Praise for Fish Cough
“Some of the most imaginatively written events I’ve had the pleasure of reading … Fish Cough is honestly in a category all its own … It’s definitely a must-read for lovers of the strange and unusual.”
“Meteorites and great fires, pet squirrels and bottle caps with secret codes, good and evil, drama and comedy, anger and grief and love, yes, mostly love, like the works of George Saunders or Lorrie Moore that depict the warped madness of these modern times as a means for us to see ourselves clearer, Craig Buchner’s Fish Cough is a wildly imaginative, deeply thoughtful, and potently-moving riot of a novel.”
— ALAN HEATHCOCK, AUTHOR OF VOLT AND 40
“Craig Buchner has written a strange and powerful novel, a story that flares and zooms at the reader like the meteor shower that dazzles and bewilders our heroes, Thom and Howard. For all its otherworldly aspects, Fish Cough is a story about animals trying to make sense of the chaos around, and inside them, about love as the ultimate force of disequilibrium, and the ultimate source of hope. Brilliant.”
— STEVE ALMOND, AUTHOR OF ALL THE SECRETS OF THE WORLD
“Filled with life’s complexities, Fish Cough explores human connection in a unique, well structured storyline. This book is an emotional rollercoaster and one for the inquisitive. There are times when the plot is more surreal, times to laugh and times when your heart goes out to the characters. Above all, there are moments to ponder and think about the power we place on the things around us.”
Praise for Brutal Beasts
“Startling at every turn, gorgeously written, grotesquely realistic, soulful as hell, and righteously funny, Brutal Beasts is a jovial mix of magic and mayhem. Transgressive, nimble, and quick-witted, Buchner’s stories keep us transfixed on characters made animal by loss—of family, of friends, of a future anyone can believe in. There are monsters in these pages, but behind every horror is a heart longing for love…and a question: In a cataclysmic world defined by violence and cruelty, how far will we go to make sense of our lives? ”
— KIM BARNES, PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST & AUTHOR OF IN THE KINGDOM OF MEN
“Craig Buchner’s debut collection of stories, Brutal Beasts, offers us characters that are human and enchanting. I loved these stories. Poetic, voice-driven, and elegant, this book deserves placement somewhere between Kafka and Donald Barthelme, on the Dark Comedy shelf. Kudos all around.”
— GEORGE SINGLETON, AUTHOR OF YOU WANT MORE: SELECTED STORIES
“These stories come at you hard, dark and disturbing (and at times hilarious) visions delivered with glittering bursts of language. Buchner’s characters are often outcasts and losers, but he never allows the reader to lose sight of their humanity as they reveal the wreckage in their hearts.”
— RON RASH, AUTHOR OF SERENA
“North Carolina fiction writer and poet Buchner’s dazzling assortment of 18 tales offers a diverse cast struggling with some outlandish situations, both earthly and otherworldly… One of the assortment’s greatest assets is its sublime unpredictability… The book crosses boundaries and traverses genres with seamless ease… Buchner’s literary talents are on brilliant display... There is indeed mild, sunlit horror embedded in Buchner’s stories, but he also demonstrates a deep understanding of human nature and how it operates in times of desperation and when faced with the paranormal.”
— KIRKUS REVIEWS (STARRED REVIEW)
Craig Buchner’s superbly written BRUTAL BEASTS is a collection of (very) short stories – 18 across the book’s 177 pages filled with captivating characters and works that run the gamut from very humorous to incredibly dark.