A Dead Man

by João F. Silva

How many lives do you get?

A man faces death but strikes a deal with his executioner.

'A Dead Man' is a genre-bending tale about redemption, wasted opportunities and overcoming the odds.

To read this story for free, go to joaofsilva [dot] net and sign up to the mailing list.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories

14 pages, ebook

First published November 2, 2022

About the author

Get a FREE copy of RUINS OF SMOKE, a prequel novella from the epic fantasy series The Smokesmiths, by joining João's mailing list: www.joaofsilva.net

João F. Silva was born in a small town in Portugal but now lives in Glasgow, Scotland, with his wife and feline co-worker/boss. His debut novel Seeds of War won the Best Indie Debut of 2023 at the FanFiAddict Awards. His short fiction was published in Grimdark Magazine and Haven Speculative.

Reviews

[Esmay Rosalyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars (rounded up)

Now that's how you write a banger of a short story! I wasn't suspecting a story of 14 pages to have so much emotional depth, but Silva pulled it off! This is a powerful story about life, death and redemption.
Very impressed by this one, now I am even more excited to dive into Seeds of War (and I didn't think that was possible, lol).

This story is free via the author's mailing list, so you better do yourself a favour and take 15 minutes out of your day to check this out. Thank me later ;)

[Fazila · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful short novella with death and deal-making being central themes. You have a character facing death and the executioner gives him three tries to live a good life and change the path he was on in his current life. Failing to do so after the third try has serious ramifications. I really enjoyed this short novella with death and making deals being the primary focal point of the story. It's a nice story that has an interesting ambiance and atmosphere that works very well with the themes. The writing is also really accessible and flows nicely. I am definitely adding Joao Silva onto my list of authors to watch out for. I first found out about this novella from the author himself on Steve Talks Books YouTube channel. If you want to give the author's writing a chance before committing to his upcoming novel, this would be a great starting point and the best part is it's available for free for his newsletter subscribers. Definitely check it out if you enjoy stories that are short and have a good moral of the story as well. Definitely recommend it!!

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow and interesting story, of a man ready to meet the executioner , but the executioner gives him a challenge!
He will give him 3 try’s with 3others lives to redeem himself and if the soon to be dead loses, we’ll then he will trade places with the executioner. And take on his penance!
We begin the soon to be dead man’s up in a boat ……
This is a very short story ….Go on the authors website to get it it’s free!
I give this 5 stars

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I confess that I liked it a lot. A short story about starting over, correcting past mistakes, correcting behavior. I loved the way the author managed to get the message across and how the main character (in all her forms, those who read it understand) was shaping up.

It was a very enjoyable little read and I highly recommend it!

[bibi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The main theme of the story is very interesting and I would like for it to be more explored but I understand that this is a short story.

I liked the writing, it is simple but pretty which is something I really like.

Plus, loved the Portuguese references!

[E J Doble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting themes and very good prose! I enjoyed.

[K.E. Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting and thought-provoking short story.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting short story. I'll be reading more of Mr. Silva's work in the future.

[Isabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the concept a lot but just didn’t get enough time to really get invested in the character. The writing feels nice and imaginative so I’m looking forward to starting Seeds of War in a few days.

[kait ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. It is a *very* short story about getting second chances and being a good person. I liked that the characters stay unnamed so that the emphasis is really on the message but I feel like I would have wanted a lot more background information and just more detail to the story. I feel like staying with the character longer would have made more of an impact because the reasons he was deemed as bad did not feel very developed. Overall, this was fun and interesting to read and I am interested in more of what the author has written. I just hope there is more detail in those stories than there was in this one.

[Amy Simmonds · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

I started this before I started an earc of Seeds of War and the novella is a nice short story to introduce you to Joao’s writing. His writing style is really easy to read and follow which I like. I enjoyed the premise of the novella following a person living multiple lives in order for them to do something good with it.

[ℓуηη_σƒ_νєℓαяιѕ · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging, quick novella about a man facing death and his struggle for redemption. This put me in mind of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, but with a better twist on how this man gets to earn that redemption. Totally loved that!

The writing style is immediately immersive and pulls you into the different places and emotional changes of this man. Excellent storytelling and I definitely look forward to reading more from this author!

[LambchoP · Rating 3 out of 5]

A genre bending quick read from a new author I want to read more of!

A dead man is about a man sentenced to death, but his executioner gives him an ultimatum. The man then gets to "redo" his life three times, with the thought that he would re-do his life in the right way and learn the right lessons before his three chances are up.

The story was interesting enough. It is only about 20 pages so we don't get much character development but the plot was cool enough. I especially liked how the mans first two lives seemed to take place in a typical fantasy setting, but then on his last try we get a more science fiction type setting. Overall this was another good short story from Joao Silva. I also really enjoyed Ruins of Smoke and now I want to move on to the main series and book one "Seeds of War" more than ever. A quick 3/5 stars :)

[Alec Voin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short story (14 pages in the ebook format) that was my introduction to the author (this short story is apparently takes place a long time before his first novel Seeds of War) that was nicely written and quite tense, especially for such a short story, but I had a problem with the message the story seemed to be trying to tell.

[Lance Emery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great short story. No spoilers but, this story and the characters span eons. We are introduced to a side of Death not normally considered while confronting how our actions in life have a 'lasting' effect.

[Ronit J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a very good read, but I'm conflicted about the last part. I liked the writing style, so I'll definitely read more from the author. I've already picked up the novella and book 1 from the Smokesmiths. Let's see how this goes!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really lives up to the term short story - I have trouble with short format works...really would have liked to see this one fleshed out more and become a novella.

[Marita_z · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me likey! But, too short!!! That's the problem with short stories... I want to know more about every iteration of the character.

[Joshua Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super cool concept that gave me a good taste for Joao F Silva’s writing style. I’m excited to get into Seeds of War now! Read for free as part of the author’s mailing list.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Silva's short story... Now I'll be heading to get his novel.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good short story. I enjoyed the story and especially the ending. Even if it did kind of feel like it was going in the direction it was great to see it happy.

[The Fabled Keeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast, quick read. Grips you from the beginning.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful short story about death, redemption and the decisions we make in life.

On a first read through, I wanted to know more about this MC. However, on a second read through, I felt incredibly moved by Silva's writing. There was so much emotional depth in such a short page count. Overall, highly recommend this and even more on a second read through.

[Marie Sinadjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but very interesting! Them again, I'm a sucker for stories about death and reincarnation and all that. Now I wonder if this one ties into the author's ongoing series or not... it's an enticing one if so!