Amy Bloom has a gorgeous, complicated story of friendship and loss. Every line is loaded with rich details and sounds perfect. And the last paragraph is heartbreaking.
I also enjoyed "Cinnamon's Solace" by Joseph Walker, a hardboiled tale of loyalty betrayal. This one's like a sharp blade to the kidneys--an unflinching portrait of career criminals.
William Dylan Powell's excellent as ever with "Cutthroat Business." All that stress from living the corporate life eventually starts to wear on you...and then you go on a murderous rampage. Maybe someone should do a corporate noir anthology--Jim Wilsky had a story a while back at All Due Respect that would fit in nicely too.
In W.P. Johnson's "White Light, White Heat," a couple of college kids in Philadelphia are trapped in an apartment while a zombie apocalypse consumes the city. With its abundant pop culture references that drive the story forward, this is a horror mash-up that fits this magazine perfectly.
Ron Sheer's "Bikers" is an original western about a new, seemingly harmless cult that rolls into town. Dale, our even-keeled protagonist and local newspaper editor, is determined to give these folks a fair shake. I'd never read Sheer's work previously, but I'll be looking for more--this is an oddball tale with a smart, ambiguous ending.
Pulp Modern is setting the standard in terms of multi-genre publications. Get yours today at CreateSpace or Amazon.
A superb collection. May Mr. Cizak never stop delivering these exceptional issues.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris and David for your review and kind comments.
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