Terminal Zones by Gareth E. Rees

I loved the stories “A Dream Life of Hackney Marshes” and “Thenar Space” because the exploration of unconventional characters (The former is about a man falling in love with a disused electricity pylon, and the latter is about a trolly pusher believing in a prophecy that includes astrology and the constellation of Perseus) to be Rees strongest suits.

Other stories such as “Bin Day” (I love my pathetic protagonists), “Meet on the Edge”, “Tyrannosaurs Bask in the Warmth of the Asteroid”, and “When Nature Calls” were genuinely good tragicomedies (same applies to Hackney and Thenar), with the backdrop being inevitable environmental catastrophe, and some nice existential angst to boot, makes the more serious story “We Are the Disease” drag you right out of the irony to remind you, quite simply, we’re fucked. Definitely something you don’t wanna read on the beach (tbh, I did read Christopher Slatsky on a beach, go figure).

However, stories such as “My Father, the Motorway Bridge” and “The Levels” had neat concepts but felt they ended too suddenly, especially “The Levels”. Rees got the otherworldly atmosphere down to a knuckle, but just sort of ended it before it got good.

I’m still mixed on “The Slime Factory” in retrospect. The set-up was amazing, but I can’t decide whether or not the story benefits from its twist or falls flat, as if reading it again, it won’t pack as much as a punch. Nonetheless, it was a great read first time round, and when I did figure out what the really twisted punchline, I did have to put the book down a laugh to myself.

I’d say I like it overall. Like any short story collection, there’s some bullseyes and a few duds, but that’s inevitable. Go check it out because I’d think it’s worth the price. And it’s indie. I’ll take that any day.