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With Only a Razor Between
Barber Gio Monsargo has learned to stay quiet and keep his head down, offering shaves and haircuts, not political opinions. But when a high-ranking military official of the Empire begins visiting his shop, Gio finds himself tested in ways he could never imagine.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
35 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 15, 2025
2 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 14, 2025
Depressing with a side of hope. A mite too long for my taste, but worth the read.
Also, the Big Bad seemed to be evil just for fun. Almost a bit too much and seriously hoping people aren’t that bad or calculating evil….probably just me being too optimistic.
3, brought me a tad down, stars.
Also, the Big Bad seemed to be evil just for fun. Almost a bit too much and seriously hoping people aren’t that bad or calculating evil….probably just me being too optimistic.
3, brought me a tad down, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2025
You can read it for free om Reactormag.com.
A short story about not staying silent when injustice happens. Very skillfully written.
A short story about not staying silent when injustice happens. Very skillfully written.
January 2, 2026
"There are sacred things in this world, and the trust between two people with only a razor between them is one such thing" - Sal Monsargo
I loved reading this on Reactormag. As Gio recalls his apprenticeship you can see the world change slowly behind the curtain. What must it be like to try and keep the semblance of normality while your country becomes another country through the violent annexation at the behest of a tyrant? I love the little glimpses into how Verasa becomes New Ikona, as a passing commentary, as memory. Everything erased and stamped out even language, it feels so close, real and possible, even the passing way Gio recalls it in relation to his career.
That Character: The Barbershop in Verasa and New Ikona
That scene: Caprelle, Gio on his knees but standing taller than a giant and all of Verasa surrounding him.
Favorite /Unique Quotes:
🖤 "She looked like the Angel of Little Deaths, who visits many times in life but will never be the one to collect your soul." (A little hope comes to call)
🖤 “I’m just a barber - I don’t give opinions, I give shaves." (Barber Bushido 101)
🖤 "Gio wept and wept and by sundown, felt in his soul that he was doomed." (The Caprelke Test)
Favorite/Curious/Unique Concepts:
■ The Toothcounter Schools/Re-education
■ The Empire of Tongues: every name is speech related
■ Council of the Word
■ Thumb salute
■ Verasa Poem
Cover Cause I'm a Bird: somehow very nostalgic to me and reminds me of when I lived in Besiktas though I can't put my finger on why.
Re-readability: In a heartbeat
GR Rating: 4⭐
CAWPILE:8
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2027
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories by 2027
I loved reading this on Reactormag. As Gio recalls his apprenticeship you can see the world change slowly behind the curtain. What must it be like to try and keep the semblance of normality while your country becomes another country through the violent annexation at the behest of a tyrant? I love the little glimpses into how Verasa becomes New Ikona, as a passing commentary, as memory. Everything erased and stamped out even language, it feels so close, real and possible, even the passing way Gio recalls it in relation to his career.
That Character: The Barbershop in Verasa and New Ikona
That scene: Caprelle, Gio on his knees but standing taller than a giant and all of Verasa surrounding him.
Favorite /Unique Quotes:
🖤 "She looked like the Angel of Little Deaths, who visits many times in life but will never be the one to collect your soul." (A little hope comes to call)
🖤 “I’m just a barber - I don’t give opinions, I give shaves." (Barber Bushido 101)
🖤 "Gio wept and wept and by sundown, felt in his soul that he was doomed." (The Caprelke Test)
Favorite/Curious/Unique Concepts:
■ The Toothcounter Schools/Re-education
■ The Empire of Tongues: every name is speech related
■ Council of the Word
■ Thumb salute
■ Verasa Poem
Cover Cause I'm a Bird: somehow very nostalgic to me and reminds me of when I lived in Besiktas though I can't put my finger on why.
Re-readability: In a heartbeat
GR Rating: 4⭐
CAWPILE:8
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2027
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories by 2027
December 2, 2025
A longer fantasy version of Espuma y nada más.
Setting his story in a fictional world, Cahil was able to say more openly what is going on in the country and expand the story beyond just one shaving session.
Honeyed Annexation is such a brilliant name. Tells us all we need to know both about the pacing of the events that led to this commander walking into this barber shop, and the promises the new power promises the conquered nation. But of course, they don't deliver, and will blame the opposition for it--the same opposition that was a direct result of their actions.
The tension here is built over time very well, and we see more layers to it, yet somehow in the end didn't hit me as hard as Hernando Téllez version.
Best read both and compare yourself.
Setting his story in a fictional world, Cahil was able to say more openly what is going on in the country and expand the story beyond just one shaving session.
Honeyed Annexation is such a brilliant name. Tells us all we need to know both about the pacing of the events that led to this commander walking into this barber shop, and the promises the new power promises the conquered nation. But of course, they don't deliver, and will blame the opposition for it--the same opposition that was a direct result of their actions.
The tension here is built over time very well, and we see more layers to it, yet somehow in the end didn't hit me as hard as Hernando Téllez version.
Best read both and compare yourself.
October 12, 2025
Relato que se puede leer gratis en Reactor.mag
Un barbero ve como invaden su ciudad y matan a su padre. Y el jefe de la invasión va a afeitarse a su barbería. Matarle o no matarle, esa es la cuestión. Para lo corto que es el relato, mete mucha información y emoción. B
Un barbero ve como invaden su ciudad y matan a su padre. Y el jefe de la invasión va a afeitarse a su barbería. Matarle o no matarle, esa es la cuestión. Para lo corto que es el relato, mete mucha información y emoción. B
September 3, 2025
writers who manage to worldbuild, give adequate character traits for us to care as readers and still deliver a story with substance in under 50 pages are so impressive to me, how does it feel to be god’s favourite
to add to that, even with the page count restriction, there are so many ways i felt this resonated with today’s political climate, like the line:
“Oh, Giovanni, you grow familiar. You think because you run your fingers across my face that we are friends, or equals. We never will be, sir.”
such a good, concise example of white proximity in our world & how aligning yourself with white values, culture, etc will allow you access to privileges associated with whiteness, yet it will never truly protect you from systemic oppression. you’re the exception, not the norm, and any day, that privilege you have can disappear with any perceived slight, so effectively described with the line:
“It didn’t do any good to ruminate on what had done him in. All of it was against the grain. Even the gentlest betrayal would be enough to earn him the blade, the bullet, the noose, however Caprelle saw fit.”
anyways i also really like this quote!
”The chair. The cup. The novel. Isabel. Anissa. Each waiting for him to come home. Each would be sorely disappointed. But not in him, he hoped. Like his favorite anise liqueur, the certainty rested bittersweet on his palate. That he would not die a coward.”
also, so random but i love how there’s a mouth-related motif to how the empire is named, like the Empire of Tongues, the army being called the Maw, Toothcounters as their version of the police — it’s just so unnatural? grotesque? like the whole imperial structure is just built to consume & devour, which is very reminiscent of our capitalistic society today.
i also love the way the names are so glaringly engineered — products manufactured with intent, rather than an evolving cultural process — as anything built too quickly usually misses the deeper, messier roots that provides it real durability (rome wasn’t built in a day, or wtv they say). even the name itself, the Empire of Tongues, an empire of control through language, of surveillance and renaming, suggests it might be more concerned with current perception rather than long lasting permanence.
anyways, brilliant story! genuinely just encapsulated how important even a single voice is in the fight for liberation & why, so frequently in history, hope is always the one thing oppressors target as it acts like a match in lighting the fires of revolution. can’t wait to read more of cahill’s work!
this story is available for free on Reactor Mag
to add to that, even with the page count restriction, there are so many ways i felt this resonated with today’s political climate, like the line:
“Oh, Giovanni, you grow familiar. You think because you run your fingers across my face that we are friends, or equals. We never will be, sir.”
such a good, concise example of white proximity in our world & how aligning yourself with white values, culture, etc will allow you access to privileges associated with whiteness, yet it will never truly protect you from systemic oppression. you’re the exception, not the norm, and any day, that privilege you have can disappear with any perceived slight, so effectively described with the line:
“It didn’t do any good to ruminate on what had done him in. All of it was against the grain. Even the gentlest betrayal would be enough to earn him the blade, the bullet, the noose, however Caprelle saw fit.”
anyways i also really like this quote!
”The chair. The cup. The novel. Isabel. Anissa. Each waiting for him to come home. Each would be sorely disappointed. But not in him, he hoped. Like his favorite anise liqueur, the certainty rested bittersweet on his palate. That he would not die a coward.”
also, so random but i love how there’s a mouth-related motif to how the empire is named, like the Empire of Tongues, the army being called the Maw, Toothcounters as their version of the police — it’s just so unnatural? grotesque? like the whole imperial structure is just built to consume & devour, which is very reminiscent of our capitalistic society today.
i also love the way the names are so glaringly engineered — products manufactured with intent, rather than an evolving cultural process — as anything built too quickly usually misses the deeper, messier roots that provides it real durability (rome wasn’t built in a day, or wtv they say). even the name itself, the Empire of Tongues, an empire of control through language, of surveillance and renaming, suggests it might be more concerned with current perception rather than long lasting permanence.
anyways, brilliant story! genuinely just encapsulated how important even a single voice is in the fight for liberation & why, so frequently in history, hope is always the one thing oppressors target as it acts like a match in lighting the fires of revolution. can’t wait to read more of cahill’s work!
this story is available for free on Reactor Mag
August 15, 2025
A delightful story of a man's change of heart.
August 18, 2025
This is so relevant today in Palestine's constant struggle against the occupation, that's I haven't really read even as a fantasy, it read like histroy.
October 10, 2025
With Only a Razor Between caught my eye with its gorgeous cover and intriguing synopsis. A barber named Gio who gets to shave a high-ranking military officer? I was already picturing deep conversations, unexpected friendship, maybe even some life-changing advice exchanged mid-shave. 😄
But the story turned out to be much quieter than my overdramatic imagination expected. It has a certain silent strength and a thoughtful message, but I was honestly waiting for something a bit grander. So in the end, it’s not really the author’s fault — it’s mine for expecting a telenovela twist where there wasn’t one. 😂
Rating: 3 stars ⭐
📚 Bonus: you can actually read it for free! link to Reactormag
TL;DR: Quiet, thoughtful little story — not the dramatic masterpiece I dreamed up, but still worth a quick read. 💇♂️✨
But the story turned out to be much quieter than my overdramatic imagination expected. It has a certain silent strength and a thoughtful message, but I was honestly waiting for something a bit grander. So in the end, it’s not really the author’s fault — it’s mine for expecting a telenovela twist where there wasn’t one. 😂
Rating: 3 stars ⭐
📚 Bonus: you can actually read it for free! link to Reactormag
TL;DR: Quiet, thoughtful little story — not the dramatic masterpiece I dreamed up, but still worth a quick read. 💇♂️✨
read-short-stories
December 17, 20254.0
Summary:
Summary:
August 20, 2025
This is an odd one. It's not really a fantasy story, just has the trappings of a fantasy setting. Was an interesting character study for sure.
September 1, 2025
Really good.
November 4, 2025
I love Gio so much, I never so much more of this world, short stories, novel, comics whatever just give me more Mista Cahill.
November 17, 2025
Decente, prosa poética y que me dejó recordando a Tigana de Guy Gavriel Kay.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews