A Confabulated Compendium of Anecdotes


Fiction - Fantasy - General
97 Pages
Reviewed on 08/30/2017
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Faridah Nassozi for Readers' Favorite

A Confabulated Compendium of Anecdotes by Melissa H North starts off with the story of a bizarre and intriguing murder that leads to Scotland Yard requesting the help of bio science professor Geneviève. The case takes a sudden twist when Geneviève learns the true identity of the victim. She finds herself working with a grieving vampire, Count Valdo, who is eager to get justice for the murder of his fiancée. This is, however, just the beginning of Geneviève's new journey, for an evil group of vampires has disguised themselves and roams freely among mortals. The battle between Count Valdo's coven and that of the evil vampires will be fierce and the experience will leave Geneviève changed forever. Enjoy Geneviève's journey in the world of vampires, and other short stories that are equally gripping.

A Confabulated Compendium of Anecdotes by Melissa H North is a collection of intriguing short stories that will take you across genres and keep you enthralled all the way. Each story is so different from the rest, but the one thing they all have in common is how completely captivating they are. Each story comes with a fresh plot, theme, and characters, making each a unique and refreshing read. Take a journey across genres with intriguing stories told in a style that will transport you to a different place and time as you are pulled in by the settings, the compelling characters, and the narration. Each story is told with just enough details and depth to bring the plot to life.

K.J. Simmill

The Dacia Horde thought the Descendants of the Madiis Tenebris had  been wiped  out. For centuries vampires had  kept their feud hidden, keeping humans safe from the fierce and brutal war. But things had changed. Sanguine had discovered a means of breaching the boundaries and opening a path to the vampire afterlife. Within, he discovered a blood so powerful, so evil, those consuming, it could weird powerful arcane magic (or majik) stemmed from darkness itself. Valid is forced to enlist  the aid of a human, Geneviève, when it appears the  conflict will jeopardise humanity itself. She is investigating an unusual murder, the murder of Valdo's own fiancee, Melaina Lilith, and the mystery surrounding her death is both baffling and astounding. The Descendants of the Madiis Tenebris have already taken  his love from him and he will not allow them to destroy his clan as well. Interested? Well, this is just the first of many unique tales.

A Confabulated Compendium of Anecdotes by Melissa H North is a wonderful collection of short stories which read as a cross between old fables, fantasy and steampunk. This is certainly a diverse collection of unique tales and each one will take you on a new and interesting adventure. The author's style is eloquent and easily conjures depths to imagery and sets wonderful scenes. My favourite of all the tales was Cirque Monter En Flèche, but if you want to find out why, or even discover your own favorite in this wonderful compendium, you'll have to pick up a copy for yourself.

Ray Simmons

When I read a collection of short stories, I invest myself one story at a time. If the first story is great, that’s good, but a common trick in many story collections is to start off with their best, thus luring you in for the more mundane tales. I loved the first story in A Confabulated Compendium of Anecdotes. It was amazing. But I held my enthusiasm in check until after I finished the second one. By then, I was confident that Melissa H North is the real thing. These tales are labeled as steampunk speculative fiction. That is a nice label to let you know they are quirky and unusual. They have weird but satisfying characters and the endings often feel like that too. This book probably isn’t for everyone, but it certainly worked for me.

The writing is sharp and incisive. The dialogue is quick and snappy. I like Melissa H. North’s style. I love the strong, gritty, female characters. I found my favorite story in the whole collection in Shadow Walker and it featured some highly unusual aliens as well as some weird humans too. But the Captain of the Gladiatron is a woman I could fall in love with. Better yet, I bet she’d make a great friend. I just liked her style. I liked how she dealt with a sorry situation on a sorry world. The plots are tight and sweet. The characters are zany but realistic. The writing carries you through. A Confabulated Compendium of Anecdotes indeed.