Blackout

Can I please get a slow clap started? I seriously believe that Blackout deserves one, because I loved this story. So very, very much. I adore when perfectly normal citizens are suddenly thrown into tense survival situations. No special training. No understanding of what's going. These people are running off pure instinct which, more often than not, leads to one emotional story. I felt for these characters. I understood their terror and their hopelessness. Tim Curran places a simple question in front of the reader. When there is nothing but desolation and destruction on the horizon, do you give in or do you fight back?

Massive points go to Curran for making me feel so connected to these characters, even though this was only a novella length story. I cringed. I cheered. I felt the pit of my stomach drop to my knees as the full understanding of what was going on came crashing down around me. Each time I read a story like this, I'm reminded that it doesn't matter how long a story is. It only matters how hard the writer works to get you involved. I felt like I was a part of Blackout, and it was one harrowing experience.

Five, black as night stars to this story. I want more.