New Zealand Book Month

The Six Pack Three contains five short stories and one mini-collection of poetry:

Marisa Maepu - '88: I enjoyed this - nicely told and the right length for the material it covered. Maybe the ending is unrealistic, but I didn't have a problem with it while I was reading it.

Sue Wootton - Virtuoso: This was very well written - my only reservation is that "the harried businessman who's alienated from his own life" is something of a stock character in New Zealand fiction. Sue Wootton is a very good poet & I think this story shows that she is a good short story writer as well.

Aroha Harris - Write Poetry: I like poetry, and I enjoyed these poems, especially "Rain Again". One of the things I like most about the Six Pack series is that they include poetry as well as prose.

Ian MacKenzie - Mirror Mirror: While it's good to see a genre story included, the scenario of this story is almost exactly the same as a prominent plot element of the first season of the TV series "Heroes". Although Ian MacKenzie has definitely got talent, this story was a miss for me.

David Geary - Gary Manawatu: This was by far my favourite story in the collection. Such a mixture of humour, art-world satire, sly political comment and verbal exuberance is all too rare in New Zealand fiction. This makes me want to read more of David Geary's work.

Kate Duignan - Swallow: Yet another in the long list of "sensitive young artist struggles with difficult family which doesn't appreciate his/her genius" stories by New Zealand authors. Katherine Mansfield did it first and best. Kate Duignan puts words together beautifully but I'd prefer a story with more oomph to end the collection.… (altro)