Review: Interesting Short Psychological Thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 20, 2012
`Legend' is a term in espionage used for a well-designed imaginary identity used by spies or infiltrators in order to mask their true identity. A well-crafted legend can take a life of its own, and the short story `Legends' by Antoine Bello takes that concept to a whole new level. It follows Nigel, a man in his forties working for the British secret service, who has been given the task of maintaining three different legends - Alec, Harold and Sarah. Nigel quickly becomes obsessed with his task and takes it to the level that was unanticipated by his superiors. This obsession overtakes his life and creates a host of problems that become increasingly difficult to resolve.This is a short and well-written psychological thriller. It is presented in the form of Nigel's diary. The events are provided with enough detail to justify their progression, but not so much that they overwhelm the reader with the unnecessary pedantry. The narrative follows a natural arch towards its inevitable conclusion. The story is an ingenious exploration of a very fascinating concept, and it's just long enough to keep the reader's interest going. A longer treatment would probably have been overkill. In printed for the story would be about 18 pages long, and can easily be read in less than 20 minutes. It's a good example of the benefits of electronic publishing when it comes to the short stories.