Apocalypse Scenario #683: The Box

Holy hell...

I got into a fight with someone once over GoT. I mentioned that I had never mourned for a single character's death in GoT because I never felt close or attached to any of the characters that died - they felt like fodder: like they were created merely to be killed. The person I was arguing with said I must be a sociopath for not feeling close to a character after knowing them for a thousand pages. My rebuttal was that, just because they have fleshed out personalities and backgrounds, doesn't make them *speak* to me. I couldn't care less about them.

This book demonstrates that very well. In a short, twenty minutes, I came to truly care for the characters. I cared about their past, presents and futures, regardless of how little show more time I spent with them. I even cared about the unknowable thirty people connected to them (ten each, you'll understand after reading it). And the voice in the recording. Dear god did I feel for her. I odder her compassion, pity, hatred, and anger.

Short story writing is a truly delicate art. And Mira Grant seems to have mastered it. Excellent character building, incredible plot building, an intriguing mystery, and *successful* cliffhanger! Oh dear god how I love and adore the elusive and endangered creature: the successful cliffhanger. So often, you see the mangled, roadkill pelt of a cliffhanger. This is a cliffhanger done right. show less

This is how to write a short story. Even though there's obvious connection to the main series, it stands alone perfectly. There aren't any overlapping characters and it's extremely short, but the horror tension is built up SO WELL as the story unfolds, with just the right amount of detail to get the background we need. And that ending sent chills up my spine.

I loved this story, I just wish it had been longer!
The story is about a group of friends who gather every Friday night, as they have done for the past fifteen years, to play a game they call 'Apocalypse Scenario.' This game involves one of the group speculating on how they could cause a global apocalypse while the others have to critique it. Now they are up to scenario number 683 but the group aren't so sure that the scenario they are hearing is as fictional as the others have been in the past.
As usual with anything written by Mira Grant it was dark, atmospheric and extremely well-written. The only reason it didn't get that perfect five stars is because it was so very short.
Rating: 4/5 stars

This very short story may make more sense to those who are familiar with the characters or the series where they live. That being said, these friends get together to play a game, and one of them wants to end the world or at least most of it. It’s better to be her friend, or a friend of her friend, because then you’ll have a chance to live. It is an interesting story but a bizarre one. The author makes the most of a limited amount of words, and that does speak to her talent as a writer.

The Good: I never buy short stories, but since I've loved everything written by Mira Grant, I decided to give this one a shot. It was much shorter than I expected, but the story was totally worth the purchase. This story was utterly captivating. Good premise, huge tension, abrupt on-point ending, every element of the story perfectly executed. This is how you do a short story.

The Bad: Not a thing.

Three stars for a decent read, although I don't see myself ever wanting to re-read. This short story is about the trigger for a viral apocalypse. It's quite clever, although the reader isn't able to form much emotional connection to the characters in such a short format.

This short story is really just the length of about one chapter. The description on Amazon says 45 pages but I think it’s shorter. It’s hard to tell because it’s e-book only. So the first thing I’ll say about it is that it’s not worth the $1.99 Amazon is charging for it!

It’s an eerie story that can stand on its own, kind of like a Twilight Zone episode. However, I found it to be more confusing than mysterious. I read it twice (since it only takes ten minutes to read!) and I still don’t understand what Cole, the missing group member, was trying to accomplish and why.

This story is supposed to be one of the prequels of the Newsflesh series but I don’t think it fits in at all. If I understand it correctly, it actually gives show more a completely different cause of the rising. If anyone out there has read it and the Newsflesh series, I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts.

In short, even if you’re a fan of the Newflesh series, I think you can save your two dollars and skip this one. show less