Stories by Kieran Shea are bound to be well written and hard edged, so he's fast becoming one of those writers that can get me to spring for a copy of a magazine or open up one of the e-zines. His story "Passed" is in the current iteration of Plots with Guns, and it is well worth the read.
In it, a son gets a call from his death-row dwelling father in the hour before the needle. The son, a full grown man now, only has bad memories and no real desire to talk with his daddy, but then the request the father makes is a simple favor and, well, it is in his very last hour: pick up and deliver some funeral clothes.
The story has a lot of atmosphere and even though I kind of wished for a sligthly different ending, that might just be "Moral-me" talking. Anyway, check it out.
Showing posts with label Plots with Guns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plots with Guns. Show all posts
Monday, September 13, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
"Blood and Bone in Bambooland", by Cameron Ashley
From: Plots With Guns, Issue #9, June 2010.
Apparently Cameron Ashley and I have the same since of humor, 'cause I laughed out loud a couple of times while reading "Blood and Bone in Bambooland". If this story were set in the U.S., it would have to be a Southern Gothic, but even with the Down Under milieu, it's still pretty damn Gothic.
And it has the best Anglo-accented monologue since The Limey.
The plot? Mark is boss John G.'s newest flunky. A couple of his other boys killed somebody they really maybe ought not have, but it's done now, and John G. needs somebody to clean up the mess. So Mark is taking a trip out to the country to see the Eggman, who handles that sort of job. Things don't go exactly as planned, though, and Mark gets caught up in a feud between the Eggman and his horticulturist neighbor, a disagreement that ends badly all 'round.
It's the narrative voice that carries the story, though. Mark is the only one who can see how absurd all the clowns around him are, and sometimes it's a struggle not to laugh right in their faces. The reader, however, is free to laugh with abandon. A dark comedy but one I enjoyed.
Apparently Cameron Ashley and I have the same since of humor, 'cause I laughed out loud a couple of times while reading "Blood and Bone in Bambooland". If this story were set in the U.S., it would have to be a Southern Gothic, but even with the Down Under milieu, it's still pretty damn Gothic.
And it has the best Anglo-accented monologue since The Limey.
The plot? Mark is boss John G.'s newest flunky. A couple of his other boys killed somebody they really maybe ought not have, but it's done now, and John G. needs somebody to clean up the mess. So Mark is taking a trip out to the country to see the Eggman, who handles that sort of job. Things don't go exactly as planned, though, and Mark gets caught up in a feud between the Eggman and his horticulturist neighbor, a disagreement that ends badly all 'round.
It's the narrative voice that carries the story, though. Mark is the only one who can see how absurd all the clowns around him are, and sometimes it's a struggle not to laugh right in their faces. The reader, however, is free to laugh with abandon. A dark comedy but one I enjoyed.
Friday, May 28, 2010
"Everything Tastes Like Whiskey", by Scott Wolven
From: Plots With Guns, Issue #8 Winter, 2010.
As John walks to work across the University of Idaho campus, .44 Magnum strapped to his hip, no one seems interested in him. He himself has a hard time forgetting that he'd shot a man just the week before. All he's done since is sit at his house and drink beer.
Despite the fact it was self-defense, his boss at the detective agency thinks it would be a good idea if he left town for a while. A rancher named Bill Warner has been having some problems with wolves, and maybe trespassers, and John is dispatched to take care of it. Warner himself is an old man, many years widowed, and a drunk.
John sets up early one morning in a spot where he can spot the wolves if they approach Warner's cattle, but instead of wolves he sees three Mexicans instead, boys or young men. He warns them off in no uncertain terms, but they've brought trouble with them.
What can I say? Another winner for Scott Wolven. The character of John - tough but sensitive - is well drawn, as that of Warner and John's elderly uncle. If you're not a big fan of Wolven's, well, it's time you started.
As John walks to work across the University of Idaho campus, .44 Magnum strapped to his hip, no one seems interested in him. He himself has a hard time forgetting that he'd shot a man just the week before. All he's done since is sit at his house and drink beer.
Despite the fact it was self-defense, his boss at the detective agency thinks it would be a good idea if he left town for a while. A rancher named Bill Warner has been having some problems with wolves, and maybe trespassers, and John is dispatched to take care of it. Warner himself is an old man, many years widowed, and a drunk.
John sets up early one morning in a spot where he can spot the wolves if they approach Warner's cattle, but instead of wolves he sees three Mexicans instead, boys or young men. He warns them off in no uncertain terms, but they've brought trouble with them.
What can I say? Another winner for Scott Wolven. The character of John - tough but sensitive - is well drawn, as that of Warner and John's elderly uncle. If you're not a big fan of Wolven's, well, it's time you started.
Monday, February 25, 2008
"Thoroughly Yours" by Kieran Shea
From: Plots with Guns 1 (February 2008).
After a three-plus-year absence, Neil Smith's respected contemporary noir ezine relaunched last week. The first sentence of Kieran Shea's story reads, "On his 42nd birthday, Boris Rugova jackhammered into Skip Matthews' loaded $72,000 Sport Coup Lexus at twenty-one miles per hour."
Rugova politely offers to pay the damages, but irate lawyer Matthews threatens to sue him. Rugova leaves multiple messages at Matthews' firm, visits the firm trying to make amends, but Matthews will have none of it.
Finally, Rugova approaches Matthews away from the office and gets down on his knees begging Matthews to let him work off the repairs, and Matthews says he'll think about it.
You might have guessed this is a setup for more. Shea drops enough clues and keeps a brisk pace while leaving enough in the dark to maintain surprise. The requisite gun appears, and fans of unvarnished violence get the whack of a hammer against bone.
The new PWG website features easily readable text paired with eye-grabbing photography by Peter Kim.
After a three-plus-year absence, Neil Smith's respected contemporary noir ezine relaunched last week. The first sentence of Kieran Shea's story reads, "On his 42nd birthday, Boris Rugova jackhammered into Skip Matthews' loaded $72,000 Sport Coup Lexus at twenty-one miles per hour."
Rugova politely offers to pay the damages, but irate lawyer Matthews threatens to sue him. Rugova leaves multiple messages at Matthews' firm, visits the firm trying to make amends, but Matthews will have none of it.
Finally, Rugova approaches Matthews away from the office and gets down on his knees begging Matthews to let him work off the repairs, and Matthews says he'll think about it.
You might have guessed this is a setup for more. Shea drops enough clues and keeps a brisk pace while leaving enough in the dark to maintain surprise. The requisite gun appears, and fans of unvarnished violence get the whack of a hammer against bone.
The new PWG website features easily readable text paired with eye-grabbing photography by Peter Kim.
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