“Staggeringly good story, made up of horrible characters who I loved hating” – new review of Small Man Syndrome

Interested? You can buy the book here.

Your A.J. Kirby Advent Calendar: What’s Behind Door Number Three?

Behind door number three, I’m delighted to be able to link you up to an exclusive audio recording of yours truly reading an extract from my 2015 novel Small Man Syndrome. This is hosted on the Soundcloud site. You can listen to the 15 minute excerpt from Chapter 3 by following this link.

ABOUT SMALL MAN SYNDROME

From the best-selling author of Bully and Paint This Town Red

“cinematic imagery” (The Reading List)
“astonishing prose” (The Guardian)
“naturalistic, boisterous dialogue” (Leeds Student Newspaper)
“genuine intensity” (Gorezone Magazine)
“constantly keeps you on your toes” (Speculative Book Review)

What Dale Lightwood lacks in inches he more than makes up for in attitude. Dale’s misanthropy manifests itself in his poor relations with his family, a persecution complex at work, a conviction that the rest of the world is talking down to him.
All his life Dale Lightwood has been searching for that ultimate comeback. He longs to come up with the ultimate retort which will force the world to shut up about his size once and for all.

When Dale finds himself stuck behind a cyclist on a lonely road in France one obscene gesture is all it takes for the monster inside him to be released.
This one snap decision is all it takes to send the lives of Dale Lightwood and his family into a terrifying downward spiral.

SMALL MAN SYNDROME explores the consequences of his fateful action – for Dale and his family; it journeys into the heart of darkness of Dale’s guilt as he tries to cope with what he’s done as sinister external agencies try to force his hand.

“Uniquely, naggingly striking”: ‘Small Man Syndrome’ Real-Time Review Reaches its Denouemont

Chapter Ten

“A long chapter as a sort of central denouement, but with more knots left to tie – or untie. Dale’s monster is more than just his wife – nor is it his two kids with smartphones and hoodies. It is himself, small or tall. (…) It’s as if the book is stretching its limbs, feeling its own way, autonomously – even if the freehold author thinks he knows where his leasehold narrator Dale is taking it in small bites. I have a definite sense of unease, as dreams come to fruition…”

Chapter Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, and Fourteen

“If fiction can leave an offtaste in the mouth, this does. A taste that reflects on even you as a reader for somehow sharing these guilty undercurrents, nodding them through. Only special fiction can carry such strength to alter perceptions of truth and fiction. The warning is for us as much as anyone else in the book, I sense.”

Chapters Fifteen, Sixteen

“But there is somethings endemically unpleasant here between all parties in this book, something unredeemable, even between those who should love each other let alone something as connected to the monster as those lunken bastards, nothing redeemable moreover between the cycles of Gaia and humanity. A once sweet deer become a monster to join with all the other monsters, in fact to join them together in new cycles.”

Chapters Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen

“uniquely, naggingly striking…”

“This blend of the horror genre or Gothic (“sleep began to wrap her slippery tentacles around me again”) with the Literary and psychological is so adroitly handled, I feel that I even forget that I am reading a book.”

Chapters Twenty and Twenty-One

“A staggeringly thought-provoking ending, both frightening and fulfilling. No mean feat.”

You can read the review in full here.

And you can buy the book here.

 

“A potential literary landmark…” Real-Time Review Highlights

Time for some more highlights from D.F. Lewis’s Real-Time review of Small Man Syndrome.

Chapters Five, Six and Seven

“Selfish panic is so well described, I felt it as if it were my own.”

“A potential literary landmark in male recouping.”

Chapters Eight and Nine

“Very frightening.”

Catch up with the review here.

And grab yourbadself a copy of the book here.

“Up devastating shit creek with a literary paddle.” – Real-Time Review of ‘Small Man Syndrome’ continues…

D.F. Lewis’s Real-Time review of my novel Small Man Syndrome continues apace. After I brought you Des’s rave notices for the opening two chapters in yesterday’s blog, I’m now delighted to be able to showcase the highlights of his commentary on chapters three and four.

Chapter Three:

“I do need however to express the power of the text’s description of what evolves (…). The style is indeed powerful, often incantatory, with sharp turns of phrase and biting ricochets. This book, I repeat, is Updike or Roth – you know, rather than Horror genre. And that’s good. Up devastating shit creek with a literary paddle.”

Chapter Four:

“…this is an accessibly-expressed page-turning thriller with certain depths for the reader to explore or not to explore according to their temperament as a reader. ”

Catch up with the latest bite-sized-chunky updates from Des here.

And pick up a copy of your very own here.

 

” I don’t often say Wow! In my reviews, but the start of this novel surely deserves it”: A Real-Time Review of ‘Small Man Syndrome’

I’m delighted to announce that my novel Small Man Syndrome is currently receiving the real-time review treatment from the inimitable author and publisher Des Lewis. And you can review Des’s review in real-time by following the posts on this page here.

Here are some early highlights from the first two posts:

“I have long been a big fan of this author’s style and this opening chapter is not a disappointment.”

” I don’t often say Wow! In my reviews, but the start of this novel surely deserves it…”

NOTES

If you want to read along with Des and maybe post your own ideas about the novel, Small Man Syndrome can be purchased from here.

My short story collection The Art of Ventriloquism previously received the real-time review treatment and you can read the whole thing here.

Horror Novel Reviews gives ‘Small Man Syndrome’ 5/5 rating…

Horror Novel Reviews has given ‘Small Man Syndrome’ an excellent 5/5 rating. It describes the book as “a fascinating story”. You can read the full review here.

‘Small Man Syndrome’ features in New Writing North Weekend Bulletin

Small Man Syndrome featured in the weekend’s New Writing North bulletin (see pics below). You can find out about New Writing North here and you can find out more about Small Man Syndrome here.

Small Man – Big Bookend

The first top of my whistlestop blog tour to promote Small Man Syndrome takes me to the Leeds Big Bookend blog, where I’m shooting the breeze about all things location. You can read the guest blog here. And you can buy the book here. All aboard!

 

Exclusive Audio of an Extract from ‘Small Man Syndrome’

I’m delighted to be able to link you up to an exclusive audio recording of yours truly reading an extract from Small Man Syndrome which is hosted on the Soundcloud site. You can listen to the 15 minute excerpt from Chapter 3 by following this link.