Wave Forms and Doom Scrolls

Daniel Scott Tysdal's short story collection, Wave Forms and Doom Scrolls, follows a varied cast of people under strain. Among them is a middle-aged man who has joined a suicide cult, a young woman trying to write a poem for a friend who has just died, and the daughter of a father who loses everything at a theme park.

The characters are vividly drawn and often deeply imperfect. Tysdal turns his attention to hard subjects, including the bleakness running through modern society, suicide, online harassment by internet trolls, and violence. Even in the most devastating moments, his empathy gives those events weight and meaning.

The stories feature intricate plots that take unexpected turns, scenes built with a cinematic eye, and sharp, precise prose. The overall effect is to wound the reader and then draw them back toward these troubled figures with greater compassion.