Tiger Ridge – Reviews from Readers

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Christopher Cook

James Sutphin, Texas—

“Cook’s Tiger Ridge collection is great entertainment. Reading great short stories like these is how people entertained themselves before numbing our minds with television. Cook’s writing is a great reason to turn off the TeeVee.”

Bill Howe, Leeds, England—

“A Writer At The Peak Of His Powers”

“Three excellent new stories linked loosely by being set in the fictional geographies of Tiger Ridge County and its environs, itself based on the East Texas homeland of the author.

“Ranging across a period of over a century, each of the three stories is distinct and different in tone, but each demonstrates the author’s sharp ear for authentic dialogue, evocative descriptive power and the ability to engage the reader in philosophical and ethical discourse in a way that is subtle, engaging and at the same time, entertaining.

“`The Code’ is as fine a piece of contemporary short fiction as you can find, and, of the collection, probably closest in tone to the author’s gripping, (but so far), only novel, Robbers.

“`Lafayette Dugas, Bayou Desperado’ is a historical fiction of the Old West, full of interesting incidental characters, astute observations on human nature, and southern life in the 19th century, full of narrative layers that mark it out as a splendid, sustained, `writer’s’ piece of writing, so that the reader’s interest doesn’t wane for an instant.

“I enjoyed the interlacing and overlapping narratives of the final story, the `Tiger Ridge Trilogy,’ very much; the weaving of the universal themes of life, death, love, lust, greed, birth, hopes and dreams… into the fabric of mundane and ordinary lives. It is a testament to the author’s skill that each of the three `voices’ of the characters are both distinct and accurately portrayed.

“In general, I love the way the author lets his characters ‘come and go’, and gives us glimpses, but not necessarily their whole story… like real life, people pass us by, and we don’t always get to know what came before or everything that happens next, but this is because the writer treats his readers with respect, and sometimes allows a little ambiguity and space in which to exercise their own imaginations.

       Storm – A Novella
       Robbers – Special Edition
       Cloven Tongues of Fire – A Novella
       Screen Door Jesus & Other Stories
       The Pickpocket – A Short Story

The Pickpocket – Reviews from Readers

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Christopher Cook

Jo Virgil, Texas—

“Excellent tale, phenomenal writing”

“Even though I already knew that Christopher Cook is an incredible writer, this story still just wowed me. Beautiful, lyrical prose plus a tale with twists that make you laugh and make you think. O. Henry would love it!”

Jim Freeman, Czech Republic—

“Ah, a lovely story, an honored story chosen for Houghton Mifflin’s The Best American Mystery Stories 2003. It shared that volume with stories by Elmore Leonard, Joyce Carol Oates and Walter Mosley, not bad company in which to be.

“But it’s the interior of this short story that intrigues me, the mind and the craft of what we all too often consider to be just a common purse-snatcher. One might as well compare a thug with a jewel thief.

“The short story is perhaps a writer’s most serious challenge. Too short a venue for wandering around in haphazard dialog, short stories must be tight, complete and satisfying. “The Pickpocket” is all of these and more, a book you will revisit over the years, and one that may take you to Christopher Cook’s other fascinating works.

“Trust me. Buy it.”

PC Wagner, Texas—

“Christopher Cook’s grand tale engaged me from the first page and kept me going right up to the end, which I was sorry to reach. He helps us to understand morality among thieves and offers an insight into those who make stealing into an art form.

“First-rate story telling.”

James Sutphin, Texas—

“This work is an excellent example of the craft of the short story. Cook pulls the reader right into the character’s world. I have loved short stories all of my life. A well written one like this makes the world around me disappear and allows me to briefly escape into another realm. I hope to see more soon from this author.”

Bill Howe, Leeds, England—

“To read a new story by Christopher Cook is always a real pleasure. This time the narrative takes place, not in the author’s East Texan homeland, familiar from his other stories and his gripping novel, Robbers, but the underworld of Paris.

“A finely crafted tale of a life on the street and living by one’s wits, the complexities of honour amongst thieves and pride in ones craft, but also a meditation on the process of aging, the inevitability of change, and an evocation of the most visited city in the world.

“As always, highly recommended and leaving the reader wanting more from this fine author. I recommend his other e-books, as well:

       Storm – A Novella
       Robbers – Special Edition
       Tiger Ridge – Three Stories
       The Pickpocket – A Short Story
       Screen Door Jesus & Other Stories

Cloven Tongues of Fire – Reviews from Readers

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Christopher Cook

W.M. “Bill” Howe, Leeds, England—

“At its heart this is a moving tale of tenderness and the things we do for love, of how a relationship between two people endures, despite time and change and aging. A tale of ordinary lives, and ordinary people, set in a small town in East Texas, an environment that will already be familiar to readers of Christopher Cooks earlier collection fine of short stories, Screen Door Jesus.

“At the same time it is as superbly crafted, as richly descriptive as the author’s other works, and along the way, meditates at length on universal matters of faith, belief and the hope of salvation. The novella just builds and builds to a finale that made me suspend my own disbelief and quite literally choke back tears – proof enough of the writer’s way with words.

I recommend his other e-books, as well:

       Storm – A Novella
       Robbers – Special Edition
       Tiger Ridge – Three Stories
       The Pickpocket – A Short Story
       Screen Door Jesus & Other Stories

M. Theriot, Texas—

“A great way to spend a couple of hours”

“An easy, captivating read. I was pulling for Nathan as he struggled so humanly with his religious striving and doubt. I loved it!”

A Professional Writing Coach—

“I became a Christopher Cook fan when I read Screen Door Jesus and Other Stories, then followed it up with Robbers. Now I read everything he puts out, and lucky for us, he’s putting out a lot lately.

“Cook writes rich, regionally-based stories that derive from his experience growing up in a rambunctious, almost-always-in-in trouble, sometimes-criminal family in East Texas—a place I would hesitate to venture into alone. Yet I can do that vicariously through Cook’s stories.

“As a fellow writer, and former writing coach, I’m aware of excellent writing when I see it. Not only does Cook tell good stories, he writes with a beautiful prose style that sweeps the reader along, yet does not get in the way of the story. Cloven Tongues of Fire does this.

“Cook’s characters struggle with the issues we all struggle with: redemption, conscience, how to live a “good” life. He subtly looks at the question: What will be the sum of who we are, and what we have given to the world (even if our world is only the few around us in a limited region) when we leave? This novella will be immensely satisfying to anyone who likes a good story, well told.”