Keith RossonBesprekingen

Brutal, gritty and disturbing. Reader be warned

Can I erase reading this book from my memory so I can go back and read it again for the first time?

My favorite part about Keith's books is that with each one I never know what adventure he is going to take me on, but it's going to be introspective, character driven, and some sort of 6 degrees of separation type insanity. I live for this web of connections, and this book does not disappoint.

Each character is broken in their own way, trying to make the best decisions they can to reach their personal end goals, and it all blows up in ways that weave them all closer together. It's magically tragic in all the right ways. Each time a POV character died I internally screamed because I thought for sure they'd be the one to make it to the end. Keith humanizes everyone throughout this morally grey nightmare of events. Leaving me rooting for even the so called villain's of the story.

When Nick answers the phone my heart stopped. I am at a loss for where a sequel will take us but I can't come soon enough because that ending. Wow. While it's a cliffhangers straight from a book lovers nightmare, this overall story is stand alone. Everything to come after this, is a whole new can of worms that deserves it's own book, and after this blood bath, I'm going to assume it's own set of characters. Kidding. . . some people survive.

You'll love this book if you enjoy post post-apocalyptic type books, but from the perspective of ground zero, and getting the inside view from all the various sides with deep character builds.

Thank you to Net Galley for a copy of this book!

Everyone is after "the hand". A severed hand with how close it is to you will send you violent thoughts to kill others or yourself. You become ravaged by violence. Besides all the main characters looking for the hand, the government, a secret black ops division, is trying to get it back and they don't hesitate to shoot.

This was a whirlwind ride with quirky characters. Hutch and Tim, enforcers, Katharine, a famous singer whose husband's mysterious suicide turned her into an agoraphobiac, and Nick her son who once had "the hand" needs to get it back after Katharine has been kidnapped. The characters are all dark, some grey and all criminals. But somehow I loved, at least most of them. It felt weird rooting for the criminals but they were all being sought after by the bigger baddie, the black ops, so I reasoned out my feelings. Don't get close to anyone though as no one is safe from the author's sword.

I became more and more invested in the plot the more I read. It was pretty brutal and got weird but that's why we love horror, eh? Not a literary masterpiece but a fun, gripping piece of action horror.

"You shall make me a house of fever and wounds. A house of beetle and crow. A house of worms. A house of hounds that savage forever at the belly of love and take root there, devouring."

A criminal trying to collect drug money ends up instead discovering a severed hand. And very quickly it becomes clear that this is no ordinary hand. It incites everyone near into terrible violence.

Meanwhile a secret government agency is torturing "Saint Michael" who knows more about the hand than he's willing to tell them.

This is a huge cast of characters with multiple POVs. The story flips between them rapidly and I found it somewhat confusing, and not all the scenes felt really necessary.

This story is also very dark and violent, I can see that that has affected other reviews.. but it didn't bother me! 😆

Overall I did enjoy this, a 3.5 star read.

Thank you random house publishing group and netgalley for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Just Wow. What a wild ride this book was. It's dark and twisted in a really delicious way. It kept me guessing. This really speaks to the downfall of humanity. Even when secret government agencies set out to keep us safe, pride and ego will usually win out to the detriment of us all. Evil lives in this literary tour de force. It's got everything you could ever want; action, horror, supernatural forces, secret government agencies, zombie mobs, etc. Need I say more?!

Wow. Just Wow. What a wild ride this book was. It's dark and twisted in a really delicious way. It kept me guessing. This really speaks to the downfall of humanity. Even when secret government agencies set out to keep us safe, pride and ego will usually win out to the detriment of us all. Evil lives in this literary tour de force. It's got everything you could ever want; action, horror, supernatural forces, secret government agencies, zombie mobs, etc. Need I say more?!

Wow. Just Wow. What a wild ride this book was. It's dark and twisted in a really delicious way. It kept me guessing. This really speaks to the downfall of humanity. Even when secret government agencies set out to keep us safe, pride and ego will usually win out to the detriment of us all. Evil lives in this literary tour de force. It's got everything you could ever want; action, horror, supernatural forces, secret government agencies, zombie mobs, etc. Need I say more?!

Reading a second time through is really fascinating, so much more of the 'is fate real, and anyone can recompense' message seeps through. Still one of my top 5 recommended books. A thought provoking read.


You read that blurb, and look at that cover, and still you'll have no idea that journey you're about to embark on. Smoke City will make you book drunk. Having finished it, after not being able to put it down, I am still basking in the book drunk feeling. The message that Smoke City delivers is profound, and loud & clear by the end of the novel. If you are questioning whether or not to read this book, just do it. It's worth the read.

It's official, Keith needs very few words to paint the sum of someone's character in vivid color. Each of these 15 stories tells a tale of someone that feels familiar. I love how immersive his writing is, even in short stories, where you're only with the characters for a few thousand words. You can't help but understand their deepest emotions.

Honorable Mentions:

The Lesser Horsemen - This tales of the other 3 horseman is one I didn't know I needed about the fab 4. We all know that death his here to stay, but what happens with the other 3 are no longer working out? This hilarious take on how God rehabilitates them was fitting for the pandemic we're currently living in. Guess pestilence received a bit of contract work.

Winter, Spring, Whatever Happens After That - This one got me right in the feels. The way Becky feels about school, work, and her alcoholic father, so heartbreaking. The description in this was does so much for the emotional state of the characters, and the lives they lead.

Plus Brad Benske and the Hand of Light, and Dunsmuir - sooo many feels in such a short amount of words.

You'll love this collection of stories if you enjoy works of fiction that don't have an explicit plot, and are more character driven. If you like reading about topics that toe the line of magic and realism, and are tied together with deep emotions pick up this book!

I love reading my favorite authors early books because you can see so much of their greatness developing. As with all of Keith's books, this is very much a character driving tale. While it has a bit of supernatural elements, they are the sub-plot.

This book tells the stories of various families in Riptide, and how they are all connected to each other through various misadventures. This six degrees of Kevin Bacon but with tragedy instead of movies.

The use of multi-POV adds elements to the story that draw you deeper into the grief of the cast. Many of them have no idea why they are connected, but seeing their lives unfold from all angles make the last few chapters hit harder. I 100% had an oh shit moment towards the end. All of the pieces slipped into place, in a way that was foreshadowed, but still completely unexpected.

You'll love this book if you love light plot, but heavy character reads that mix in just enough paranormal to make you wonder if it really was paranormal or the eyes playing tricks.

This book is drool worthy. I am once again book drunk thanks to Keith Rosson.

I'll admit, I doubted him being able to top [b:Smoke City|36319320|Smoke City|Keith Rosson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1506618086l/36319320._SX50_.jpg|57993919]. Which is an amazing mind fuck of a book. But Road Seven delivers.

I'm a sucker for fiction books about books/writers/libraries/anything literary so one of the main characters being a washed up writer was swoon worthy for me in reading the blurb. Disaster characters are my favorite characters.

The complexity of the plot and every single character in the story is great, it's better than great, it's relatable. Every. single. person. in this book could be your neighbor, your friend, that weird guy in your city.

The story has so many moving parts, as you read it's hard to see how they will ever fit together, or who might be hallucinating but they magically piece together in a terrifying yet mystifying way.

By the end you're left wondering if you're living your best life, if you've made the right choices, and what you can do to start doing so. If you love books that are deep yet fantastical, light but heavy- you're going to want to pick up Road Seven. This book will take you to places in your mind you probably avoid and make you ponder your mortality.

It was hard to put down, and left me puzzled in all the right ways.

I received this book via NetGalley.

Interesting Read!!! But a really good Read!!

Rarely will I compare a book to another work because I want to make sure an author gets full credit for their originality, but I felt this so much that in this case I will make an exception. There is a very strong “Stranger Things” vibe going on throughout this book, but trust me, it is still wildly unique and has plenty of its own flavor to bring to the table.

From the first few pages I was laughing hysterically and this humor continued right through until the very end. Rosson’s way of writing moves along at an easy and steady pace that is so entertaining. I especially loved that much of the story was based out of the Pacific Northwest since that’s where I’m located. Barring the tiny bit of strange and prophetic mentions of specific places that have been in the news recently, such as Capitol Hill and Cal Anderson Park. Even the obscure mentions of my local grocery store gave me a little thrill.

It’s such an untraditional monster story that really gives you no clue as to how it’s going to end, but you don’t even really care, because the journey is a riot.

Thank you, Meerkat Press, for my copy for an honest review.

Good story. Kept my interest.

Not bad, rather better than the novel I read and stalled several times on. The anthology format works here, and I liked the way some stories you are left to work out what the end should be (although sometimes it's a bit annoying - as though they're unfinished). What I did find annoying was the bunch of losers that inhabit all the stories; come on, Mr Rosson, give us some stories where people are happy with their lot and live a fulfilling life! It brings the losers into relief. Recommended, but be warned there's too many losers to make a satisfying read.

A Carver for a post-normative world

To say that I loved this book is an understatement. I couldn’t cram it into my greedy eyeholes fast enough; yet, at the same time I didn’t want it to end.

Rosson’s three novels have all had a background of the supernatural, which is here—especially the opener featuring the (Lesser) Horsemen of the Apocalypse. What shines here, however, is his ability to convey true, brutal humanity. Damn.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Please see full reviews at www.coffeeandtrainspotting.wordpress.com

Given to me from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in mistake, but the publisher said to keep it and sent me my original request as well.

It's taken me the best part of a year and 3 tries to read it; I kept stalling and my reading slump last summer didn't help either. Basically, 2 guys go cryptid hunting in a independent territory of Iceland. Both guys are basically losers; one is a perpetual student about to flunk out of his graduate programme, the other is an author who had a run-away best seller with what purported to be an autobiographical account of an alien abduction.

I had a hard time caring about either character and spent most of the book wondering why they were supposed to be remotely interesting.

Not my cup of tea at all.

Mostly sad stories about people trying to cope with their lives. But it is not all agony: sometimes people succeed, or, if not, they get a glimmer of hope.
Sometimes the stories are distopian sf, like "Yes, we are duly concerned with calamitous events". I loved that story. So completely out of order, so completely over the top. I started reading the story when I was at the office and I was so glad I was alone.
I liked reading the stories. I had to look up a lot of words, as English is not my mother tongue.

I won a free copy of this book from Library Thing's Early Reviewer's program in exchange for an honest review.

This collection of stories was a wild ride. Dark and often disturbing, but somehow deeply touching and well-drawn as well. Original, creative and well written. Yikes, this guy is good, but where does he get his ideas?? After a few of them, you'll get that that foreboding "oh, this isn't going to go well" feeling, but still care about how and why.

NOTE: I won a free eBook copy of this book in MOBI format from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers (October 2020).

A short story collection that is not for the faint-of-heart. I found myself wincing at the various tales of ruin - but in a good way, as Rosson's prose examines many facets of each protagonist's psychological state. An acpocalyptic air permeates the ether of this collection, but the main focus is how each of the characters cope with the challenges they face. (In short, not well.)

My favorite story was the first in the collection, "The Lesser Horseman."

My reactions to each individual story:
(1) "The Lesser Horseman:" This one hits differently after a global pandemic.
(2) "At This Table:" This one had some interesting asides in the footnotes.
(3) "Baby Jill:" What are the consequences of breaking out of our prescribed roles?
(4) "Their Souls Climb the Room:" Suffering on multiple levels.
(5) "Hospitality:" Converging storylines resolve in ways not immediately expected.
(6) "This World Or the Next:" How religions choose to die.
(7) "Gifts:" Strange and meandering, much like the protagonist’s narrative style.
(8) "Coyote:" So many little things are lost.
(9) "Yes, We Are Duly Concerned With Calamitous Events:" An episode of “The Office,” straight from Hell.
(10) "Winter, Spring, Whatever Happens After That:" Surely this one is playing out verbatim somewhere nearby.
(11) "Forgive Me This:" The opposite of filial piety.
(12) "Dunsmuir:" Choose a different path.
(13) "Homecoming:" One possibility for purgatory.
(14) "The Melody of the Thing:" This one hit close to home, since I feel like I know many struggling musicians that are one crisis away from ruin. But this shows that inspiration comes from unexpected places.
(15) "Brad Benske and The Hand of Light:" Nice connection to the earlier story "This World Or the Next."

Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons is a short story collection that combines the everyday mundane with the fantastic and extraordinary. Like all short story collections, there were stories I loved, and stories I could live without. Most of the stories in Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons were strong for me, taking everyday events and adding unexpected details to create something exciting.

The first story of the collection, The Lesser Horsemen caught my attention with three out of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse sent on a cruise to work on their team building. This unexpected scenario combined with such a commonplace work task created an interesting and amusing story.
Baby Jill another favorite story of mine creating an emotional rollercoaster with the tooth fairy and what seems like run-of-the -mill workplace dynamics.

Yes, We Are Duly Concerned With Calamitous Events creates a humorous look at the kind-of end of the world through a group of dysfunctional office coworkers.

Homecoming is a heartfelt examination of the choices we make in life and the consequences we face after.

These are just a selection of my favorites from the collection. These stories made me think and all had deep emotional connections. Many had open endings creating a world of imagination for the characters when I was done reading

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

This was a collection of absolutely captivating, odd, stories. I loved it! The stories are very character driven, and make you want to peer into their worlds even more. The descriptions are vivid, and while some stories are humorous, some are darker. You start off with "The Lesser Horsemen: and I knew right then that I was in for a wonderful ride. I can't imagine being on a cruise ship with the horsemen of the apocalypse! All of them will drag you into them before you know what's happening, and leave you dazed when you re-enter the real world when they're over. I look forward to reading more from this author!!!

I’d previously read Keith Rosson’s four novels (all published by Meerkat Press), giving each of them a 5* rating. The combination of the enthralling, imaginative, and frequently idiosyncratic, quality of his story-telling, his wonderfully vivid characterisations and his powerful evocations of time and place, is what makes them all remain vivid in my memory. However, prior to receiving an ARC of Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons I hadn’t read any of his short stories and wondered whether I could possibly find them as captivating and thought-provoking. To my delight I did, probably because all the qualities I so admired in his novels are present in each of the fifteen stories in this collection.
All too often I find that reading collections is a frustrating experience because my level of engagement usually varies considerably between the individual stories. However, I can truly say that every one of these stories almost took my breath away with their sheer brilliance, with their capacity to draw me in to the heart of the characters, following the trajectories of their journeys and experiences, however weird and unpredictable their final destinations and resolutions happened out to be.
The stories encompass not only many themes (loss, grief, fractured relationships, family trauma, loneliness, death, destruction, questions of identity, to name just a few) but also elements of magical realism, the supernatural, science fiction and horror. I marvelled at the fact that although the stories are apparently so disparate, they work extraordinarily well as a collection because even those featuring fantastical scenarios somehow feel recognisable because, at their heart, each one captures something essential about the human condition. Each character was so well-drawn that, whether likeable or disagreeable, their behaviour felt recognisable and their character traits ego-syntonic. Such vivid portrayals made it easy to feel almost immediately drawn into whatever dilemmas and challenges they were facing, to such an extent that once a story ended I usually felt so empathetically engaged that I needed time to reflect, then disengage, before moving on to the next story.
Although threads of sorrow, sadness and despair infuse many of the tales, these were usually offset by glimmers of hope and moments of wonderfully comic dark humour. For me this meant that I found the stories thought-provoking rather than depressing, and when I reached the end of each one I felt that sense of satisfaction which comes when a story has reached a satisfactory conclusion, however ambiguous that resolution might be.
Reading this collection has reinforced my appreciation of, and admiration for, the author’s use of language. His lyrical prose, his psychological insights, his wonderful similes and the richness of detail in his descriptions are what make his prose such a joy to read. I don’t want to highlight any of these unforgettable stories as favourites because the reality is that I immersed myself in each of the journeys the author’s fertile imagination took me on, relishing his sense of the weird, the idiosyncratic, the absurd, the ambiguous, as well as his willingness to explore the darker sides of human nature. These aren’t always comfortable stories to read but I found them immensely satisfying and I recommend them, without reservation, to any reader who appreciates thought-provoking writing which combines fantasy and reality in such an imaginative way.
With my thanks to Tricia Reeks at Meerkat Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rosson peers into the darker, empty regions of men's souls in highly original and vivid detail. In fact, it is difficult to overstate Rosson's originality, however, my one piece of advice to the reader is to meter attention out at one story per evening. In contrast to the style of Stephen King, who is all hot for adverbs because they move quickly, Rosson writes with vivid description heavy on circumstance and adjective. Taking in too much of the book at once sacrifices appreciation for each chapter. That caveat dispensed with, the reader will be immersed in disturbing empathy.

Pestilence narrates the starting chapter. “The Lesser Horsemen” comically lays bare how sinister apocalyptic figures are created in the image of God (if the same can be said of Man). They've gotten dealt a bad hand, and grumble in the manner of any under-appreciated employee.

Further on, we are lead to the question, what should the Tooth Fairy do if he comes upon a paedophile in bed with a customer? Rosson addresses the question that society has chosen to ignore about a fairy's proper role. In fact, much of the book seems to be about protocols which might be part of the reason for giving the book its title (however “The Melody of the Thing” is more medically oriented).

“Coyote” tackles the way in which people cope with loss, both in family, courtships, and cognitive abilities. Two brothers travel in search of cherished parts of their past. The story is deeply reflective and disturbing and has an evocative ending.

These examples suffice to show Rosson's diversity. He does walk a thin line between lively detail and wordiness. I'll simply echo his own text to end here:

"The words just kind of roiled out, and I have to say, for a brand-new song I was just making up on the spot, it wasn’t too bad."