Review: LitU Anthologies Time and Unearthed

Time by the authors of The Literary Underground
Published by Smashwords; May 2012
98 pages
Format: ebook
Genres: Anthology

I was given this book by an author in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis via Smashwords: As a noun, time is defined as “The indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.” As an anthology, Time is the collection of work written by award winning authors who all possess the talent, determination, and passion to bring to life the jumbled ideas contained within and present them in an entertaining and professional manner.

Unearthed by the authors of The Literary Underground

Published by Smashwords; January 2012

97 pages

Format: Ebook

Genres: Anthology

I was given this book by an authors in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis via Smashwords:

LitU: Unearthed is an anthology that celebrates and brings to the surface some of the best up-and-coming authors in the literary world. This collection of short stories features new and self published authors. 

 

While I have never been disappointed by the authors of Lit U, seeing such varied stories by the authors themselves focused on one central theme is intriguing. Though both Time and Unearthed are both rather short in length, they are a joy to read and easy to finish in the course of an afternoon.
While I enjoyed Time, I thought that it would appeal most to fans of sci-fi/fantasy genres most of all. My favorite short stories were those by the lit U authors that I was already familiar with: Mary Ann Bernal and Steven Novak, but I feel like I am very familiar with their writing styles. Though most of the stories were quite futuristic, I enjoyed The Steam Powered Pocket Watch by V.R. Christensen, it was a unique concept and very suspenseful.
Unearthed was my favorite of the two anthologies. I adored almost every story in this collection. I think that it will appeal to readers of any genre. It’s very straightforward mostly contemporary fiction. My favorite story with an author that I was not familiar with was called Hell Hath No Writer’s Block Like A Kitten Bored by Lael Gardner-Stalnaker. It was an adorable story that was very truthful to how kittens have a knack for getting into trouble.
I think that these are very entertaining anthologies and readers will find several stories that they will like in these collections, if not adoring all of them. I would read more from Lit U authors for sure.