Realities and Alternatives by Ethan Goffman

Realities and Alternatives by Ethan Goffman

Realities and Alternatives by Ethan Goffman

These tales start one way then due to the clever writing of the author take off in all kinds of different directions. This makes them entertaining and fun to read because you’ll want to know what’s going to happen next, and just how the story in going to finish. The twists and turns are quite unexpected. There’s originality here.

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Realities and Alternatives by Ethan Goffman

Copyright 2023, Cyberwit

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cyberwit.net (December 6, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 139 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9395224169
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9395224161
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.35 x 8.5 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #5,523,820 in Books

Review by LB Sedlacek

 

This new book is a collection of stories blending in realities with alternatives just like the title says.  The author has divided the book into three sections:  Realities, Metafictional Interludes and Alternatives.

 

These tales start one way then due to the clever writing of the author take off in all kinds of different directions.  This makes them entertaining and fun to read because you’ll want to know what’s going to happen next, and just how the story in going to finish.  The twists and turns are quite unexpected.  There’s originality here.

 

Goffman exhibits fine craftmanship with each of these stories.  He certainly has lots of imagination and knows how to express it on the page.

 

The author presents a variety of subjects and themes in his stories.  There’s everything from first person to a talking mouse in his prose.

 

The Alternatives section was the part I liked the most.  Goffman presents such a different point of view it’s refreshing. 

 

His writing is intricate.  He is able to thread his characters through his stories with a delicate hand and an intriguing mind.

 

FROM “The Practical Importance of Certain Philosophical Questions”:


“Cal, a short heavy man in a business suit, was carrying chunks of
lava. Once seething with fiery life, these chunks were cold and dormant,
capable only of dragging down their bearer. Heat and pressure were
now the province of Cal; sweat spewed from the little holes which
peppered his flesh, just as the lava had once spewed from a gaping
crater.”

 

Goffman gives us writing with good spirit.  He is able to create a story world that is brand new.  

 

This is a book with stories that unfold in just the right places.  It is a book of something different and that makes it a good read.

 

 

~LB Sedlacek is the author of “Swim,” “Night Swim,” “The Poet Next Door,” “Simultaneous Submissions,” “The Blue Eyed Side,” “Four Thieves of Vinegar & Other Short Stories,” and “The Jackalope Committee & Other Short Stories.”