Saturday, September 7, 2013

Permanence / Nick Wisseman


Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Short Story/Post-Apocalyptic

Approximate word count: 3-4,000 words

Availability    
Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Nick Wisseman lives in Bear Lake, Michigan with his family and a bunch of pets. His speculative fiction has appeared in many magazines, many of which are available for your Kindle, either individually or in his collection Outcasts (where this story can also be found.

Description:

“They’re stranded on an island. They don’t have any food or water. Their captain’s all but lost his mind.

Things could be better.

But they could also be worse. While the rest of humanity continues to fight World War III, the six members of the Citizen’s Brigade gradually learn to coexist with their remote environment and each other.”

Appraisal:

I think the appeal of the post-apocalyptic genre is that it helps us believe that no matter how dire, human spirit and ingenuity can and will prevail. (Of course, that requires not thinking too hard about what got the world to that point in the first place.) Permanence tells such a story, does it well, and in very few words. That last point is what stood out for me. Like the best and most meaningful song lyrics, Wisseman’s words manage to say a lot in a short space by allowing us to read between the lines, giving us just what we need to understand, and nothing more. It’s a rare talent.

FYI:

A small amount of adult language

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.


Rating: **** Four stars

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