REVIEW: Gripping short stories with good characterization and complex plots.
‘3 Tales of Vengeance’ is a collection of three novellas by Shahid Insaf, a psychiatrist who owns a private practice in Branson, Missouri.
The self-published book, comprising of 242 pages, has three gripping tales of passion and revenge – Vengeance for a Friend, Vengeance for a Life and Vengeance for Love – and two of those at least can be attributed to the author’s experience and passion with playing poker and in his professional capacity as a psychiatrist.
The book has received some good reviews.
Kirkus Review had this to say: ‘…A slam-drunk and sure to make most readers peruse the tale again – or possibly the entire book. Potent stories and strong-willed characters.’
BookLife Prize in Fiction Review says: ‘…three superior stories of revenge’; and Reader’s Favorite Reviews had this to say: ‘Terrifyingly good…a page turner, with many twists and turns…Truly extraordinary – and truly unforgettable. 5 Stars!’
The stories, with the second third ones lengthier than the first one, has these three well-crafted story lines, with complex plots: loyalty in its full glory and a twist at the end as a best friend goes about plotting and taking revenge against murderers of his best friend; the emotional battle between a man who is caught in the throes of wanting to commit suicide and his patient psychiatrist who wants to wean him away from his grim task; and the trials of a poker player who uses his skills as a player to try and rescue somebody he cares about, in real life.
Insaf’s writing skills are good, as he goes about his descriptive story-telling in a manner that will appeal to readers of fast-action packed fiction and those who like stories revolving around crime and intense drama.
Insaf also has feel for good dialogue with adept characterization, which is found in ample evidence in all the three stories, broken up into small chapters each. Being a psychiatrist surely helps in that regard. The dialogues are reminiscent of that from an action film, with readers continuously hooked to what is coming up next in the plotline.
In the age of flash and instant fiction, with some writers punching out stories on their mobile phone and short short fiction available in plenty on the Internet, Insaf’s work seems to cater to that genre, but also with an eye to popular culture, and those who like some meatier stuff in what they consume.