, I absolutely adored. I have a suspicion you will, too. He's not your traditional cloak-and-scythe Death. He has a pet bunny. (That's not a spoiler. You learn that on the first page.)

I liked the story well enough, even if I didn't really care about any of the characters besides Death. It reads as traditionally fairy tale - this, this, this happens. It's entertaining. You giggle. You gasp. You don't really feel for the characters because there's no way at all to really connect to them, but hey, they're fun to read about.

If the other three stories are as entertaining as this one was, I'd be happy to pick up the full book - and recommend it to those who do enjoy short stories.

Final Thoughts: Cute. You can't go wrong with that. And hey, Death makes a great narrator.