Lone Star Stories #23, October 2007

Issue 23 of Lone Star Stories contains three pieces of short fiction. The first, “Stickmen” by Forrest Aguirre, is a delicate tale about loss of innocence and growing up. A group of boys on a camping trip create stick figures out of the materials available to them on the forest floor and reveal something about themselves in the process. Despite the brevity of this story, the characters are well realised; Aguirre manages to establish a great emotional bond early on which gives the narrative terrific impact.

In “Odd Jack, King of Monsters” by Claude Lalumière, we meet Odd Jack, an immortal man who has been around since before the conception of the world. Favoured by the god of the underworld, Odd Jack has the title of King of Monsters bestowed upon him after the world has been created and divided up. This story is an odd mix. There are flashes of inspiration, like the various demands made by the animals creating havoc and leaving the world in chaos, but the simple language and straightforward sentence structure give the odd feeling that you are reading a child’s bedtime story. Having said that, it is an entertaining little tale with a good ending.

The longest story of the issue, Ben Peek’s “Black Betty,” is written with originality and skill. The story is set out in the form of interviews with the crew of the Meredith, a ship which set out to track down a notorious pirate named Black Betty. Each speaker is given a distinctive voice, and the story unfolds at a pace that holds your interest right to the end. With vivid descriptions and some gruesome details thrown in to turn your stomach, this story should be a winner. Unfortunately, the ending is a slight disappointment. The entire story is condensed down and summarised in one paragraph, which detracts from the atmosphere of the piece.