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Matthew C. Woodruff
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TALES from the AETHER: The Best Short Stories of 2020 Kindle Edition

by Matthew Woodruff (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.8 out of 5 stars 4 ratings
Finalist in the 2020 International Book Awards! Here are 14 stunningly original, provocative and entertaining stories with meditations on the universe, being, time and space that raises questions about the nature of reality and what it is to be human. A compilation of what seems like ordinary events quickly unfold to reveal possibilities humanity has only ever dared to consider. Imagine you've woken up in a strange place, completely in the dark... or perhaps...Your loved one has a mystical connection with an event 2000 years in the past... or...Only you can release a trapped race of beings from our world... or...Destiny opens up before you one fateful box at a time... or...Your afterlife is not at all what you thought it might be... or...You finally have a chance to return to the past and correct a fateful mistake, but at what cost... or...Only you can see into another person's soul...These are just some of the poignant, thrilling, funny and unusual things happening to the absolutely realistic characters in TALES from the AETHER that could be any one of us. All from the mind of the incomparable Matthew C. Woodruff, Including stories being published for the first time as well as some of his rare and classic uncollected work, this is Woodruff at his best: profound, humorous, sympathetic—revelatory.
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  1. Print length
    184 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    July 6, 2020
  4. File size
    2.6 MB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

An unsettling, powerful collection...
Award-winning Woodruff's panache for writing shines in his second collection of short stories with the wildly imagined worlds, powerfully drawn realistic characters, and an unsettling portrayal of various happenings in his protagonists' lives. Merging the profound emotions of joy, fear, loss, love, foreboding, and incomprehension, Woodruff's fourteen stories are set around particular holidays of the year.
"The Alban Eiler" is a story of two women and their adolescent daughters, who despite being born thousands of years apart, share the same fate on Easter. Woodruff's enlivening imagination runs wild in "My After Life," a lighthearted story of a person whose life was always mundane, but the afterlife was nothing like he expected. In "Amy's Valentine," the protagonist is struggling to move forward after her daughter's death when a handsome stranger arrives at her door on valentine's day and reunites her with her daughter. The protagonist's 'monumental sorrow' is the story's dominant tone, but it changes to 'chillingly scary' suddenly with a single scene in the finale. In "The Shadow People," the protagonist arrives in an isolated Northern Canadian town to attend a wedding unaware of a strange twist of fate awaiting her. "Boxed in by Fate," is a heartening tale that takes place in a strange universe where life unfolds one fateful box at a time, and a couple receives a pleasant surprise. In "The Color of the Soul," a police sergeant with the unusual ability of seeing a person's soul gets a chance to see what his own soul looks like on a Halloween night. "A Christmas Tale," is an unsettling story in which the protagonist with a strange sense of foreboding when destiny was about to take tragic turn in her life realizes this year's Christmas season was no different. Some stories are funny with lighter moments ("Lenny the Djinn"), but the major chunk is dark and chillingly unsettling (The Dark New Year, Just Desert).
Woodruff's best skill is examining the depth of the fear in the human mind, and that's what stays at the heart of the book's theme. The powerful illustrations perfectly match the collection's ominous mood, making an immediate impact on readers' minds. This haunting collection draws on the deepest emotions of love, grief, fear, foreboding, and hope and will stay at readers' minds long after they finish the book. This is a marvelous collection from a very talented writer.

From the Back Cover

This ultimate collection of Mr. Woodruff's best and most unusual short stories now includes two additional award-winning tales, "The Out of Work Gender Non-Specific Fairy God Person" and the previously published "Olive".What Critics Are Saying:"Woodruff gives us a new and ultimately compelling second collection of short stories that take the mind to places only ever dreamed about. "-Icarus-Euphoria "Woodruff pens magnificently dark stories in TALES from the AETHER. This collection makes you wonder what goes on in the mind of this author, and that you're so glad he put it on paper. " -Amy's Bookshelf Reviews"[TALES from the AETHER] is the best collection of short stories of this genre I have had the pleasure of reading. I loved the illustrations and the way they prepared you for what to expect from a new story. The stories were well thought out and the delivery was impeccable." -OnlineBookClub.org

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08CK3C28Z
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Matthew C. Woodruff; 2nd edition (July 6, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 6, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.6 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 184 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 out of 5 stars 4 ratings

About the author

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Matthew C. Woodruff

Matthew C. Woodruff

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With sardonic wit and complete irreverence, Matthew Woodruff is one of America’s pre-eminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Woodruff is a master of dark humor and satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today.

It is said that Matthew was born with a book in one hand and a pen in the other (his poor mother has never forgiven him but hey, at least it wasn't a typewriter...) Shortly after the release of his first book, Matthew was named 'Author of the Month' by Self Publishers Showcase for September, 2018. Matthew's first book, "26 Absurdities" was also chosen as a finalist in the 2019 American Fiction Awards and awarded a Bronze Medal in the 2021 Readers' Favorites International Book Awards.

A native New Yorker, Matthew is now on staff at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. Matthew is an award winning magazine features writer, editor and publisher. Matthew's vision of the world around us - seen in his dark humor and dark fiction works - is unique and not to be missed.

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
4 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • pauline griller-mitchell
    5.0 out of 5 stars Book review
    Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    My husband loved it - it was a stocking stuffer
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  • Amy's Bookshelf Reviews
    5.0 out of 5 stars Uniquely dark and creepy! A must read!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2020
    Woodruff pens magnificently dark stories in TALES from the AETHER The Best Short Stories of 2020. This collection makes you wonder what goes on in the mind of this author, and that you're so glad he put it on paper. I liked each story, and enjoy Woodruff's writing style, and his story style. The stories are either, dark, horror, dark and humorous or all of the above. I read this cover to cover, and even went back and read a few all over again, for a second. and even third time. One of my favorites was "My After Life" even as it described the cats feasting on his dead body. Yes, it's that wonderfully creepy, and you don't want to put it down. I look forward to reading more by this author. This book is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews.

    I received this book as a gift in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. ~Amy's Bookshelf Reviews
    One person found this helpful
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