The Executioner

by Frank Riley

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Frank Riley was the pseudonym of Frank Wilbert Rhylick, an American science fiction author best known for co-writing (with Mark Clifton) the novel They'd Rather Be Right, which won a Hugo Award for Best Novel during 1955. He was a syndicated travel columnist and editor for the Los Angeles Times, and editor of the Los Angeles Magazine. He also wrote advertisements for See's Candies, screenplays, short fiction such as the "Father Anton Dymek" mysteries and was a host of a radio program in the Los Angeles area.

Reviews

[Beatrice Drury · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange mix of future and medieval. I also am not sure if the author had a point he was trying to make. I was not happy that public executions were used as stress relievers for the populace. Glad none of these ideas have taken hold since this was written.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself is not bad with the building suspense and the (somewhat predictable) plot twist at the end. If you read the story you'll find there is a character of a certain nature by the name of Ann, Riley's daughter is also named Anne... not sure what to think of it.

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read from 1956...
"The Executioner" by Frank Riley
From: If Worlds of Science Fiction -April 1956
22nd century:
"Some died hard; some died easy... the end was the same: A broken body bleeding and twitching in the dust; the blood-happy spectators shrieking in the ecstacy of release from the humdrum of their pushbutton lives...
...She held a velvet robe around her shoulders, but she held it loosely, disdainfully. Under it, she was already dressed in the translucent death gown. Her thick, blond hair, much longer than the fashion of the day, fell nearly to her shoulders. On her feet were the silver sandals she would later remove, along with the velvet robe, just before stepping up on the pedestal in the execution circle."

Read for personal research.
Overall, a good book for the researcher and enthusiast.
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