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| THE COVER OF ISSUE #1 |
AUTHOR: John B. Rosenman
CD APPEARANCE: Issue #1 (Dec. 1988: Vol. 1, Iss. 1), story 7 of 12
CD APPEARANCE: Issue #1 (Dec. 1988: Vol. 1, Iss. 1), story 7 of 12
PLOT: Steve Marsh is indulging in childhood nostalgia by visiting the county fair. He feels foolish for dishing out a buck fifty to visit the fun house [remember, the year is 1988], and his wife Bette is outside, waiting impatiently to 'carp' at him when he is done. But for now he is remembering when life was better.
The carnival barker pitched that Steve would see "the most frightening thing in the world" inside the fun house, and as he turns the doorknob & steps in he wonders absently what it would actually take to meet such high claims. He expects nothing more than paper mache monsters, sliding platforms, trick mirrors, and "air holes that goosed you from below".
What he sees, however, is a scene from his own past. A day from his teens when he & Bette made love for the first time. It had been outdoors. It had been hurried and clumsy. And it had been a set-up. Bette, three years his senior, had easily seduced him and told him a few days after that she'd gotten pregnant. Weeks later they were married and Steve's life of hell had begun. Except Bette hadn't been pregnant. She had lied, Steve realizes now that he is about to watch the single event that ruined his life.
In a (final?) release of all those pent-up years of frustration and hatred, Steve steps forward, flings his teenage self off of the teenage Bette, picks up a rock, and brains Bette in the face multiple times.
Moments later his visit to the past is over and he is back in the fun house. He steps outside and realizes that his wife is nowhere to be seen. Better still, a different woman, beautiful and kind-faced, seems to be smiling and waving at him. They walk towards each other, but she veers aside and greets another man. He suddenly realizes the rock is still in his hand. Then Bette makes her reappearance, changed only by the new horrific scar on her face and the ominous words: "Steve, you didn't think you had escaped me, did you?
REVIEW: 5 out of 5 stars.
As a reader, I appreciated how Rosenman shows us that just because a story is short (only 1,000 words) doesn't mean it's necessarily simple. "Rock of Ages" has so much packed into it. (Seriously, look how long my summary is. It's practically as long as the story itself!) In it we find good characterization, a great build-up to the ending, and (perhaps most importantly) actual horror. What is the scariest sight in the world? Answer: Having to re-live the worst moment of your life.
Not bad for a thousand words.
For a moment, let's go back to that ending. By showing the beautiful other woman, Rosenman gives us just the right touch of hope before reality comes crashing down. Twice. Even better (worse?) we are left dealing with a gruesome message too: if you're weak-minded or gullible, watch out. You're in for a world of hurt, and if you dare try to fix that world, it's only going to get worse.
The story has another advantage to which I must give an appreciative nod: Working time travel into any story that isn't primarily about time travel is just cool. I'm a big fan of that subgenre, and I've come to believe it's HARD to do it right in a short space.
I also love the title. "Rock of Ages". I see what you did there, Rosenman. You took a cliché & gave it an entirely new meaning, and a witty one at that.
As a writer, Rosenman's story reinforces that age-old rule in fiction that shorter is better. If this were a 3,000-word story, I'd give it 4 stars and explain that he dragged it on too long or over-described. But seeing the sheer depth of this piece not only warrants it's 5-star accolade, but also reminds this writer about the dangers of verbosity when brevity will do.
The carnival barker pitched that Steve would see "the most frightening thing in the world" inside the fun house, and as he turns the doorknob & steps in he wonders absently what it would actually take to meet such high claims. He expects nothing more than paper mache monsters, sliding platforms, trick mirrors, and "air holes that goosed you from below".
What he sees, however, is a scene from his own past. A day from his teens when he & Bette made love for the first time. It had been outdoors. It had been hurried and clumsy. And it had been a set-up. Bette, three years his senior, had easily seduced him and told him a few days after that she'd gotten pregnant. Weeks later they were married and Steve's life of hell had begun. Except Bette hadn't been pregnant. She had lied, Steve realizes now that he is about to watch the single event that ruined his life.
In a (final?) release of all those pent-up years of frustration and hatred, Steve steps forward, flings his teenage self off of the teenage Bette, picks up a rock, and brains Bette in the face multiple times.
Moments later his visit to the past is over and he is back in the fun house. He steps outside and realizes that his wife is nowhere to be seen. Better still, a different woman, beautiful and kind-faced, seems to be smiling and waving at him. They walk towards each other, but she veers aside and greets another man. He suddenly realizes the rock is still in his hand. Then Bette makes her reappearance, changed only by the new horrific scar on her face and the ominous words: "Steve, you didn't think you had escaped me, did you?
REVIEW: 5 out of 5 stars.
As a reader, I appreciated how Rosenman shows us that just because a story is short (only 1,000 words) doesn't mean it's necessarily simple. "Rock of Ages" has so much packed into it. (Seriously, look how long my summary is. It's practically as long as the story itself!) In it we find good characterization, a great build-up to the ending, and (perhaps most importantly) actual horror. What is the scariest sight in the world? Answer: Having to re-live the worst moment of your life.
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| CD BLURB ON AUTHOR JOHN B. ROSENMAN |
Not bad for a thousand words.
For a moment, let's go back to that ending. By showing the beautiful other woman, Rosenman gives us just the right touch of hope before reality comes crashing down. Twice. Even better (worse?) we are left dealing with a gruesome message too: if you're weak-minded or gullible, watch out. You're in for a world of hurt, and if you dare try to fix that world, it's only going to get worse.
The story has another advantage to which I must give an appreciative nod: Working time travel into any story that isn't primarily about time travel is just cool. I'm a big fan of that subgenre, and I've come to believe it's HARD to do it right in a short space.
I also love the title. "Rock of Ages". I see what you did there, Rosenman. You took a cliché & gave it an entirely new meaning, and a witty one at that.
As a writer, Rosenman's story reinforces that age-old rule in fiction that shorter is better. If this were a 3,000-word story, I'd give it 4 stars and explain that he dragged it on too long or over-described. But seeing the sheer depth of this piece not only warrants it's 5-star accolade, but also reminds this writer about the dangers of verbosity when brevity will do.
