I picked up Voodoo Heart because I admire Snyder’s work on American Vampire.  I was interested to see Snyder’s prose stand alone without a team of artists’ aid.  For the most part, I found myself quite pleased.

Each and every one of Snyder’s stories in this collection is original and very well written.  They all utilize well-rounded characters that instantly attach to the psyche and schema.  My only complaint, however, is that nearly half of them ended with no real sense of resolution.  I don’t necessarily mind vague endings, but several of the works – specifically “Blue Yodel,” “Happy Fish, Plus Coin,” and “About Face” – simply stopped.  I got no real sense of finality and I certainly felt no satisfaction, especially because each of those stories in particular was amazingly engaging.  I wanted so much more because I cared about those characters’ plights in these tales, and I felt cheated without a stronger sense of culmination.

With that being said, as much dissatisfaction as I suffered from the previous stories mentioned, other stories like “Wreck” and “Dumpster Tuesday” left me almost giddy they were so well constructed and resolved.  And, for me, “The Star Attraction of 1919” was undoubtedly one of the most entertaining stories I’ve read in quite some time.  These specific three stories truly blew me away they were so good.  In fact, I keep thinking about them even though I finished the collection several days ago.

I realize that others’ opinions about these stories may vary distinctly from mine.  That’s the wonderful thing about literature, isn’t it?  Rest assured, if you read this short story collection, you will experience prose written at its finest and plots that will rivet you.