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Book ReviewsV.O. |
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Book: V.O.
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Publisher: Amazon
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5
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Staying Young is an Old Problem
Rating:
5 / 5
At the heart of all the stories that stay with us long after reading them are the primal fears. In V.O., Betty Dravis takes one of those skin-crawling fears and fashions from it a well told tale that keeps the interest high right to the end.
This is a story of the rich and powerful seeking what eluded Juan Ponce de Leon in the 16th century. Juan wanted to stay young forever and spent a small fortune on an expedition to find the Fountain of Youth. Perhaps it comes as no great shock to learn he was unsuccessful, but he did discover and name Florida instead.
V.O. is listed as horror, but it's more a mystery, a mystery that keeps teasing until the end, although there are clues right through it that point to what is going on. I enjoyed Dravis' story as I have others of hers.
Recommended.
Barry Aitchison
Author of "Miss Alice Merriwether's Long Lost Cakes & Further Arcane Inducements to Wonder".
Shocking, racy and mind bogglingly good tale
Rating:
5 / 5
This was my first Amazon short, and I am hungry for dozens more. The charm of short stories is their intense delivery of a message that captures the reader and drops them back from great heights only to discover the ending and its message. In V.O Betty Dravis wastes no time and gets down to business in this erotic and horrific tale. I wish that this was the topic that spanned an entire book as I got sucked into the story and couldn't get enough after it ended.
The story is of a couple who have returned from a cruise revitalized and refreshed with new lively energy flowing through their veins. Charles and Barbara meet up with Walter, their dear old friend and let him in on the secret to their sudden revival. The secret of their new youth lies in a meal that they enjoyed during their secret trip to Mexico, all ready setting off alarm bells in my head, creepy thoughts of what the "secret" could be entered my mind, but I was blown away by what the real answer was. As Charles convinced Walter to go with his wife, he unknowingly set himself for finding out the true meaning of what his exotic meal was. Upon Walter's return, the truth is out and the reader is left in shock, with the mouth open staring at the last page. The story was intriguing form the beginning and grew darker and more unsettling while I was enchanted and wanted more. After finishing it I promise that the reader will have it sit on their mind for a long time, this might be a short story but it feels like a rich novel instead.
No matter how much I thought I could guess the secret meal I failed to do so, amazed at Betty Dravis's skills that go beyond good writing, skills that include incredible story telling and a wild imagination. Reading this short tale made me want to read more of her work, including the few books she has penned. Bravo!
- Kasia S.
Glistening Pheromones, Dancing Desires. Tip the Seagram's, Primal Choirs.
Rating:
5 / 5
I could say in utter, sincere honesty that it took every step of my 59 years of life so far to get me here. By here I mean having purchased, read, and reviewed my first sample of Amazon Shorts. What was the hook which snagged my attention and kept it baited, for months, until I clicked the buy button? What snag became entangled in the back of my mind?
It was that perfect little square of eye-catching, colorful, lip-smacking graphics, that mesmerizing little design-lush-box serving as a cover on a mini-book of electronic delivery. As the hook remained tangled in my cerebellum-oblongata, resistance became futile...
Why was this story by this author the first Amazon Short I purchased?
-- Because the graphics and title remained intriguing until they became magnetically appealing.
-- And because Betty Dravis is an endearingly relentless master at promoting her work, every which way, with all of those ways being delightful rather than pushy or inappropriate.
-- And, since I've already read and reviewed Ms. Dravis's novels, 1106 GRAND BOULEVARD, and THE TOONIES INVADE SILICON VALLEY, I'm attuned to her style enough to maybe get into this short story more easily than my norm.
Not only that, LOOK at what a great promotional jewel this feature is for both Amazon and authors! The page featuring the Short gives a graphics rich list of all the author's products on Amazon, and of the author's background, attitude, etc. Cool!
Okay. Here we go. What worked for me to get into V. O. and to be entertained and intrigued by the read...
The lead character, banker Charles Hudson opened the story in a lazy, sensual day-dream mood, which effortlessly caught my attention, and of course I already knew, somewhat, what was going on, based on reviews I'd read, and the blurbs on the story. I began wondering if this would be another "same ole" on ancient horror themes. Then, slip, slide, slam. Several highly effective, captivating, sensual uses of syntax popped out of the text:
>> Thinking back, the banker heaved a heavy sigh, then closed his eyes. His nostrils flared and his lips curved into a pensive smile as his mind's eye savored the otherworldly flavor of the tender, succulent meat they had been served. <<
Intense day dreams are supposed to be good for the health, according to New Age gurus, and I used to sell those, myself, as a practicing parapsychologist in the 80's. But, this yummy meat they're speaking of? Oh dear, I shuddered to wonder. As the fountain of youth effects were detailed, I thought to ask, "Where's the cocoon!"
Okay, I was hooked by the fourth sentence, wanting to know the w's and h's about this healing substance, even though I already knew I wouldn't subscribe to it, not even with my painfully aging ailments. Death (my own) is not a horror to me. But, many other things are. Which of them, I wondered, would this story apply.
The first clue I felt, of true horror coming soon, was in the attitude of Charles asking Walter:
>> "... now are you in or not?" His friend's brusqueness surprised Walter, but ..." <<
Brusqueness ... uh huh. An evil tinge coming through?
Ah, yes, Mexico, the land of enchantment; I'm captured by that ambiance.
More clues, "... retrieved a blood-red, business-sized card from his wallet and placed it on the table."
I could quote many more passages, but allow me to conclude that V. O. is as short stories are purported to be, by necessity. Every word is crisp with charisma, prime picked to move the eyes, mind, and heart effortlessly forward.
Well, here's one more quote, " ... few swallows later, Charles nervously toyed with the red card, then continued."
I was touched by the simple, automatic compassion in the fact that Barb chose Juan because he seemed to be a matched pair with Juanita, who had already been chosen by Charles.
Oh my, and here's another quote from V. O., of Betty Dravis's mastering of sensual synergism in syntax, "I felt an aching in my heart--and in my groin--and became aware that the couple was having the same disturbing affect on my wife. We were enchanted."
And later in the plot, I loved this slip of humor, "Walter's eyebrows shot to his hairline as he hooted."
Having read the whole thing in about 15 minutes, I can easily rave, "Very, very well done, Dravis!"
I'm impressed, and feel that I've not expended any effort to speak of. If all short stories were as crisply written and effortless to read as this one (there was no need to gather focus, or concentrate on every word until I fell into the story's flow), and if all short stories were as effortlessly delivered as Amazon Shorts ...
Regeneration comes in a variety of welcome (sometimes mesmerizing and unsettling) packages: V. O., an Amazon Short. That 49 cents might be the best investment I've ever made. Only on Amazon!
Get it!
Linda G. Shelnutt
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