Typewriter Repair Shop
by Troy Lambert
DETAILS: Series: Ridge Falls, #1 Publication Date: October 20, 2022 Format: Paperback Length: 66 pg. Read Date: September 19, 2025
There are times when I sit down, ready to write, with no idea what words might begin the story. It’s like an itch in the mind. Words are the only cure, calamine lotion for the desire to create.
What’s Typewriter Repair Shop About?
Jake Randall is a writer who has been struck by the muse—it’s one of those times that he just has to get a story out of his mind and onto paper (or screen). He typically likes to bounce around between his laptop, a notepad, or an actual old typewriter. This time, however, he can’t quite seem to write anything without that typewriter—but that’s okay with him, he enjoys the sensations.
Well, until one of the keys stops working—the letter just won’t strike. Which is infuriating—or would be, if a typewriter repair shop hadn’t just opened across the street from a bar and grill that Jake likes to frequent.
Sure, it seems like a dumb business idea in the 2020s, but at the moment, he’s not looking a gift horse in any orifice. He takes it in, gets the letter repaired (while he enjoys some fish and chips at the grill), and goes home to write more, he really wants to tell this story.
Then a different letter stops working. And so, Jake repeats the sequence. But now he’s more driven to tell the story. And then…yeah, a different key…
The Look of the Thing
So, I don’t know how well an eBook would do with the funky typography/handwriting things that Lambert does here. Probably fine, but also…it could be a mess.
The dead-tree version, however, looks very cool. We frequently get to “see” the typewritten portions with the missing letters, and sometimes where Jake filled them in by hand.
This makes it easy to see why he’d give up—it’s easy to think to yourself, “tough it out, fill it in by hand.” But when you see it in front of you and then think about the effort? No thanks. Back to the repair shop for sure.
So, what did I think about Typewriter Repair Shop?
I’ve got to be quick about this—if I talk too much, you won’t have a reason to pick this up—and I want you to.
This is a very Twilight Zone-y kind of story. You may get to the point where you think you know everything that’ll happen (and you might be right), but that’s not the point. The point is to go on this fast, twisty, and strange ride with Lambert.
Revel in the creepiness, the atmosphere, the…whatever it is that’s going on in Jake’s mind.
This novella is absolutely worth your time and money. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next from this series.
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