Night Light
Paperback | Kindle
Written by Kaylan Amberik
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Release Date: December 22, 2013

Every once in a while I have an author, or their representative, reach out to me regarding a new book they want introduced to our readers. That being said, while I try to read everything that is sent to me, I don’t always get a chance to review the works for one reason or another. When Kaylan Amberik‘s husband sent me a message and a link, I was intrigued about her short story compilation she aptly named Night Light. I will admit, in this case, I definitely judged a book by its cover. The gaslight featured so prominently drew me in and piqued my curiosity.

A small book — actually it’s essentially a novella-length work — it contains ten tales that range from just a trio of pages to those of a more standard length short story. Some seem like modern fiction with a dark twist, whereas others have a very Poe-like quality to them (I must also say that I’m writing this review on what would be his 205th birthday). Having said this, I do want to call out a few of my favorite stories here, without spoilers (of course).

“Arty’s Army” reminds me of my childhood with a Toy Story twist. It’s a fun read and reminds us all of what it’s like to be a frightened but determined youngster. The tragic tale “Once” forced me to recall some of my less than stellar girlfriends and the pain that I endured because of them. And “Owls” turns out to have nothing to do with our winged nocturnal friends, though I must admit that the night is directly involved with the story. It seemed to me that the tale “News” was inspired by some Orwell or Rand, though it is distinctly unique in its own way. But lastly, I must call out “Fisherman” as being my favorite. Remember that everything is about perspective…even love.

I enjoyed this short story collection immensely. It was a quick read, being right at a hundred pages, but the stories, for the most part, are memorable. I was so taken with a couple of them that I reached out to my contact asking if there were any full length novels or novellas in the future (there are definite plans for new works, by the way). The author has quite a Tolkienesque way of describing the most mundane items, giving a certain vitality to the stories that we don’t get to see often.

I also appreciated that I was sent a physical copy as I will be passing it on to some friends, but it’s also available for your Kindle (or Kindle app). The dead tree version is the cost of an average paperback, it retails at $6.99, but the digital copy is under two bucks! So my advice is that you snap up a copy in whichever format you prefer and peruse at your leisure. I think we’ll be seeing more from this young lady in the future and who wouldn’t want to be in on the start of a budding author’s career? Now, go buy it…go on, you know you want to!