Gilded Cage

by Lee Franklin

Torn from the only family she has ever known and sold to the highest bidder. Mica, spends her youth performing for her guardians. Neglected, abused and tortured, Mica, is worked to exhaustion. On death's door, she is cast away only to discover a new reason to live and an appetite for revenge.

Genres: Horror

18 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 2, 2019

About the author

Australian born Author, Lee Franklin, now resides in the idyllic Yorkshire countryside with her incredibly supportive husband, Marcelo, and three boys. After 10 years in the army, working as a personal trainer and logistics officer, Lee found her true calling in life as an Author.
Penning diverse stories Lee’s flavour is usually seeped in action horror and creature features. Her first novel Berserker-Green Hell published by Hellbound Books was a resounding success and prompted one reader to say ‘I would recommend clearing your calendar so you can devour it in one sitting.’ Published a remarkable 14 times in 4 years including a novel, novella, collaboration and many shorts, Lee shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very bizarre tale about a houseplant taking revenge on its new owners. A piece of satirical horror depicting how subdued nature strikes back the hard way. Very unusual, extremely well written and totally different to everything you read before. Amazing and highly recommended!

[MadameD · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful surprise !!!

I enjoyed this short story very much.

If you’re looking for an unusual short horror story, I highly recommend " Gilded Cage " by Lee Franklin to you .

[J.A. Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a dark existence in the care of the harsh Mr. Pepstine, Mica is being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Forced to perform in a cage for her new owners, Mica’s life continues in misery until she makes an alliance which might just get her a day in the sun.

Damn, this is good writing! “Gilded Cage” is one of those short stories where you think you know what’s going on, but as layers of weird details start to accumulate the full picture is slowly revealed. Now Mica isn’t exactly a defenseless little girl – she’s something else entirely – but the parallels to child abuse and human trafficking are just beneath the surface. And author Lee Franklin knows exactly what buttons to push to tighten the knot in the reader’s stomach, without giving anything away. Clever and tense, with atmospheric dread coating the pages, this is a story you don’t want to miss.

[DA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

I love when an author can write about something, but you think it's about something completely different. Franklin sure did tell a story like nothing I've read before.

[P.J. Blakey-Novis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read a couple of Lee Franklin’s short stories in some anthologies, I was excited to see that a standalone short story was being released. Gilded Cage is a clever little tale, mixing a sense of dread with political satire, and is unlike anything I have read before. Short stories are difficult to review without giving too much away so I’ll just say Gilded Cage is highly recommended and a lot of fun. 

[Harvey Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly excellent read! We watch as Mika, a young and beautiful creature is sold into the hands of truly despicable people whose only concern is for themselves and their standing in the community. How could they imagine that the source of their "brilliance", with neglect would be their downfall!

Told from the standpoint of Mika herself, this tale radiates the horrors we inflict on others with our neglect. It shines a light, in microcosmic form on how we as a species neglect the very planet on which we live and without which we become extinct. Well done Lee! I can't wait to read "Berserker – Green Hell"!

[Peter Curran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice first-person narrative, has a lot of potential to be expanded into something a lot bigger, the plant could go on to conquer the rest of the area until joining up with it's double, somewhere out there. You could bring a nemesis into it. So much spectrum, nice bit of work Lee.

[Elli Toney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent short read

Beautifully written, macabre, and thought provoking. I loved it and I am looking forward to reading much more from Lee Franklin.

[Karen Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and suspenseful short story from the very talented Lee Franklin. It grabs the reader from the first page, and seethes with her trademark undercurrent of growing menace during the preparations for ‘adoption day’.

The chills become ever more tantalising as the story unfolds. Written with skill, humour and a deadly imagination. Love it!

[Sea Caummisar · Rating 5 out of 5]

What did I just read? This story is brilliant. The writing is awesome. And the story has a twist that I honestly had to rethink the whole story. It was pretty great. Wow. I would have probably given it 5 stars if it didn't make me feel so dumb! Lol. That's a joke. I would have given it 5 stars if it had more blood in it. Actually, I'm already rethinking this review. For creativity I'm bumping up my original 4 stars to 5... Wow

[Kirsty Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short tale about abandonment and revenge. There are so many things explored in this story: beauty; greed; oppression; sorrow - the list is epic for just a handful of pages. The writing is exceptional, drawing you into this bizarre, but believable, world from the onset. The fragile nature of the main character and the different interactions were so heart wrenching and thought provoking. A story that will stay with me and a must read in my opinion. I wish it was longer, it certainly left me wanting more. Very different to anything else I have read in the horror genre.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a creepy story. It started off making me think it was something else. Then as it dawned on me what it was about I felt guilty!

Look after things people you never know how things are going to turn out!!

A fast good solid read

[D.J. Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short story. This author's talented mind sucks us in and gives us an everyday occurrence, but adds a scary twist. Check it out..you'll probably want to read more from this author. I did.

[mark feenan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and very different short story. Really enjoyed this one.