The Wrong Side of the Tracks by Kelly Washington

"The Wrong Side of the Tracks" by Kelly Washington 

This story comes from the anthology magazine Fiction River, issue 24, "Pulse Pounders: Adrenaline."  Written by Kelly Washington.  The anthology was guest edited by Kevin J. Anderson. 

This was the first story I've read in Fiction River.  I just recently discovered the magazine and waiting for my first issue to arrive.  In the mean time I bought the current issue because I'm so damn impatient and couldn't wait 2 months to get my first copy.  The opening story for this issue of the magazine was fantastic and I think I will be reviewing many stories from this magazine. 

This story started out with a woman named Marlene in a cabin in the woods smoking a cigarette.  She was waiting for something, something that made her jumpy and nervous.  She was on edge and strung as tight as a violin string. 

Soon she was watching a man exit a police cruiser and circle her cabin in the blackness of the night.  She was scared to death.  The man was Julian.  Her boyfriend.  He had found her. 

Julian was a man that she once loved.  Or so she thought.  He was a charming man.  Tall, broad, handsome, and a cop to top it all off.  He won her over the first night they met.  Then she moved in with him. 

That's when the violence began.  Julian had a temper and it became quite apparent the first day she was living with him.  He always seemed to make it seem like something she did was what made him act out.  She believed him and didn't want to scare off what seemed like the perfect man. 

After a while of being beaten, abused, and held captive by her so-called lover, Marlene decided to leave.  She made a break for it and headed to the only spot she could think of, her grandfather's cabin.  She holed up in the cabin, waiting for him to find her.  Somehow, she knew he would find her.  He was a cop after all.  He had resources other people didn't. 

Marlene was expecting Julian to find her and had a plan all setup to get away from him.  When Julian started to knock on the door and soon tried to break down the door she put her plan into action.  She crawled through a hole in the ceiling of the cabin and made a run for her life. 

That's when the chase began.  Marlene running for everything she was worth to save her life and Julian chasing her down trying to get her to come back to him.  Marlene knew that if he were to catch her, he would probably kill her.  She had no choice but to fight for her life and hope he didn't catch her. 

This was definitely an awesome opening to this anthology.  To me this story defined what the theme of this anthology was all about.  It was fast-paced and very intense.  I was turned pages as fast as I could read to see what would happen next. 

The story also delved into domestic violence.  The story gave a picture of what life would be like as a woman in an abusive relationship.  The thoughts she would have, and the feelings of someone who desperately wanted to be loved by a man who abused her in every aspect of her life. 

I think this story was a great story that gave an idea of the lengths that some people would go through in order to leave an abusive partner behind.  More often than not it isn't just as simple as taking your stuff and leaving.  The person has to run, hide, and hope that person doesn't find them in fear of their life, and, or, their children's lives. 

The domestic violence portrayal led into a perfect story backdrop for an adrenaline-fueled cat and mouse story.  I found myself hoping things went certain ways while reading the story.  All the while wondering how it would end. Who would end being the victor?  Would anyone come and help?  The suspense was amazing. 

I would definitely recommend this story as a great read if you want suspense and a thrilling page turner.  I don't think anyone would be disappointed after reading this story.  There is so much emotion poured into this story that I almost felt exhausted from holding my breath by the end. 

Moonlight One by Stephen Lawson

"Moonlight One" by Stephen Lawson 

This story comes from Writers of the Future: vol. 33.  The story was illustrated by Jason Park. 

This story was a fun space mystery.  In a not too distant future, we are putting people to live on the moon.  This is a story of the first couple we put on the moon as an experiment. 

Gwen Kennedy was the first woman to live on the moon.  She lived there with her husband Ehrly.  They were the first couple that NASA put on the moon to live and see if they could be sustainable.  They lived in a big bubble biome.  They had a little room off the main area and the main area was a mini rainforest. 

The biome contained everything they needed, but also had some other interesting additions.  The rainforest held galagos, which they also called bush babies.  Small animals that jumped around the top of the trees and kept Gwen and Ehrly company while they spent time in the rainforest.  Sometimes on a walk, or sometimes while they slept in a hammock.  Then there were the cameras.  NASA had cameras on every part of the biome, except for their bedroom. 

There was also a radio room that contained a HAM radio.  Ehrly loved to go in the radio room and patch in to the HAM radio and talk to people on earth.  He did this very often. 

Another character that came into play during the story was Jonas.  He was a writer and ex-detective.  He used to be the boyfriend of Gwen until she met his best friend Ehrly and they went and married.  He plays a major role in this story. 

One morning Gwen was having a dream and woke up only to find Ehrly was missing from bed.  She put on a robe and went out looking for him.  She didn't find him in the bathroom or anywhere in the living quarters.  So she went out into the rainforest to find him.  That's when things started to become chaotic.  She didn't know what to do so she called Jonas from the moon and asked for his help.  That's when the mystery began. 

This was a great space mystery.  It had all the right elements to keep the suspense going right from the get go and keep the momentum.  You never really felt that the suspense was slowing down or disappearing.   

It was also an interesting premise.  The thought of putting the first couple on the moon to live.  The story also goes into why they were chosen to be the couple that went to the moon over other couples.  That reason helped add suspense to the story as well because the reasoning started to unravel.   

Although not surprising in the least, I still found it interesting that they had internet and HAM radio.  The relay time for the information to get back and forth from earth was written into the story, so there was no super fast internet from the future being used.  They still used the internet the way we think of it today. 

Considering this was the opening story for the anthology I'd say job well done.  For a first-time writer this was excellent work.  As an opening story I can't wait to see what comes next.  This story would be hard to follow in the footsteps. 

The Worshipful Society of Glovers by Mary Robinette Kowal

"The Worshipful Society of Glovers" by Mary Robinette Kowal 

This story comes from Uncanny magazine, issue seventeen, for July/August 2017.  Written  

by Mary Robinette Kowal. 

What a wonderfully beautiful world that was created with this story.  There was just enough detail in the story to help create a vivid fantasy world in my head.  The characters were great and from the beginning I was already invested in their life and destiny. 

The story started off with a boy, Vaghn, tailoring a pair of gloves.  He had to be careful about cutting the thread because he didn't know if his saliva would cause any harm when the guild brownie cast his magical spell over the gloves.  He was so poor though, he had to "borrow" a pair of shears from his master without telling him they were leaving the glove shop.  Satisfied with the gloves he headed off to work. 

Vaughn was a journeyman under Master Martin at the glove making shop.  He was studying under contract until he could take the test to become a Master himself and join the guild.  He tried to talk Master Martin into letting him out of his journeyman contract so he could take the masters test and open a shop of his own.  Master Martin would not let him out of his contract because it was cheaper to keep someone under a full-term contract that knew what they were doing than to hire someone else and have to train them up to full potential. 

The gloves that are produced at the shop are ordinary gloves.  Each master has their own signature in stitching and glove making.  The gloves became magical after being imbued with magical powers of a brownie from the land of Faerie.  They imbued the gloves with spells that grant the wearer of the gloves special powers or abilities.  The brownies are associated with the glove maker's guild and work in tandem with a master guildsman.  The brownie that worked with Master Martin is named Littleberry. 

Some of the gloves gave powers that provided extraordinary strength.  Another pair might have helped the wearer find love or helped give the illusion that they are more beautiful.  Anything was possible with the gloves. 

One day on his way home from work something terrible happened to Vaghn.  The little bit that he had was stolen.  Vaghn was heart-broken.  He didn't know what to do.  He might lose his job which would then leave him with less than he barely had now. 

Even though he had very little the little bit that he did have helped him and his sister.  His sister had problems and he had to take care of her.  Sometimes this became an issue, but he didn't know what else to do.  He couldn't afford to do anything else.  That is part of the reason he was so eager to become a master glove maker.  He needed money and he didn't have any. 

The rest of the story was with how Vaghn dealt with his situation and overcame a great obstacle in his path.  There was something he wanted more than anything in the world, but he wasn't sure how to get it.  He thought over plans and different ways to try and accomplish his goal, but could never figure out how to approach the problem.  Then one day he came up with an idea to solve his problem.   

Was it the solution he was looking for?  As with anything, for every action there is a reaction. 

The world was very well done.  The story had a unique approach as well.  A society that cherished it's gloves for style and magical abilities.  The prize possession of the elite was their gloves.  To show status was to have gloves.  Everything was about gloves. 

On the surface a story about a society and gloves doesn't sound appealing, but trust me this is a very appealing story.  If you enjoy fantasy you'll like this story.  If you like to get into the details of fantasy, the society, the traditions, the way of life for the characters of a story, you'll love this. 

The author took a slice of a fantasy world and dissected the world piece by piece.  She did this through the eyes of a boy named Vaghn.  Through his eyes we meet the world, see the fabric of society, meet magical creatures and watch magic happen.  The magic happens on multiple levels, not just in the story, but in our minds as we delve into the world. 

Overall this was a great story.  Fantasy short fiction at its best.  The author is great at her language for the story.  She painted a vivid world to live in, although for a short while, and I could sense all the things she described.  I would love to have had more of this story.  Perhaps a novella that went into more of the society a little bit more.  This would even make a great novel.  Something I would definitely buy and look forward to if it ever happened.   

Any fantasy reader shouldn't be disappointed with this story.  Well done.