Sound & Fury: Shakespeare Goes Punk by by Jeffrey Cook, H. James Lopez, Warren C. Bennett, Katherine Perkins, Carol Gyzander, S.A. Cosby

An Anthology of Shakespeare Inspired Punk Stories published by  Writerpunk Press (03/09/15)

Though there is quite a bit of front matter, it is short and concise and good to read to gear up for the rest of the stories. At times the language gets oddly Shakespearian and at times the action takes turns that may be confusing. Some of the characters are somewhat stilted and lacking in description but overall this is an enjoyable and worthy read!

Mac by Carol Gyzander

“Different was dangerous.” (Page. 44).
“We’ve gained nothing, to still not have happiness. It would be safer to be that which we destroy, than to have destroyed it and still live in doubtful joy.” (p. 82).

In the strict society governed by ‘moddy’ chips that regulate emotions, hormones and even obedience, Mac is not happy with his lot in life, but he should be. Moddy dictates he should be content at his factory job doing the same as everyone else. Then his friend Banks opens his eyes to a whole new world, an underworld of the Moddy’s rejects… Written as somewhat dystopian, Mac tells the story of a man who learns the truth about how his world really operates and chooses to reject the moddy’s chips control over his life.

The Green Eyed Monster by S.A. Cosby

“Everyone lies, young buck.” (Page 172).
“Love was just a synonym for fool. Love made you blind to treachery, deaf to the truth and dumb in the face of facts.” (Page 178).

This is a story of manipulation for revenge. Iggy is a crazed man who can only see the end goal of revenge and doesn’t care how he gets there. He wants to ruin everyone he can along the way. There is lots of action and revenge. Iggy plays the manipulative and vindictive typically female-stereotyped role. Will Iggy go all the way or will he be found out by one of his mates before he can stick them with their own ruination?

Prospero’s Island by H. James Lopez

This is a story full of half nymph-half enhanced machined parts characters and the few humans who rule these creatures. Prospero and Caliban butt heads, but Prospero is too kind to end the creature. They are all stuck on this island and trying to get off and when Prospero is given the chance to run two ships afoul near the island, he jumps to do it. Later, he decides to help the shipwrecked humans, but the Sycori, the feral nymph originators, run chaos of these plans and Prospero must make difficult choices and decide whom to save and whom to let fend for themselves.

A Town Called Hero by Warren C. Bennett

Hero is a small town and air base that was seemingly unaffected by the war with the Fatherland, but when twenty some odd pilots land rag-tag on the island amidst the defeat and end of the war, the island will offer up one of its most deep mysteries. Where does the advanced technology come from and will all the pilots be able to settle into this peaceful community?

Winter’s Tale by Jeffrey Cook and Katherine Perkins

“Who says prophecy isn’t truth?” (Page 288).

‘“Just because there’s nothing sane he can do doesn’t mean there’s nothing he can do,” Dita responded. “Never discount the risk of nobility doing something insane. Sometimes it even works.” Treveur grinned, “In truth, I’m counting on it,” he replied.’ (Page 311).

A tale of a man in power gone mad, Winter’s Tale drops off the story of Leonard and his sudden crazy notion that his wife cheated on him with his best friend and picks up sixteen years later with the story of the mad man’s daughter. She was smuggled out of Leonard’s grasp to grow up as a commoner and falls for a man who happens to be Leonard’s ex best friend’s son. Can a union between the two young ones bring about peace between the old men as well? The fight scene in this short story was truly magnificent and the banter between dueling enemies was quite entertaining.

This anthology was published by  Writerpunk Press on March 9th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.   TL;DR Star Rating: 4.00

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