Find horror hidden within humor, hope persisting amidst anguish, and absurdity pretty much everywhere
Author: Matt Bechtel
Publisher: Haverhill House Publishing; 1 edition (April 30, 2017)
Publication: April 30, 2017
Pages: 120
ebook
ASIN: B07257VQ7K
Language: English
Cover design & Illustration: © 2017 Dyer Wilk
Foreword: James A. Moore
5 Stars
"This book was provided by John McIlveen in exchange for my honest review alongside my proffered thank-you for asking."
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| Matt Bechtel |
Monochromes and Other Stories is a series of short stories with each story's ending leaving an impression on you that will take a minute or two to digest (one with some discomfort if you have too many Halloween cookies).
The horror/thriller fan will absolutely love this read.
Don't let the title fool you, every story is filled with color. The prose is humorous satire having a quite pleasingly dark hue lighting your read. A plethora of 19 cognitive shades of insight is what is in store for you one weekend.
As I sat down with my cup of beverage, Good N Plenty at the ready and jammin' to Chris Botti in the background I was ready to disappear. Truly, here's the good-thing Warning folks: you will not be able to put this down.
Matt Bechtel took his pen, his ingenuous abnormal? mind, and crafted you story after story of thought-provoking tales. His unbalanced insight to capture a reader needs applause and an encore. Few of my favorites of this collection of unhinged writings are After Hours, This Story Approved By The American Dental Association (I'm a bit OCD), Dreams, Cozzy's Question, and hell - I gotta say Tele-Serve is pretty damn good. Funny and oh so true.
Monochromes starts this collection with color. The inner turmoil people go through, even the inner happiness people go through, and everything in the between - shows your true color. You might even be able to see other true colors as in these pretty cool characters Kiki and Eric. I am so glad I don't have their predicaments. Matt your atmosphere at the diner is spot on. Especially the woman with the kids leaving and the waitress's demeanor. Actual life stuff, I dug it.
Which brings me to my thought - I'd put a quarter on many of these stories you've personally been through, or watched - you just added to the experience with exceptional endings to the events. Mmm?
I have not read this type of skill in writing for a minute folks. Matt Bechtel has an impressive talent/skill to captivate, envelope, and take you Reader into a realm of abnormality. An abnormality that you'll enjoy for a couple hours. Seriously, you can take my word on it, or better yet, once you read this collection, you'll understand.
So ...
Grab a Saugy, your beverage, and a couple of hours. If you enjoy reading how the world is viewed a bit differently, you'll love this.
Thanks Matt for a hell of a time
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Here's where you can get your fingers on Monochromes and Other Stories:
- Amazon ~ Kindle $2.99 ~ Paperback $12.95 USD
- Barnes & Noble ~ Paperback $12.95 USD
- IndieBound ~ Support your local book stores
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| Author Matt Bechtel |
Connect with Matt
Some people just see the world differently.
Matt Bechtel was born just south of Detroit, Michigan (cursing him a Lions fan), into a mostly-Irish family of dreamers and writers as opposed to the pharmaceutical or construction giants that share his surname. As such, he has spent most of his years making questionable life decisions and enjoying the results.
Mentored by their late-founder Bob Booth, he serves on both the Executive Committee of the Northeastern Writers’ Convention (a.k.a. Camp Necon) and as a partner in the Necon E-Books digital publishing company.
His own writing tends towards dark humor / satire and has been compared to Ray Bradbury and Cormac McCarthy. He currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island (and if you look closely at his author’s picture you can see that he follows Irish tradition and signs his initials into the head of his Guinness).
Matt Bechtel has, at times, argued that The Terminator is a love story, that Bob Dylan’s “Don't Think Twice, It’s All Right” is joyful rather than bitter, and that the characters of Everybody Loves Raymond are more monstrous than the Bates Family.
In his first collection of original fiction, he turns his wry, satiric eye upon landscapes of his own creation — such as the early days of skydiving, the terror of collecting unemployment, the extreme sport of competitive standing, a circus performer succumbing to zombieism, and the most anticipated day never circled on any calendar — to find horror hidden within humor, hope persisting amidst anguish, and absurdity pretty much everywhere.
The views from his pen are equal parts hysterical, unsettling, and thought provoking.
Some people just see the world differently. Matt Bechtel is one of those people.
Matt Bechtel has, at times, argued that The Terminator is a love story, that Bob Dylan’s “Don't Think Twice, It’s All Right” is joyful rather than bitter, and that the characters of Everybody Loves Raymond are more monstrous than the Bates Family.
In his first collection of original fiction, he turns his wry, satiric eye upon landscapes of his own creation — such as the early days of skydiving, the terror of collecting unemployment, the extreme sport of competitive standing, a circus performer succumbing to zombieism, and the most anticipated day never circled on any calendar — to find horror hidden within humor, hope persisting amidst anguish, and absurdity pretty much everywhere.
The views from his pen are equal parts hysterical, unsettling, and thought provoking.
Some people just see the world differently. Matt Bechtel is one of those people.
✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒
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