"With an elegant, yet exhilarating writing style Clayton Graham has cleverly created a superlative collection of original stories each with twists, turns and surprises. Each story is woven together magnificently. Every meaningful word held me fully engaged while each short story held special depth to the characters allowing me to have an amazing feeling of warmth and a deep connection to them. His descriptive writing style transports readers to shocking otherworldly lands which declares the author's strong world building skill. Then, to provide readers with satisfying and thought-provoking conclusions to each and every one of his stories is truly fascinating and displays the brilliance of his overall creativity, intelligence and outstanding writing ability.
Looking for Life by Clayton Graham is the very best collection of short stories in the science fiction genre that I have ever read. In fact, I would prefer it over a full on science fiction novel. Graham has the incredible talent, creativity and smarts to take readers from one extraordinary, staggering, unbelievable and entertaining story that satisfies the soul - to the next!! Truly amazing!!"
"Looking for Life by Clayton Graham is an enthralling collection of science fiction short stories. They're fast-paced adventurous intergalactic romps that are by turn, nail-biting and hilarious. Without giving too much away, my favorites definitely included the title tale and somewhat doom-filled (in the best way!) "Looking for Life" and the oddly philosophical "The Comedian" Nearly all of the seventeen stories have a twist at the end that was either thought-provoking or made me laugh.
Clayton Graham has a wonderful way of storytelling: he's not a wax-lyrical author. He writes in a manner that is concise and gripping without giving too much away. And even though there is very little slow-burn element to the stories, he manages to structure the dialogue and action in such a way that it's hard to put down any of the stories. The characters are limited by their own flaws and very realistic- making them oddly endearing. Surprisingly enough, even the plots are realistic- which is a commendable feat for any science fiction story. I suppose this is a combination of the author's prowess and the way the stories depict alien life rooted in the same everyday realities as human life.
I'd recommend this to not only science-fiction fans, but also anyone who enjoys a solid action-adventure romp. It's a fun ride that kept me entertained without asking too much of my time and keeping all of my attention."
"Looking for Life: A Collection of Science Fiction Short Stories by Clayton Graham is a must-read for all science fiction fans out there. Reminiscent of those anthologies and short stories that propelled the golden age of science fiction, Clayton Graham's elegant and engaging writing style as well as his grasp of a scene and environment makes every short story an entire adventure in itself.
Clayton Graham has elegantly crafted a superb collection of short stories, where every word matters, and none is wasted. It is not easy to incorporate twists and turns in the small number of words allocated to each story but Graham manages to build solid stories and deliver fulfilling endings. From Verne to Shelley, Asimov, and Bradbury, science fiction has primarily dealt with imagination coupled with two extremes; hope and horror. Graham manages to capture the terrors of the fantastic while sprinkling in the persistent and enduring feeling of hope that underlies the actual journey of the human race.
The author's exploration of fear and how each impacts behavior, both in mundane and fantastic environments, puts into perspective current real-life situations. Most people look at an anthology of science fiction short stories as something they can breeze through, some light reading on a slow day. However, the impact of each story is enough to make me pause and ruminate afterward, my own imagination soaring starting at the point where the author left off. Each story in Looking for Life is just the tip of the iceberg, a snapshot of unique individual universes ripe for exploration."
