“The short stories are a thought-provoking panorama of tales and characters,” said Geoff Schumacher, a member of the book festival’s literary committee and project coordinator and editor of Las Vegas Writes. “The vintage photographs have inspired some amazingly creative storylines linked to Las Vegas past and present.”
“Quirky, sometimes brilliant. This book of seven short stories is surprising for the variety and imagination shown by the respective authors. Each one takes a photograph from about sixty years ago and riffs on the image, with the results ranging from the supernatural to everyday life with a twist. The best-known author, science fiction writer K. W. Jeter, portrays a dark future (next month, or decades away?) in a compulsively readable tale. There is something for everyone here, just like Las Vegas itself. This book showcases some of Las Vegas’ finest talent — we’ll be seeing a lot more of these writers in the future.”
- Amazon Reviewer Mike in Ohio
“The iconic and somewhat mysterious photo of Miss Atomic Bomb is the inspiration behind Megan Edwards’ new short story, “Fallout” found in this brand new anthology written by seven “Sin City” writers. Set in present day Las Vegas, Megan’s story weaves historical facts into a compelling & intriguing fictional story, touching on controversial subjects as the so-called “downwinders”, missing persons, imploding casinos, leaky implants and other aspects of Las Vegas culture.
The other six authors delivered masterful interpretations of their six additional photos that both surprised and entertained me. I really enjoyed the description of the darkness on the edge of town in Alissa Nutting’s “The Sands” although I`m not entirely sure I really understand what happened in the end – perhaps other reviewers can let me in on the secret. The most surprising depiction, to me, was penned by Oksana Marafiotti who brought a 1956 devil to life in “No Time for Betting”. I’m still haunted by the vision of a future Las Vegas as created in the mind of K.W. Jeter and the suffering a long-dead elephant.
If, you’re like me, a fan of remarkable culture that is still evolving here in the desert sands of Nevada, I think you’ll find this book a fun and interesting read.”
- Mark Sedenquist