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Fusion
Book by Savva, Maria
- GenresShort Stories
124 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
About the author
Maria Savva
48 books521 followersWriter of novels and short stories, multi-genre. Maria's short stories have appeared in the BestsellerBound anthologies and the Mind's Eye Series of books, as well as the online magazine The Write Launch: http://thewritelaunch.com/
Maria is also a music blogger at the Real Rock And Roll blog: https://realrockandroll.wordpress.com/
Look out for current news about her writing on her website: http://www.mariasavva.com
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 30, 2011
The short story is one of the most difficult writing forms to master. Like full-length fiction, an effective short story must have a distinct beginning, middle and end. Unlike long fiction, there’s no room for pontification; all literary fat must be trimmed off, leaving only what is vital to the plot. In Fusion, a collection of masterfully crafted short stories by Maria Savva, the subject matter is very much rooted in reality. Each story explores a particular aspect of humanity: love, longing, greed, cruelty, justice and compassion, to name a few. Many of the stories have a moral, like modern-day Aesop’s fables, making them all the more remarkable. Another strength of the stories in Fusion is their plausibility. You won't find vampires, werewolves or adolescent wizards here, and the collection is all the better for it. Maria Savva is a natural storyteller and an incisive observer of the human condition. Her short stories are celebrations - sometimes dark-tinged ones - of what it is to be human. Like all the best artists, she makes it look easy.
June 25, 2011
I'm a fan of Maria Savva, so I was delighted to read her new short story collection. Having read her longer work, I wasn't sure what to expect--often a novelist has trouble mastering the compact form of the short story. But Savva rises to the challenge and excels.
The stories here are intimate and, as is the case with all her work, I feel as though I really know each character immediately. Each story in this collection is very different, some genre stories and others more subtle and literary, but the collection is bound by keen insights and the characters' unique longings. A tell of Savva's work is that her characters always feel real, never overdone or overly glamorized. I can honestly say that there wasn't a story in here that didn't pull me in and keep me close. Some of the stories have a melancholy feel, but never without a sense of purpose or drive, and each delivers an immaculate portrait that speaks to a necessary truth that is at the same time universal and uniquely delivered.
The stories here are intimate and, as is the case with all her work, I feel as though I really know each character immediately. Each story in this collection is very different, some genre stories and others more subtle and literary, but the collection is bound by keen insights and the characters' unique longings. A tell of Savva's work is that her characters always feel real, never overdone or overly glamorized. I can honestly say that there wasn't a story in here that didn't pull me in and keep me close. Some of the stories have a melancholy feel, but never without a sense of purpose or drive, and each delivers an immaculate portrait that speaks to a necessary truth that is at the same time universal and uniquely delivered.
January 21, 2011
In this eclectic collection of short stories, Maria Savva grabs hold and leaves her indelible impression. Her characters are at once familiar and their journeys could be our own. While there is no specific theme tying these stories together, the one consistent undercurrent is Savva's honesty. She shines a light beneath the surface and shows the hurt, hope, love, and loneliness that resides in us all.
March 27, 2011
This is another wonderful collection of delightful stories from Maria Savva, all with twists and turns and surprising endings.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book with its wealth of ‘easy to know’ characters, which bring to life these simple yet clever ideas.
It’s amazing how a story can evolve from the tiniest spark, and Maria shows her genius again and again.
I particularly liked The Legacy and The Time Machine, where hopes and wishes are successfully explored.
Highly recommend.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book with its wealth of ‘easy to know’ characters, which bring to life these simple yet clever ideas.
It’s amazing how a story can evolve from the tiniest spark, and Maria shows her genius again and again.
I particularly liked The Legacy and The Time Machine, where hopes and wishes are successfully explored.
Highly recommend.
January 10, 2011
This is my latest collection of short stories.
I hope you enjoy reading them :)
I hope you enjoy reading them :)
January 31, 2011
This is Maria Savva’s third short story collection (the first two being Pieces of a Rainbow and Love and Loyalty(and Other Tales)). I’ve read all three and was trying to come up with comparisons between them, and finally couldn’t conclude which one is better. They’re all unique and fascinating reads, each containing stories I will remember the rest of my life. Neither of these collections are a first book, Savva already having several novels (three published and one unpublished) before the release of these collections.
Like the first two collections, the stories in this book have plenty of twists, turns, original ideas and Twilight Zone like endings – starting from the very first story (Only time can divide us). Some of the stories are even creepy, such as “A vicious cycle” or “Justice for Ernie” – not exactly the type of thing you might want to read late at night just before bed. But most of the stories deal with the myriad forms of love and their inextricable connections to loyalty and betrayal. In this regard, Savva’s scope is so wide and varied that I never knew what aspect of love she was going to tackle next. It’s all there, everything from the mundane (Make hay while the sun shines) to the bizarre (Till death do us part).
Many of the stories have strong psychological underpinnings, such as “There but for the grace of God”, “The last time he saw her”, and probably my favorite, “Hope springs eternal”. All are true to life and can be quite informative (as well as entertaining), especially for young adult readers. To the young, many of these situations where love runs amuck may seem incredible, but they happen every day in communities all over the world. I was reminded of where I grew up more than once reading this book. They are part of the human experience. Still, love is occasionally triumphant, as it is in some of these stories."
Like the first two collections, the stories in this book have plenty of twists, turns, original ideas and Twilight Zone like endings – starting from the very first story (Only time can divide us). Some of the stories are even creepy, such as “A vicious cycle” or “Justice for Ernie” – not exactly the type of thing you might want to read late at night just before bed. But most of the stories deal with the myriad forms of love and their inextricable connections to loyalty and betrayal. In this regard, Savva’s scope is so wide and varied that I never knew what aspect of love she was going to tackle next. It’s all there, everything from the mundane (Make hay while the sun shines) to the bizarre (Till death do us part).
Many of the stories have strong psychological underpinnings, such as “There but for the grace of God”, “The last time he saw her”, and probably my favorite, “Hope springs eternal”. All are true to life and can be quite informative (as well as entertaining), especially for young adult readers. To the young, many of these situations where love runs amuck may seem incredible, but they happen every day in communities all over the world. I was reminded of where I grew up more than once reading this book. They are part of the human experience. Still, love is occasionally triumphant, as it is in some of these stories."
February 20, 2012
Quick, Quirky Tales!
I became aware of author Maria Savva from her friendly and supportive online presence, and I've been wanting to read one of her novels for some time. I chose her collection of short stories first because it was easily available on my Nook.
The initial story, "Valentine’s Card" was quite timely for me to read on February 14th. I loved the voice of the male narrator and how the “time” difference between the lovers gradually became clear. Very clever! In fact, many of the stories ended with a surprise, which left me wanting for more.
My favorite stories were about criminals and single women. Maria is an attorney in England and her expertise shines through when she writes the criminal mindset. The rationalizations her characters offer are brilliant. I also loved the meddlesome grandmothers trying to shove hapless single women into marriage. Back off, Grandma!
"Me and My Dictionary" cracked me up. The narrator is hell-bent on learning every word in the dictionary and using that word in a sentence that day.
So the rule is, I have to learn each word in the order they appear in the dictionary. That's why I find it annoying when they add new words, because I have to go back again and start over. Yes, all over again. For example, when they added 'chav' to the dictionary, I had to go back to 'C' and do them all over again. I probably would have been on 'K' by now, if it wasn't for that setback.
Poor Dictionary Nerd. ;-)
There's even a story about saving a clock tower, which reminded me of the movie Back to the Future.
After the last story we readers get a treat of guest stories by authors Jen Knox (great descriptions), Neil Schiller, Darcia Helle (nice murder scene!), Susan Gottfried, and Jason McIntyre.
I became aware of author Maria Savva from her friendly and supportive online presence, and I've been wanting to read one of her novels for some time. I chose her collection of short stories first because it was easily available on my Nook.
The initial story, "Valentine’s Card" was quite timely for me to read on February 14th. I loved the voice of the male narrator and how the “time” difference between the lovers gradually became clear. Very clever! In fact, many of the stories ended with a surprise, which left me wanting for more.
My favorite stories were about criminals and single women. Maria is an attorney in England and her expertise shines through when she writes the criminal mindset. The rationalizations her characters offer are brilliant. I also loved the meddlesome grandmothers trying to shove hapless single women into marriage. Back off, Grandma!
"Me and My Dictionary" cracked me up. The narrator is hell-bent on learning every word in the dictionary and using that word in a sentence that day.
So the rule is, I have to learn each word in the order they appear in the dictionary. That's why I find it annoying when they add new words, because I have to go back again and start over. Yes, all over again. For example, when they added 'chav' to the dictionary, I had to go back to 'C' and do them all over again. I probably would have been on 'K' by now, if it wasn't for that setback.
Poor Dictionary Nerd. ;-)
There's even a story about saving a clock tower, which reminded me of the movie Back to the Future.
After the last story we readers get a treat of guest stories by authors Jen Knox (great descriptions), Neil Schiller, Darcia Helle (nice murder scene!), Susan Gottfried, and Jason McIntyre.
May 9, 2012
I don't judge books totally by their cover, though I have to say that I really appreciate the thought that goes behind Maria Savva's book covers. For the longest time, I thought the cover of 'Fusion' was a photo of a white flower against a black background. I've only just realised "what the picture is, really," and how the black and white tones in the photo seem to be a "seamless fusion."
I was initially surprised and intrigued with the table of contents (feat. 22 stories). I assumed that they'd be of 'flash fiction' length (i.e. short short stories), which I've always enjoyed reading because there tends to be focus in a well-written short piece (as opposed to long novels with a lot of filler text).
I found the writing style to be very clean and sharp, which made for easy reading, which reminded me of the following quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne: "easy reading is damn hard writing."
There were very, very nice twists to certain stories, and I liked the scope of the stories. Seemingly ordinary people in ordinary circumstances, yet with a profound simplicity that can escape us as we hurtle on in our "technologically advanced" age where speed and new things seem to matter above all else.
Ms. Savva's work is original and personal, and individualistic yet 'social' at the same time, in the sense that the characters and storyline are things people everywhere can relate to. That to me is what really captured the 'fusion' in Fusion. "Thought provoking and eventful stories written to entertain and inspire," indeed!
I was initially surprised and intrigued with the table of contents (feat. 22 stories). I assumed that they'd be of 'flash fiction' length (i.e. short short stories), which I've always enjoyed reading because there tends to be focus in a well-written short piece (as opposed to long novels with a lot of filler text).
I found the writing style to be very clean and sharp, which made for easy reading, which reminded me of the following quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne: "easy reading is damn hard writing."
There were very, very nice twists to certain stories, and I liked the scope of the stories. Seemingly ordinary people in ordinary circumstances, yet with a profound simplicity that can escape us as we hurtle on in our "technologically advanced" age where speed and new things seem to matter above all else.
Ms. Savva's work is original and personal, and individualistic yet 'social' at the same time, in the sense that the characters and storyline are things people everywhere can relate to. That to me is what really captured the 'fusion' in Fusion. "Thought provoking and eventful stories written to entertain and inspire," indeed!
April 24, 2012
This is a collection of short stories that really have to common thread. Some of the stories were a lot of fun, and some were not so good for me. The biggest issue I had was that they were extremely short. I have read collections of short stories before, but these were only a couple of pages each, and almost all of them ended abruptly. For the first half of the book I was expecting a Cloud Atlas approach where the author would return to a story that was started at the beginning and finish it off. She didn't. So, I was introduced to a slew of new characters, and never really got to find out what happened to any of them. I am not really a fan of that. But, since I did enjoy quite a few of them while they lasted, I went with 3 stars.
April 26, 2011
I don't normally read short story collections, but I was very interested in reading this after enjoying one of Maria Savva's novels. These stories were so enjoyable with well drawn characters, unexpected endings and original premises that kept me turning the pages. The author has a knack for quickly drawing readers into a story so that even when you have chores to do, you wind up reading "just one more." A great read.
March 19, 2011
Maria Savva's short fiction anthology, "Fusion," is a real treat. Unlike many such collections, wherein the quality of the stories is variable, each one of Savva's pieces is a delight.
Savva manages to put a complete story -- and always with an unexpected twist -- into just a few pages. There were no "clunkers" to be found, whether it was a romance, sci-fi or even a ghost story.
Highly recommended.
Savva manages to put a complete story -- and always with an unexpected twist -- into just a few pages. There were no "clunkers" to be found, whether it was a romance, sci-fi or even a ghost story.
Highly recommended.
August 6, 2011
Fusion (Maria Savva)
A collection of short stories. Each one has characters that come to life. They have some twists and turns and many different genres are in this book, It is so hard to pick a favorite story but my top three would be Legacy, Obsession and Visions.Oh and I can't forget The Time Machine. I highly recommend to all. There is something for everyone in this wonderful collection.
A collection of short stories. Each one has characters that come to life. They have some twists and turns and many different genres are in this book, It is so hard to pick a favorite story but my top three would be Legacy, Obsession and Visions.Oh and I can't forget The Time Machine. I highly recommend to all. There is something for everyone in this wonderful collection.
April 25, 2011
Always a fan of short story collections, I especially liked this one because the stories are different - everything from ghosts to murderers to the danger of swans. Enjoyable fast reading from a talented author! I can't wait to read more work from Maria Savva!
June 18, 2012
A great selection of short stories, with some real surprises...
October 1, 2012
What a fun little bit of scribe scribbles! Short stories for every genre ... Maria Savva puts a new definition to speculative, romantic fiction with this lovely little anthology!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews