This collection of short stories, 13 in all, published by Anvil, includes several styles of fiction writing that makes the book feel like a full-course meal. The stories range from the fantastic to the mundane. There are stories about native sorcery (“The Secret Adobo Wars” by Kate Osias) a former bad boy boyband member looking for a second chance (“My Life As A Bee” by Michaelangelo Samson); family jealousies boiling over aboard a cruise ship (“Cruising” by Isabel Yap); gay lovers searching for a missing backpack (“Basta” by Glenn Diaz); and a woman to trying to survive a despotic regime while looking for viable alternative to tampons and sanitary napkins (“The Red Cup” by Francesca Kwe)—it’s a good story, trust me. And that’s just a partial list of what the book offers.
This anthology is edited by acclaimed writers Dean Francis Alfar and Angelo R. Lacuesta and they deserve much credit for choosing well-written and accessible stories for both general readers and the more literary types. If you’re a novice at reading short stories, then Maximum Volume just might be a good place to start.”
Ramil Digal Gulle, Interaksyon.com
