A comprehensive list of reviews received online, and other media, can be found further down the page. Here are some notable highlights.
On Drawn To The Deep End: "This is a painfully truthful story of a man slipping ever deeper into the mire. A sharp and powerful piece of writing, with a darkly comic sense of humour under the surface."
Dr Ian Nettleton, author and lecturer in creative writing, 18th September 2017.
On Cold: "The story was compelling. The writing ... kept me interested until the bitter end."
Alain Gomez, Book Brouhaha, 4th September 2013.
On Dark Steps: "The writing is crisp, the dialogue believable, and the editing is very good ... Pond is a master at this particular form of writing."
The Masquerade Crew Reviews, 5th August 2012.
"...the writing within the stories ... is almost uniformly striking and very memorable. I come back to these stories again and again to remind myself of the gratifying arc of tension, suspense, and relief demonstrated in Dark Steps, as well as the intelligence in the writing, the observant eye in the narration and the terrible moment of realisation that something is not quite right..."
Andrea Holland, poet and lecturer in creative writing, 15th March 2012.
"I have not had a story with so few words have so huge of an impact before ... Pond uses words more efficiently than anyone I have ever read."
Tammy Gaines, Novel Opinion, 2nd February 2012.
"Like a British Stephen King."
Dr Ian Nettleton, author and lecturer in creative writing, 19th December 2011.
On Near-Death Experience: "...the surprise reveal ... forces the reader to rethink the significance of everything that has just been read."
Ian Chung, Sabotage Reviews, 29th November 2011.
On Dark Steps: "An excellent collection of unexpected tales told in everyday surroundings with a vein of dark humour running just below the surface."
Rol Hirst, Sunset Over Slawit, 8th September 2011.
On Dream Feed: "A chilling tale of demonic abduction, worthy of le Fanu. It is succinctly structured with barely a word wasted and plays cleverly on the ambiguous significance of sounds...A horribly compelling fable!"
On Resolution: "A persuasive drama of a life fallen into ruin, well orchestrated by the story’s ‘count down’ structure."
Dr John Yeoman, Writers' Village, 15th July 2011.
"...there are many other points at which Unthology 1 rises to a level that has earned my profound respect...With 'Waiting Room', Martin Pond conjures up a near-futuristic world in which a boy is about to take a test, except no one will tell him what it is about, which has disastrous consequences for him."
Ian Chung, Sabotage Reviews, 3rd April 2011.
"...Waiting Room is an intriguing and mysterious Brave New World-type tale set in the near future which keeps the reader guessing right to the end..."
Eastern Daily Press, 4th December 2010.
Media
| Date | Media | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26/02/2018 | The (New) Vinyl Villain | Drawn To The Deep End was reviewed by blogger Jim Clark | |
| 17/01/2018 | My Top Ten | Drawn To The Deep End was reviewed by author and blogger Rol Hirst | |
| 13/01/2014 | Reading, Books, and More Books | Turn Around Where Possible was reviewed (site now defunct) | |
| 06/10/2013 | A Lover Of Books | Interview for Sonya Kemp | |
| 04/09/2013 | Book Brouhaha | Cold was reviewed by Alain Gomez | |
| 11/07/2013 | Short Fiction Spotlight | Cold was reviewed by Jason Varrone (site now defunct) | |
| 12/03/2013 | Short Fiction Spotlight | Turn Around Where Possible was featured (site now defunct) | |
| 08/03/2013 | Goodreads | Dark Steps was reviewed by novelist Sarah Jane Dobbs (with a mini review of Cold too) | |
| 06/03/2013 | Momma Says Read | Dark Steps was reviewed by Pappa (site now defunct) | |
| 24/02/2013 | Momma Says Read | Cold was reviewed by mother-and-daughter combo Ellen and Lili (site now defunct) | |
| 13/08/2012 | Rachael H. Dixon | Interview for Rachael | |
| 10/08/2012 | Casual Debris | Unthology No.1 was reviewed, in some detail, by Zybahn | |
| 05/08/2012 | Masquerade Crew | Dark Steps was reviewed by Crew member Wilma | |
| 04/07/2012 | Indie E-book Review | Dark Steps was reviewed by Debbie Bennett | |
| 24/06/2012 | Front Row Lit | Dark Steps was featured (site now defunct) | |
| 13/06/2012 | The Akamai Reader | Dark Steps was reviewed by Opal Kiehm | |
| 01/06/2012 | Incredible Indie eBooks | Dark Steps was featured (site now defunct) | |
| 26/05/2012 | 1001 First Lines | Interview for Scarlett Rugers | |
| 21/05/2012 | Life on the Written Page | Interview for Ty Johnston | |
| 18/05/2012 | Kate Kerrow | Dark Steps was reviewed by Kate | |
| 17/05/2012 | Indie BookSpot | Dark Steps was reviewed by Chris Algernon | |
| 17/05/2012 | Kindle Post | Dark Steps was featured | |
| 11/05/2012 | Short Story Symposium | Dark Steps was featured | |
| 27/04/2012 | Flurries Of Words | Dark Steps was 'book of the day' | |
| 22/04/2012 | Vues and Reviews | Turn Around Where Possible was reviewed by Archie Standwood (site now defunct) | |
| 22/04/2012 | Freebooksy | Turn Around Where Possible was featured | |
| 21/04/2012 | A Lover Of Books | Dark Steps was reviewed by Sonya Kemp | |
| 18/04/2012 | Surrounded By Books | Featured by Cherie Reich as part of her A-Z author challenge | |
| 06/04/2012 | Kindle Mojo | Dark Steps was featured on this US e-book site (site now defunct) | |
| 29/03/2012 | Two Ends of the Pen | Interview for Debra L. Martin | |
| 17/03/2012 | Bargain eBooks | Dark Steps was featured on this US e-book site | |
| 06/03/2012 | Parlez Moi | Guest "writers on writing" blog post for Kathleen Valentine | |
| 05/03/2012 | Why Did You Write That? | Interview for Peter Lewis | |
| 05/03/2012 | Indie BookSpot | Interview for John Warner | |
| 23/02/2012 | Good Kindles | Dark Steps was featured on this Polish Kindle site | |
| 02/02/2012 | Novel Opinion | Dark Steps was reviewed by Tammy Gaines (site now defunct) | |
| 13/01/2012 | Indie Books | Interview for the Indie Books blog | |
| 06/01/2012 | Kate's Reads | Dark Steps was reviewed by Kindle Book Review contributor Kate Farrell | |
| 04/01/2012 | Inside Books | Dark Steps was reviewed by Simon Quicke | |
| 29/11/2011 | Sabotage Reviews | Dark Steps was reviewed by Ian Chung | |
| 23/10/2011 | Future Radio | Interview for David Eastaugh's Platform arts show | |
| 05/10/2011 | Future Radio | Interview for Kate Roma's Drivetime show | |
| 08/09/2011 | Sunset Over Slawit | Dark Steps was reviewed by Rol Hirst | |
| 22/08/2011 | Kindle Author | Interview for David Wisehart | |
| 03/04/2011 | Sabotage Reviews | Unthology No.1 was reviewed by Ian Chung | |
| 14/03/2011 | Norwich magazine | Unthology No.1 was featured in Issue 2 | |
| 08/03/2011 | The Short Review | Unthology No.1 was reviewed by Mira Mattar | |
| 20/01/2011 | Ink, Sweat and Tears | Unthology No.1 was reviewed by Sarah Bower | |
| 04/12/2010 | Eastern Daily Press | Unthology No.1 was reviewed in Britain's best-selling regional daily |
