Seppuku

by A.J. Reid

Hashtag Junket – The darkest side of fame as seen through the lens of a social media exchange between two Hollywood film stars.
Kodiak – A lonely apex predator fights terrible primal urges and seeks higher spiritual ground when a human wanders into his territory.
Tyger Bright – In a dystopian future where celebrities are cloned for the sex industry and ethics be damned, a buttoned-down psychiatrist and a neurotic patient are searching for love.
U-Turn – The spectre of a German U-Boat commander boards an ex-WW2 gunship to the horror of her current crew of stoners.
Do Not Disturb – A man checks in to a hotel in order to check out, but his attempt is disrupted by a cleaner.
The Trawlerman’s Dream – Set in the world of The Horseman’s Dream, this spin-off story charts the trials of a trawlerman whose Totem broadcast has sickened everyone into rejecting fish as food, much to the chagrin of Big Fish Industries, who want him brought in dead or alive.
White Orchids – What’s the strangest dinner you’ve ever experienced? Was catharsis on the menu?
Something in the Water – A chance encounter in a mountain bothy between a climatologist and a weed-smoking drifter changes the course of civilisation.
Styx Solutions – Cryogenics is old news. Saying goodbye will never be the same.
Date with Gaia – Strange experiments lead to strange places for a test subject whose obsession with an entity borders on lust, threatening to tear a hole between dimensions.
Snakes and Ladders – If you’re ever inclined to judge a book by its cover, this story might remind you to do so silently, if you must.
The Column – A young man wakes up atop a giant column in the middle of the sea with no land in sight and nothing but memories for sustenance.
Rondonia – A Cambridge professor, beleaguered by the intelligence services, gathers his fellow academics together at a furtive meeting to disclose a truly cosmic secret before it’s too late.
The Banquet – An events planner who still suffers from the trauma of childhood bullying is gifted an unmissable opportunity for sweet revenge when her tormentor unwittingly books her to organise her wedding.
Journeyman – An ageing boxer with flimsy regard for the honour of pugilism takes up one last fight.
Orchestra – A shy composer teams up with a lovelorn colleague to create something incredible, proving that a broken heart can drive us to feats of immense consequence and beauty.
Paradise – A cybercriminal couple escape to a remote mountain town with their haul, hoping to start a new life. Strange visions warn the woman that something horrific is about to befall them, but she is reluctant to say anything lest it condemn her already fragile marriage.
Seppuku – A PTSD-damaged victim of crime loses his mother and finds solace in a book of samurai codes of honour. As the great dishonour and shame in every corner of his poverty-stricken world becomes ever more apparent, he fears that seppuku might be the only way to redeem himself. As his grip on reality falters, so increases the likelihood of a revenge-driven, blood-spattered showdown.

219 pages, Paperback

Published May 6, 2022

About the author

Writer dancing on the edge of sanity between the Mersey, Dee and the Irish Sea.

Genres: psychological, adventure, horror, sci-fi, speculative, dystopian, mystery, dark comedy ...

Likes: boxing, heavy/psychedelic blues/soul/rock, absurdism, surrealism, fires on the beach, teaching, debating, films (David Lynch, Terry Gilliam, Peter Mullan, Mike Leigh etc.) and cooking.

Influences: J. G. Ballard, Mary Shelley, Iain Banks, Franz Kafka, T. S. Eliot, Aldous Huxley, Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G. Wells, Roald Dahl ...

Find out more at ajreid.carrd.co

Reviews

[Conner Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the writing was good, and most of the stories had me immersed. The issue was that they all ended far too early. Some of the stories were successful cliff hangers, whilst all of the others ended way too early and didn’t really go anywhere. The exception is the last story, Seppuku, which I did enjoy.