Boondocks is a collection of short stories about the backlots or boondocks of the USA. All of the stories hold a delightful taste of the strange and mysterious, the supernatural and extraterrestrial. There is quite a diversity between each story though. In some, there are the demons who help mankind to help themselves. However, there are some in which demons wish nothing better than to cause havoc and destruction. Some stories are about how the strange and the supernatural save humans because it is the right thing to do. While other stories are about how supernatural beings attack and maim because it’s fun for them. There may be a lot of change and difference between the stories, but there is always one ever-present detail that interlocks all of these stories together with a firm hand; they all start in the boondocks.
I found that the fervor of getting a new book quickly died while reading this storybook. The stories did not explain themselves well. Many brought in characters without explaining who they were or how they got there, and in quite a few of these stories nothing at all happened until the last page of the tale. If you’re looking for an exciting book with a good storyline and interesting characters, I suggest you pass this book by. However, it would be insulting to suggest that the language used to write the books was not well done. The main problem with this book is that many of the stories hardly ever explained themselves. Even though the overall book was not my cup of tea, there were definite high points. My favorite story was “The Devil Is a Gentleman” by Raymond Benson. It was interesting and fast-paced, plus it explained itself very well and was anything but boring. Another story I enjoyed very much was “Protection” by Timothy Zahn. I found it fast paced, exiting and well written. In complete contrast to my favorite stories are stories that I found so confusing and slow that I couldn’t even finish them. “Siren Tears” by John Lambshed, for instance, in which nothing much happened except that a man walked around town. “Black Rider”, by Brian Hopkins, started off well and then just seemed to drift into nonsense. All in all, not one of the better books I’ve ever read.
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Monrovia, MD USA
