Enjoyable

A slow-burner of a long short story.

A man wakes alone in his bed and irritation and annoyance at his partner for not waking him, soon turns to puzzlement - the house is empty, the power is out, the cell phone doesn't work, he can't pee. This puzzlement escalates to fear and despair over the next few days - or is it days? How can he tell? The clocks have stopped. His food has no taste. The neighbours are missing. Dropped things make no noise.

A hopeful encounter with his adopted daughter sows further confusion, as he can't connect with her. Eventually all is revealed through a conversation with a neighbour's troubled child.

I really enjoyed this one, maybe because it was so different from my staple reading preferences of the past 30 years or so. I don't honestly know whether I tried to solve the mystery of what was happening or whether I didn't bother to try, just content to follow Daniel's efforts to discover what had happened to him and the world he knew. What sort of post-apocalyptic nightmare he had woken from?

In hindsight the ending was all so obvious and fitting.

Great writing, an interesting story, one with ever-increasing tension as Daniel learns his fate.

4 from 5

I've a couple more from Brian Keene in the Audible library which I will look forward to in future.

Read - October, 2020
Published - 2011
Page count - 54 (1 hr 20 mins)
Source - Audible purchase
Format - Audible

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Good, short listen!

Dan Miller wakes up one morning to find his partner and daughter missing from their home. A short tale from Brian Keene; my first read of his and won’t be the last. I’m a sucker for these “people have up and gone” stories and this is no exception.

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I am alone

Dan Miller wakes up one morning to find himself alone. His partner, Gerry, is nowhere to be found and neither is their adopted daughter, Danielle. At first annoyed that he'd been left to sleep and then worried that they are actually missing, Dan finds that the power is off, too. The growing sense of alarm, then fear, generated in this short story is admirable: not the sharp thrust of adrenaline horror but the slow eradication of of hope.

This idea is not totally original and at least one other something very similar has preceded it. But this story is well presented and well worth the read. Especially this version, read by Scott Weinberg, who plays with verbal displays of emotion as he relates his story. Great pacing, good inflection and traces of humour make this a fine performance of a tale worthy of the Twilight Zone.

I was very fortunate in being freely gifted with a complimentary copy via Freeaudiobookcodes, at my request. Thank you. It was a good read and definitely recommended.

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Excellent Short Story From a Master of Horror

Alone is a fantastic short story from one of the best writers working in horror today. Brian Keene really deserves to be a household name like Stephen King or Clive Barker.
The story is well written with great characterization. Keene really knows how to create engaging and well rounded protagonists.
The narration by Scott Weinberg is generally very strong.
This is another winner from the folks at Crossroad Press.
Highly recommended.

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