I Killed the Man that Wasn't There - Darrell B. Nelson

Author: Darrell B. Nelson Date: 2011 Setting: the future, on Earth Availability: Download I Killed the Man that Wasn't There on line, free

Story: A successful businessman, Ken, feels that he has been taken advantage of since high school by a pseudo-friend, Donald. When their research into space-time mechanics results in the building of a Trans-Dimensional Origami Reactor, Ken figures out how to exact revenge for all the wrongs done to him, which includes Donald stealing his wife, a powerful motive indeed. However, there are some repercussions that do not leave Ken unscathed.

Commentary: This is a very short story, and I don’t want to say so much that I give the plot away. All of Nelsons stories are science fiction, but of the four in this collection this is the most scientific. There is a bit of a physics lecture in the middle, which is delivered by Ken to Donald. Although it’s not totally out of place, it really feels as if it’s being given for the benefit of the reader. Nevertheless, it does manage to provide information which makes the story seem more plausible.

Although the setting is futuristic and the means of dealing with the despised person is creative, this is a classic story of revenge.

If you want some entertaining reading with sci-fi settings, Darrell B. Nelson writes creatively. The stories are not formula written with only a change of setting, so there is enough variety to keep you reading.

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Author info: Darrell B. Nelson is a former Securities Broker and Insurance Agent who has decided to use the total meltdown of his former industry, and the total destruction of any illusions of personal financial security the meltdown caused, as an opportunity to pursue a writing career. He has several books available at Smashwords. You can learn more at his blog, Project Savior

Rating:
Language skills 6
Depth of meaning 5

Unfortunate - Angel Sharum

Author: Angel Sharum Author web: angelsharum.webnode.com Date: present Setting: some port town Availability: in the anthology Consequences

Story: Carl tells this story in the first person. He and his girlfriend, Sara, have just visited the fortune teller at the local fair. Sara always thinks it's great fun to have a fortune read, and has pressed Carl into trying it. He leaves the tent feeling very disturbed, having received the foretelling of a disastrous future. Although he doesn't believe in such things, he's clearly worried.

Some time later, when Sara leaves him, he recalls the first part of the prophecy. Events in his life continue to unfold in a way that could be either a fulfillment, or simply coincidental. Carl is concerned that the prophecy is becoming self-fulfilling. He sets about to guard against the final portion of the prediction, which is not revealed to the reader until near the end of the story. Can he succeed in preventing the disaster, or is he doomed?

Commentary:"Unfortunate" explores the mysterious question of why things happen to us. Do we bring them on ourselves, or are we controlled by some external fate, which can be known and foretold by seers? Does the mere power of suggestion force us into paths which inevitably lead to the events?

By telling the story in the first person, Sharum guides the reader on a journey through Carl's thought processes, as he considers these possibilities for his own situation.

Author info: Angel Sharum lives in Alabama, and writes non-fiction articles, fiction and poetry. After beginning with non-fiction, she quickly discovered that fiction is her true passion, and she likes to employ her "vivid and sometimes twisted imagination." She feels a special connection with her readers when she succeeds in making them think. Consequences is available as a paperback, or in ebook format.

Rating:
Language skills 5
Depth of meaning 5