Corona-Nation Street Anthology is a very timely collection of tales with one main theme; isolation. From horror to humor, this anthology has something for everyone!
Let’s dive in!
My Thoughts on the Corona-Nation Street Anthology organized by Matthew Cash & Em Dehaney
Per usual with collections like this, there were some I loved, but others that were not for me personally. My top favorites are:
- The Thing in Ron’s Head by Patrick R. McDonough
- Afflictions by Ryan Simons
- One Step Beyond by Lisa Presley
- Six Feet Apart by Richard Archer
- Dead Meat by James Jobling
Below are my quick notes about story or poem.
This Year’s Lockdown by Matthew Cash – 4 Stars
A brutal poem the eloquently sums up the pandemic and all the fallout. This passage I absolutely loved and it sums up how I am handling myself:
I followed my common sense,
And the governments advice,
To continue being sensible,
To continue being nice.
Millicent The Explorer by Alys Daddi – 4 Stars
This tale was so wonderfully heartwarming. This was a story about a girl with a dream to become an explorer and get a photo of a rare creature. Here’s to hoping Millicent achieves whatever dream she sets her sights on when she gets older!
Everything Blue by Dani Brown – 3 Stars
Phew. I’m not sure what was going on here but it was extremely unsettling and made me feel wicked claustrophobic. It was like a fever dream.
One Step Beyond by Lisa Presley – 5 Stars
This is one of my biggest nightmares, oh my gosh. This story was terrifying! I loved that you didn’t know what was really going on until the end. I loved this line: Recently, being awake seemed to be more of a nightmare than anything his dreams could conjure up.
Tender Cure by Ian Woodhead – 4 Stars
Oh goodness! This story is dark. I have so many questions with this one. The top two- What was he and what was his blood helping with?
Dead Meat by James Jobling – 5 Stars
This story took the pandemic and turned it even darker and more terrifying than it already is… yikes, that ending.
Balloon by Dale Parnell – 4 Stars
Another very real world terror type of story. This one was wicked dark and twisted. Extra terrifying thinking about how this could very well happen in the current times. I LOVED this line: Ellie discovered that there is in face a world of difference between wanting to know the truth, and actually listening to it.
Superman by Ian Davies – 3 Stars
Another powerful poem. This passage is spot on:
Divided we fall over
Pointless precipice
Unbidden King by Norbert Góra – 4 Stars
Terrifying! Ugh, that sneeze reminds me of a time when I was working retail and someone sneezed directly in my face. I was horribly sick a week later. I love this line: Words have tremendous power, often too much.
Our Little Secret by Penny Jones – 3 Stars
This one was wicked unsettling! It was clear something was very wrong, but I wanted to know more about what was going on here.
Self-Loving in Times of Isolation by M.B. Feeney –
Not one for me.
The Job by Matt Humphries – 3 Stars
This one threw me for quite the loop!
Lockdown Birthday by Richard Archer – 4 Stars
Oofh. Tough one.
Untogetherness by Tom Johnstone – 3 Stars
What a heartbreaking tale. This one certainly gets the message of feeling stuck across.
Silence by Paul Hiscock – 4 Stars
Oh no. Another story that made me wicked claustrophobic while reading! This poor guy…
The Oldest Man in the World by Richmond A. Clements – 4 Stars
Oh gosh, that ending got me! What a messed up tale! The selfishness of some people is always so shocking.
Lockdown by Patrick Flaherty – 3 Stars
Oh goodness, another real-world scary situation.
The Thing in Ron’s Head by Patrick R. McDonough – 5 Stars
Oh my god. This story took the pandemic and added quite the twist! It was absolutely brutal! I loved that when this story begins, it’s a letter from the main character to a family member. In this letter, the reader gets caught up on what’s going on. Then we jump back to the man writing the letter and trying to survive… what happens after the hallway scene is a real fear of mine. This one got under my skin!!
The Wank Diaries by Peter Germany –
Not one for me.
Afflictions by Ryan Simons – 5 Stars
Ooooh! Curious about how serial killers are handling the pandemic? This one was about exactly that, but while it was wicked creepy, it also had a lot of heart. What a match!
Gravey’s Strain by Al Barz – 4 Stars
Sad and creepy!
Housebound by Jacob Prytherch – 4 Stars
Yikes! That certainly puts a dark spin on being agoraphobia.
Stand By For Inaction by David Court – 3 Stars
What a devious plan! I gotta say, the candy choices cracked me up!
Six Feet Apart by Richard Archer – 5 Stars
My heart…
Don’t Swear In Mum’s House by Mark Cassell – 4 Stars
Very creepy! I would love more stories from their childhood!
Self-Isolating by Richard Archer – 3 Stars
Oofh.
Lockdown Dream Number 1: The Aviary by Matthew Cash – 3 Stars
Quite a bizarre dream!
The Heard by Em Dehaney – 5 Stars
Perfectly sums up 2020!
The final note included in this collection… is perfection.
My Final Thoughts on Corona-Nation Street Anthology
I will admit that I held off on reading this one for a bit after snagging it because I wasn’t sure I was quite ready to read more on this topic since we’re still deep in the second wave of the pandemic.
However, these stories were a great distraction. I loved that I had an emotional reaction to many of the tales. Some hit exactly on how I feel about the current state of the world. Many of the tales were very unsettling and downright scary!
Overall, I loved seeing the variety of stories and poems that were included here! Quite a few of these tales are going to stick with me for a very long time. I highly recommend checking this out!
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This sounds like a pretty good collection with only a couple of stories that were complete misses. Great review!
Yeah! Overall, not bad at all! I’ll definitely be returning to this time and time again!