Review: A Fantasy From Within
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 25, 2014
Adam Light, like his brother Evans, specializes in horror stories, but his highly imaginative story, Way Out of Here, takes a potentially horrifying premise and turns it into a wild fantasy that would have made Rod Serling proud.Nolan, the story's narrator, is a man who seemingly has it all, money (thanks to winning the lottery), a beautiful wife and two children, but he is dissatisfied with his life. He becomes far more dissatisfied when he experiences agonizing stomach pains and something inside his body starts talking to him. A scenario like this could wind up being extremely silly, but Light handles it quite cleverly. Nolan reacts just as you'd expect, experiencing sheer terror. However, Light lets readers know there's more to this story than first meets the eye by having the voice deliver one sharp wisecrack after another. Readers will be amused at the intentional humor and will let the story play out.And play out it does, as the thing in Nolan's stomach winds up transporting him to a bizarre new world, one that at first seems to offer him the chance for a new life. Of course, short stories like this usually have a catch, and this one has a doozy of an ending that lands it straight in Twilight Zone territory.I am very impressed with Light's mastery of the short story format, using his words judiciously to describe Nolan well enough so we can appreciate what he goes through, and depicting both the man's horror at realizing something's inside him and then an entire new setting, unlike anything Nolan (or most readers) has experienced, all in about 20 pages. True, there are a couple of loose ends, but we know enough by story's end to enable us to appreciate the twist ending. This story will give readers a fifteen-minute thrill ride, moving effortlessly from one setting to another.My only caveat with this story is the usual one I have when authors post short stories on Kindle... some people may not see the value in spending a dollar for a 20-page story, even one as well written as this one (I got the story for free so this was not an issue). Fortunately, the story is also available as part of at least one collection by the Light brothers, so readers may be able to purchase it, along with some other entertaining horror and fantasy tales, for a price that's not much more than the price of this story by itself.