I'm reviewing A Box of Memories...

... by Canadian author Allan Hudson...

Despite being confined to the house because of the pandemic I have found reading novels a little dificult as my usually easily sustained concentration span seems to have deserted me.  I guess it's a measure of the anxiety that we are living with here in 2020.  However, I have been able to take comfort in the numerous anthologies that I have on my bookshelves and some new ones that I've downloaded on my kindle.  One of them being this little collection.  Read over three weeks, a story a day, I can  honestly say that this little treasure trove has kept me sane.

The stories fall into different genres but are mostly contemporary.  As a writer myself I enjoy creating short stories.  They are an opportunity to run with a great but small idea that can not be sustained for the length of a novel - Reaching the Pinnacle is a perfect example of that and a great story with which to open the anthology.

Sometimes, when you start what is intended to be a short story, you realise there's more you want to say either for or about the characters.  Often in anthologies the reader can pick up on this.  So I was very pleased to see that Mr Hudson didn't let me down.  Two Boys, one Wagon and a Secret introduces two great little characters in the form of Beans and Chops.  A pair of ten-year-old boys with adventure on their minds.   I loved the swift pace of this particular story, the wit with which it was told and the neat little plot.  The characters were so well drawn, that I wanted to know more and read more.  Luckily for me, Mr Hudson did not disappoint as there is a second story which is just as enjoyable as the first.

I felt the same about the character of Lloyd in Lloyd and the baby, the characters featured in Two Grumpy Old Men Cafe and on each occassion I got a follow up story just as heart warming and entertaining as the first.

There's something for everyone in this collection, even Sci Fi fans in the shape of the Far Out Mall.  I can thoroughly recommend it.

You can read more about Allan and his books Here