NEW ALLEYS FOR NOTHING MEN features seven previously published stories alongside five short stories never before published anywhere. Together, these eleven short fiction stories and one modern noir novelette read like a handbook for the bent, but not yet broken, humanizing even the darkest moments with laughter and tears.
A gripping collection from an emerging voice on today’s noir fiction scene, New Alleys is sure to hit you right in the gut.
Includes stories published in magazines such as Thuglit, All Due Respect, Heater, Out of the Gutter, Urban Graffiti and more!
“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll keep turning the pages, because one thing is for sure--Michael Pool can write. A gripping collection of tales about the broken, the bent and the down-and-out. Michael dishes up characters with depth, facing internal and external conflicts that will leave you wanting more. One of the best short story collections I’ve read.â€â€“ Dietrich Kalteis, award-winning author of Ride the Lightning, The Deadbeat Club and Triggerfish (coming June, 2016)
“Michael Pool writes desperate individuals doing dark deeds. NEW ALLEYS FOR NOTHING MEN is why we read this stuff. In Michael’s short fiction, no quarter is given and no punches held. I’m looking forward to his long form works but his short stories have me hooked like some of his characters, scrambling for JUST. ONE. MORE.†—Craig McNeely, Double Life Press
New Alleys For Nothing Men reads like a handbook for desperate people. Many of the characters in this compelling collection find themselves in dire straights after life-changing events. Pool's knack for showing how people react when the chips are down is what brings these stories to life—each in its own dark way. This is a book about the moments that change us, and the moment to read it is now. — S.W. Lauden, author of Bad Citizen Corporation and Crosswise
Included in this short sad collection of English short stories are brutal murder stories, sad family stories, cancer stories, vice stories, sad love stories, and even one or two inspiring stories to get you through the darkness. Noir means black, and this is the new noir, often called neo-noir. The best noir. Don't miss it!