Review: Brilliant Story, Amazing Impact
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 27, 2010
To begin with, I've never liked short stories because I love deep character development. Without being able to learn my characters, I don't care about them. If I don't care about them, I don't care what happens to them. I think you can see where I'm going with this.It wasn't until I finished reading THE RIGHT PATH that I realized I didn't 'dislike' short stories; I'd just never read a good one. I was fortunate enough to find this gem lurking around in The Burnt Zone (story joke). It's a well-written look into a world where humanity is a myth and ever action taken by one's self is only to achieve two things: personal gain where possible, and survival.But a mysterious old man plays the catalyst in giving two unsuspecting tragedies-in-the-making, Abraham 'Ham' Jones, a young man with a disfigured leg, and Zia Slate, a young teenager whose been used and abuse by her adoptive family (and in this world that's a privileged life!), a chance at putting themselves in a better position so that they may help others.The last time I've seen an extraordinary example of the spectra of the human machine, from the darkest shade of cruelty to the lightest shade of kindness and charity, was when I saw the film 'Blindness' a few years ago. THE RIGHT PATH is a poetic start to an epic journey of reviving humanity.5 Stars across the board. If novelettes could be nominated for Oscars, this would be in the category.