Songs of a Befuddled Muse

Thirteen Tales of Divergent Inspiration

By: William Cohen-Kiraly

Narrated by: Liz May Brice

Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

The mind of a befuddled muse is a maze of odd nooks and crannies where unusual ideas can flower in surprising ways.

This collection of short fiction by William Cohen-Kiraly contains 13 stories across genres, including science fiction, time travel, ghost and paranormal tales, and clown noir.

Stories in this collection include

• Times of Life and Death: A field historian specializing in Tudor history goes back in time to witness history in first person, but becomes obsessed with the enchanting but doomed Lady Jane Grey.
• Curved Space: The captain of a dying interstellar ship facetiously asks Earth to send pizzas, and he is shocked when a delivery shows up at his airlock.
• Hearts Desire: The newly elected president of the United States wins a bet with the devil. She finds he can cause even more pain when he grants her wishes.
• The Big Gumshoes: A clown PI must investigate the murder of his friend and mentor. Along the way, he finds love, battles a corrupt side show, and solves the mystery of the dog left at his trailer door.
• Something That Will Not Let Go: A woman, whose life has been shattered, returns to her childhood home. She finds that the imaginary friend who helped her survive abuse is still waiting for her, and willing to help her exact revenge.

©2022 William C. Kiraly (P)2023 William C. Kiral

Excellent collection of captivating short stories

Songs of a Befuddled Muse is an exceptionally well-written, captivating, and entertaining collection of short stories. Comprising thirteen tales of divergent inspiration, this compilation showcases the talents of journalist, photographer, programmer, and writer William Cohen-Kiraly and during its almost 9 hours of playtime, listeners will encounter a diverse array of characters, such as the captain of a dying interstellar ship, a field historian specializing in Tudor history, a private investigator clown, and even the newly elected president of the United States. Each character has a unique and compelling story to tell, and Songs of a Befuddled Muse invites readers to explore their extraordinary narratives.
While the Publisher’s Summary provides additional details about some of the stories included in this collection, I personally appreciate going in blind, unaware of what awaits me, and it is always intriguing to see how authors can masterfully write across various genres. By the way, there is a pun there and it’s intended because I am actually totally blind.
Songs of a Befuddled Muse serves as a testament to the boundless limits of an author’s imagination. The audiobook rendition of Songs of a Befuddled Muse is skillfully performed by the talented English actress and audiobook narrator Liz May Brice. With incredible talent, urgency, and passion, Brice captures the essence of each tale. From science fiction to time travel, paranormal to clown noir. These adventures spring to life thanks to Brice’s compelling narration and Cohen-Kiraly’s vivid writing.
I thoroughly enjoyed all the stories in Songs of a Befuddled Muse and eagerly anticipate William Cohen-Kiraly’s future audiobook releases. Hopefully, Elizabeth May Brice will continue to collaborate with him, as they make a remarkable team. If you’re in the mood for atmospheric stories that will delight and challenge your imagination, then you should definitely give Songs of a Befuddled Muse by William Cohen-Kiraly a try!
I am a blind audiobook reviewer and if you found this review interesting I hope you will consider leaving a helpful vote below. Thank you! Take care, stay safe, and don't forget, always listen with your heart.

Intriguing and thought provoking

I very much enjoyed this diverse collection of well crafted-short stories. The variety of stories work well together and create an interesting and pleasurable experience. The characters and ideas are intriguing and thought provoking.

The narrator of the audiobook version is excellent and adds a lot to the stories. Being short stories made these tales perfect for local car-trip errands around town. There were even a few NPR driveway moments compelling me to finish listening before heading inside.

Looking forward to more artistic musings by this author.

Enjoyable

Great read! Very entertaining and creative. Thank you for sharing Bill! Looking forward to more!

awesome short stories

wonderful collection of short stories including time travel, sci fi, historical and current and some mystery.

A clever, entertaining collection

This is a varied and entertaining collection of short stories beautifully narrated by Liz May Brice. Cohen-Kiraly has a deft touch with stories that, while slightly genre-bending (speculative fiction, sci-fi, private dick noir, historical fantasy) all have humour and well-executed twists. Mix in generally likable point-of-view characters and it all adds up to a well-spent eight or so hours of listening. I especially enjoyed The Big Gumshoes, a detective noir fiction à la Raymond Chandler, where the "gumshoe" and most of the characters actually wear big gumshoes - because they are clowns. Two longish stories that feature the historical figure Lady Jane Grey caught up in the paradoxes of time travel, bear further development into a novel or a collection of linked short stories. The surprises and twists of these stories always seem organic when they are revealed, a true sign of a writer in control of his craft. I look forward to reading - or listening to - more by Cohen-Kiraly.