Reflection by Adam Ostaszewski is a proud collection of stories. I refrain saying short, I admit the stories are long but Adam brought the hidden streaks head in a beautiful way. It is not an overdone sci-fi fantasy book. I mean there is a hint of dystopia with sci-fi and fantasy. In fact, he kept many literary aspects balanced and unequivocal.
You must have not noticed but I did. The author presented the scenarios that could obstacle our life or civilization in future. By saying future, we all think about space. Thus, the author is right by taking the stories to space stations, exoplanets, Mars, and so on. The book clearly indicates the possible lifestyle of our civilization but despite that the human aspirations will remain same. They want to control, whether it is a spaceship or population metrics of a strange planet in the universe.
In any short story collection, the first title should be remarkable to nudge readers for the rest of the book. Adam chose Reflection wisely. It was bang on expectation. It was like a crime thriller, murder mystery, partly dystopian, or something highly futuristic. The story is about death of one rich businessman…but deep inside the story…it turns out something quite strange and unexpected. I did like all stories but Meeting and Virus, I felt they were dragged. Iraq was readable and good. In fact I liked most is the author’s ability to build such futuristic, science-laced worlds for perfect placement.
I admit once again Adam’s writing is engrossing but he is not that author who could be read while ambulating in sleep. You need focus, patience, and need to devote time. If I come across other books by the author, I may pick up after reading the blurb. Most likely, he may come up with a full-fledged novel.
If you have great taste for short story collections, this is the right book to test your scores.
Pick it up from Amazon or Kindle.
ibooksta 