Prisoner 392

by Jon F. Merz

"They called it the slit.And it was the only way Prisoner 392 could see the outside world.Cut into the iron door of his cell, the six-inch wide by two-inch tall opening looked like a mouth, rusted burs jutting up and down from the unfinished edges like serrated teeth..."One man's journey into a hellish prison where escape is truly impossible...a short story by author Jon F. Merz originally published in Borderlands 5 & reprinted in From the Borderlands, it earned him an Honorable Mention in the 2004 edition of the Year's Best Fantasy & Horror edited by Ellen Datlow.

27 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 15, 2009

About the author

As a writer, Jon has published over 40 novels with major publishers like Kensington's Pinnacle Books, St. Martin's Press, and many more. He is also the author of eleven installments in the internationally bestselling adventure series Rogue Angel (2006-present) with Harlequin's Gold Eagle line. His short fiction story "Prisoner 392" (appeared alongside Stephen King in FROM THE BORDERLANDS, 2004, Warner Books) earned him an Honorable Mention in 2004's Year's Best Fantasy & Horror edited by Ellen Datlow. Jon has also co-authored two non-fiction books: LEARNING LATER, LIVING GREATER with Nancy Merz Nordstrom (2006, Sentient Publications) and THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO ULTIMATE FIGHTING with Rich "Ace" Franklin (2007, Alpha Books/Penguin/Putnam).

Jon is perhaps most famous for his Lawson Vampire series of supernatural action novels starring the Fixer Lawson, a jaded anti-hero charged with protecting a race of living vampires from exposure. There are currently six novels (The Fixer, The Invoker, The Destructor, The Syndicate, The Kensei, The Enchanter) two novellas (Slave to Love, The Courier) and five short stories (The Price of a Good Drink, Interlude, Red Tide, Rudolf the Red Nosed Rogue, Enemy Mine) in the series with many more adventures yet to come.

Jon's latest novel is the new Shadow Warrior series debuting in September from Baen Books. Book 1, UNDEAD HORDES OF KAN-GUL is due out September 3rd in stores everywhere.

Jon also publishes his backlist independently. You can find his ebooks on Amazon: http://bit.ly/jonfmerz Barnes & Noble's Nook store: http://bit.ly/bnjonfmerz and on Kobo: http://bit.ly/kjonfmerz

As a producer, Jon has formed New Ronin Entertainment with longtime friend Jaime Hassett to create television and feature film projects in the New England area. Their first project is THE FIXER, a new supernatural action series based on Jon's Lawson Vampire novels. Filming of the pilot begins in 2013.

Jon has studied authentic Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu/Ninjutsu for over twenty years under Mark Davis of the Boston Martial Arts Center. He has also trained with senior Bujinkan instructors both in the United States and Japan. During a trip to Japan in February 2003, Jon earned his 5th degree black belt directly from the 34th Grandmaster of Togakure-ryu Ninjutsu, Masaaki Hatsumi. In addition to traditional training, Jon has also taught defensive tactics to a wide range of clients, including civilian crime watch groups, police and EMS first responders, military units, and federal organizations including the US Department of State, the Department of Justice, and the Bureau of Prisons.

In his past, Jon served with the United States Air Force, worked for the US government, and handled executive protection for a variety of Fortune 500 clients.

Reviews

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is told through the eyes of Prisoner 392 a sort of Hannibal Lecter kind of guy. Written well and descriptive for a short story. The beauty of the Kindle and ebooks is a wide window is open to read short work of new authors and authors from small publication houses so easily. I would not have enjoyed all these new authors without access to them through the kindle. I will be looking forward more now to reading the authors novel The Fixer.
"At first glance, the line from Poe’s poem jumped into his head. Up Babylon-like walls, he thought. Appropriate given the imposing height of the sun-baked fortifications. Jakob almost smirked. Poe had gotten it right. But this wasn’t the City in the Sea."

[Nathan Henrion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Short Story. Prison is hell, and in the torments of an iron box in Belize, Jakob discovers just how deep and bizarre that hell is. Its like "A Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovitch" if Ivan's prison camp was nestled into Dante's underworld.

Highly Recommend checking this one out.

[David Francesconi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short story about Prisoner 392 who is in solitary. fun and good read

[Igy The Book Hermit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hell has many forms.