Trial 39

by Abraham Lopez

A stranger walks into a wolf's den of a bar. The men there are ready to kill him just for the pleasure and thrill of seeing him die. But they quickly realize he is not to be trifled with, and that the title of Stranger could not be more apt. This is an Old West tale with a Sci-Fi twist.

19 pages, ebook

First published November 29, 2013

About the author

Abraham spent his formative years in rural Colorado, where he was born. He has also lived in Northern Nevada, Virginia, and Northwest Arkansas. These disparate environments and local cultures have had a great impact on Abraham's view of America and his writing styles. Though educated as a computer programmer, Abraham hopes to be a full-time writer in the near future.

Reviews

[Roberta Pearce · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason I didn't give this story four stars was the rotating POV - in such a short work, I found the shifts in character perspective dragged me out of the narrative, and I had to re-adjust. [This is an utterly personal "thing" for me, and "fixing" this may not be the best thing for the story.]
On the plus side, I was intrigued by the world Mr. Lopez alluded to with such light brushstrokes. I would love, love, love if this were expanded into a longer work - I want to know about the protagonist, the world in which he lives, the why of everything! Definitely looking forward to more from Mr. Lopez!

[Hákon Gunnarsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of Trial 39 feels familiar to begin with, one that can be seen in countless westerns, but then it takes a turn into science fiction.

The plot of this short story is alright, and it draws up some cool images, but what I find fascinating is the shifting point of view. It took me by surprise, confused me even for a few pages. Then I got into the story and I found it very interesting. It is cinematic in a way. And it almost worked for me. The only thing that dragged it down for me was that the voices were not quite distinct enough for the concept to work completely.

What I take mostly from this story is a hope to read more by Abraham Lopez in the future.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Stranger walks into a bar, a bar where everyone see's him as weak and ready to kill him. Little do they know that this Stranger is not to be F'ed with. He is faster, stronger, and smarter then all of them combined. He cleans up the bar, after telling them who is he.
I would love to see this as a novel. I want to know about the Stranger. I want to know why he traveling like he does? Why he feels the need to do what he is doing? I want to know more!!
The POV of this shifted a lot and if you weren't paying close attention you could get lost. But once you get back on track you are good to go. The concept is really neat, but I want more.

[Luis Humberto Molinar Márquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent short story! It is very cinematic. I loved the continuous change in the point of view (at first, it is a little disconcerting, but then it starts to work pretty well and in the end I felt it like a very solid and well-executed exercise that works very well with the fast-paced scene).

[Shawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh...

I liked the ideas of motion and time travel presented. The story was OK, but I felt like the motivations and characterizations were lacking. In addition, the multiple perspective changes in paragraphs almost rendered the story unreadable.