Hey everyone,
Today I’m reviewing Corporate Catharsis, the recent anthology from Paper Angel Press. Full disclosure, I was a judge for this anthology. You can read about my judging experience here. It’s such a fun book, with so many engaging stories that I wanted to pass on my review.
We’ve all been there: standing behind a desk or a counter for ridiculously long hours, letting the movie of our imagination roll behind our eyes. We’re certain that you can, far too easily, find inspiration from your workplace. Magic, mayhem, revenge — and, yes, perhaps even redemption — can all be found here. Corporate Catharsis is the anthology we all need — one that can help us survive our corporate servitude with our hearts and souls intact.
I loved the anthology. All the stories were engaging. I’d never given thought to how an anthology is constructed, in what order the stories are arranged. But this arrangement was perfect, starting with the Foreword and the explanation of how the idea for the anthology was born. Once I received my book, I sat down and read all the stories again, in order, enjoying every single one.
Here’s my review:
As a survivor of Silicon Valley, I was particularly enchanted with this anthology. All of the stories are rooted in the hard cold reality of the corporate world, but all take some kind of mind-bending twist. For example, “Rat Race,” by J Dark, gives new, frightening, meaning to the phrase ‘job hunt.’ “Once Upon a Nightwalker” by Ryan Southwick introduces Ellen, who could be anyone’s colleague, save for the fact she’s a zombie. Tension runs high from the first sentence: “They wondered if Ellen was going to eat them.” “Hextron, Inc.” by L.A. Jacob applies the absurdities of corporate structure to a magical enterprise. And, one of my favorites, “Best Served Cold” by Bob Schoonover is a terrifying story of revenge against out-of-control corporate greed. I urge you to give page-turning stories a try — no matter what genre you prefer, you’ll find it here. And these stories might inspire you to come up with your own creative response while sitting through your next pointless meeting!
Hope you give it a try!
Until next time,
Nancy
Nancy Wood 