One thing that hasn’t changed is my love of the short story.
Ah, just thinking about it gives me the warm and fuzzies. I relish in getting a new anthology and discovering new (to me, that is) new voices and alternate modes of being. Of course, there is much to be said of the novel. How could there not be? But the short story is the atom from which the novel comes.
A favorite pass time of mine is categorizing the stories I like. With that being said I present the first category: Death & Doom. The following four short stories are absolutely dark, beautiful, and worthy of contemplation.
One Fine Day Upon the River Styx : Elizabeth Engstrom
Wicks End: Jo Kaplan
Between The Trees: Dustin Walker
The Cardiac Ordeal: Andrew Fruedenberg