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Thursday, November 06, 2008

Video Killed the Radio Star


"Video Killed the Radio Star" will be my 40th publication - not counting a few short stories I self-published in Sentinel science fiction in 2007.

As I said before, it's a monologue, and very much a Texas secret history. The title comes from the fact the story is a flashback to events in 1979. It has what I consider one of my best lines, and a piece of business very much in keeping with the spirit of secret history:

"I bet you didn't know Three Mile Island wasn't the worst nuclear accident in history. Actually, it wasn't even the worst accident in 1979..."

Because of its length, between 8,000 and 9,000 words, it will have to be published as a serial. I think it's the first novelette I've ever had published.
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Latest reviews

A better path develops for a distraught man in “Double Exposure” by Lou Antonelli (debut 6/11 and reviewed by Frank D). Jake is about to end it all. He has been trying to keep his high maintenance wife happy for decades and has needed to embezzle to satisfy her spending habits. Now, on the verge of indictment and abandoned by his spouse, he buys a gun. Before he pulls the trigger, he spies a Kodak one-day photo hut. Curious, he pulls up to the window. They are holding pictures of him and his last girlfriend from 30 years before. The package is a lot thicker than it should be.

Double Exposure” is listed as an Alternative History story but I would classify it as a Magical Realism tale. It is set as a second chance tale, a look into a life that should have been. The author is inspired by his memories of the old photo huts (I remember them) and of their disappearance. A cool idea (photos of another life), one that I could imagine would make for a great anthology.

- Frank Dutkiewicz, Diabolical Plots

“Great White Ship”: A traveler stuck waiting for a flight strikes up a conversation with an old airline employee. The Old Timer tells him a story of a Great White Airship that arrives from a most unusual destination. The story of a craft from an alternate reality and how it got there is only the precursor to the final act.

This is one of my favorite stories from this site. I have a great passion for lighter-than-air craft and their potential as a future means of transport, which opens the story. The author uses this speculation to launch into an engaging tale. As fascinating as the main story line is, the alternate history premise that accompanies it is just as worthwhile. This story was well written and very well thought out. It is well worth the read.

Recommended.

- James Hanzelka, Diabolical Plots

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