"Blink"
by Bradley Convissar
Genre:
Contemporary/Fantasy/Horror
Reading Grade: Adult (flash
fiction)
Publication Date: November
8, 2011
Source: Kindle freebie
Age Rating: 15+
Meet dentist
Brian Mallory. He's always considered himself a grounded man. A
rational man. A reasonable man. But what he finds in the mouth of
nineteen year old Amy Gladwell one afternoon during a routine
cleaning makes him begin to question his own sanity.
It's amazing how quickly everything can change in a a blink of an eye.
From the author of the Pandora's Children collection of short stories, the novellas Dogs of War and King of the Merge, and the short story “Last Dance of a Black Widow,” comes “Blink,” a chilling, 3,500 word short story about a simple day gone horribly wrong.
It's amazing how quickly everything can change in a a blink of an eye.
From the author of the Pandora's Children collection of short stories, the novellas Dogs of War and King of the Merge, and the short story “Last Dance of a Black Widow,” comes “Blink,” a chilling, 3,500 word short story about a simple day gone horribly wrong.
My Review
I found this flash fiction
for free in the Kindle store and it caught my eye based on a few
reviews stating how shocking and horrific the big plot twist is. I
read the premise and found myself wanting to discover just what these
reviewers were talking about. Plus, I had the time to read something
only 3,500 words long, and had the money to buy something free—just
barely. <wink>
But, I gotta say, the big
scary reveal that is supposed to freak me out really didn't. As the
main character realizes he's seeing something really bizarre in the
tongue ring of his female dental patient, he feels disturbed. He
examines it a little more closely, and I had an idea of what I
thought it most likely was. Then, he finds out exactly what the weird
thing in her mouth is, and it ends up being exactly what I figured.
Not much of a surprise for me. Had it been something I never saw
coming, then I would have been shocked, of course.
So, while this story was
very well-written and held my full attention from beginning to end,
it just didn't 'wow' me the way I expected it to. Still, it was good.
I'm not sure there is a sequel, so don't expect the story to continue
elsewhere, even though it seems like it ought to, judging by how it
ends. But, read the story and see, when you find out what the tongue
ring really is, if it surprises you, or not.
My score: 3.5 stars out
of 5. (I liked it.)
I can't think of anything worse than finding something scary at the dentist! Creepy to the max. It's always disappointing when you're expecting to be blown away by a plot twist and you figure it out half way. I never seem to be able to figure anything out though :)
ReplyDelete@Lan: Yeah, it might have the extra creep factor because of being at the dentist's office, but the creeped out character is the dentist, not the patient. It's ironic that way, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI used to be an orthodontic assistant. And I can from experience the things you may find in a patient's mouth are gah-ross! I could probably get some enjoyment out of this one.
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
@Andrea: Oh, that's interesting! I bet it is really gross having to look in people's mouths for a living, but I'm glad people in the world are willing to do it. Serves a great need. And, you might like the interesting twist in this story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time and interest to read and review Blink. I had a story to tell and I told it. I don't think I expected to surprise anyone with the ending; between the cover, title and the first paragraph, I expected most people to see the ending coming. Or at least know what the tongue ring would be. But even though I write thrillers and horrors, I don't focus on twist or surprise endings. For me, it's all about the story. And after seeing so many tongue rings on a daily basis, this was a queer little story i wanted to tell. And maybe one day I'll expand on it. We'll see. But again, thanks for the time. Funny thing is, most people who didn't like it, didn't like it because they thought it was too short. They wanted more. But like Last Dance of a Black Widow, which is a character sketch, I told the story I wanted to tell and that's all there is at this moment. Now time to get to sleep so I can get back to taking out teeth tomorrow.
ReplyDelete