Cracked
An Anthology of Eggsellent Chicken Stories
Bokerah Brumley (Editor)
Kydala Publishing, Inc.
ASIN B08H5W48ZH
I picked this up for three main reasons. First the concept really intrigued me. And I also picked this up because I am a big fan of two of the contributors. I have read and reviewed several works by both Karina Fabian and Jane Lebak. And finally, I love anthologies because I usually find an author or two to add to my reading list. The anthology did not disappoint. The description of the book is:
“Chickens Land on Mars...
But what happens when authors have too much free time on their hands?
A challenge. Craft a story featuring our favorite feathered raptors: the CHICKEN. B'gawk! Twenty authors deliver in some unexpected ways and live to crow about it. From chickens in space to cozy murder mystery farm yards to schools of magickal thought... Includes guardian angels, chicken shifters, aliens, and feathered matchmakers, Maybe even a non-fiction adventure or two... and more! These amazing chickens come from the minds of twenty cooped-up authors on the edge of cracking... Read CRACKED: An Anthology of Eggsellent Chicken Stories.”
The twenty contributors are:
J. A Campanile
Clair W. Kiernan
David Millican
I checked and other than the two contributors I was aware of I do not believe I have read anything from the 18 other authors. But this was a great collection of stories. To be honest when I read an anthology, I expect a few duds, but all the eggs in the basket were viable, and several have inspired me to look further into the works of the authors. The editor, Bokerah Brumley contributed three stories and book ends the collection. Both Grace Bridges and Karina Fabian have two contributions.
And the 24 stories are:
Martian Chicken Man
Frozen Chicken Master
Spacer Williams’ Chicken
A Murder Most Fowl
A Chicken for Miss Cuthbert
Things with Wings
Stray Thoughts
Inspection Report
Field Trip Chicken
The Chicken of Doom
Clucking in the Dark
The Great Chicken Escape
Chickening Out
Motherclucker
It Clucked
PŪKEKO: The Blue Swamp Hen
A Few Good Hens
Home Improvements
Barn Wars
Chicken Dance A
Free Range
Korion the Unclean
The Great Chicken Escapade
Chicken Magic
Some of these stories are more series than others. And some tie to other works. Both of Fabian’s offerings tie to different series she has written. And Lebak’s links to her Archangel series. A few of the stories are more of a hard science fiction. One almost Aliens like. A few made me laugh out loud. And all entertained. I was very surprised by the story of a chicken shifter, and her soul mate. It really made me smile. And the Field Trip Chicken. And chicken’s going up ladders in low gravity will surprise you. And I would love to see L. Jagi Lamplight’s Frozen Chicken Master expanded into a full-length story. I want to know what happens with the young man in the story next.
After each story is an author’s biography. And an overview of their other works and links to their sites (for most of them). Everything you need to pursue a few or many of the authors who pique your interest.
A fantastic collection of stories. And who would have guessed Chickens for September of 2020, but this collection pulls it off. A great collection of stories to amuse, entertain and maybe even frighten. So, crack the cover and give this anthology a try. There are some wonderful tails, I mean tales.
Note: For review of other stories by Karina Fabian and Jane Lebak follow the links.
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