Short Story Horror and Short Story Sci-fi categories
World of Ash

Author: Kevin Hopson

Release: November 1, 2010

Editor: Christine I. Speakman

Line Editor: Penny Ehrenkranz

Cover Artist: Delilah K. Stephans

ISBN: 978-0-9865875-7-3

Price: $1.99

Word count: 4900

Pages: 22

Warning: Limited violence, sexual content or language.

Blurb:

Jax has always succumbed to his boss’ wishes in an effort to please him. When he is asked to journey to the town of Tellare with a volcanic ash cloud standing in his way, Jax realizes the dangers, but he accepts the job anyway. He even brings along his friend Stu as company. However, Jax starts to regret his decision when Stu puts up resistance and conditions continue to worsen. What awaits them inside the ash cloud, and will Stu prove to be a liability when push comes to shove?

Excerpt:

Jax and Stu walked silently behind Robert as they made their way toward the house. Because the ash accumulated on flat surfaces, such as the roof and ground, the house’s exterior was visible to Jax. The off-white building had soft green shutters and rested at the end of a gravel driveway. He could not see the driveway, but Jax felt the uneven stones beneath his feet. Despite the ash buildup, Jax could make out a storm cellar on the right side of the structure. Directly in front of them was a covered wraparound porch. Jax wondered how the house, as old as it was, could hold up under all of the ash fall.

Reviews: This is a tightly-woven, scary short story that was impossible for me to put down once I read the first sentence. I was absolutely there smelling the sulfurous fumes along with Jax and Stu. The creep factor escalated until my skin was crawling by the time I followed the two young men into their other-worldly nightmare. This story provides a captivating short escape into the terror of the unknown.  Night Owl Reviews - 4.5 out of 5 review

 As a reader I quite enjoyed this story. The characters are realistic and indeed I found Jax giving Stu a speech similar to ones I've given some of my friends before.  FULL REVIEW  Story Review 7/10 rating

MEET THE AUTHOR

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Customer Reviews:

Terror...suspense...edge of your seat bone-chilling concepts....this short story has them all.rnrnJax and Stu have an important delivery to make and only a short window of time to deliver it in. Before they can complete the drive, they come upon a cloud of dark, angry, lightning-bolt spewing ash obliterating the view ahead and making both men wish they could turn tail and retreat,. Alas, they must forge ahead...not in the safe confines of their secure vehicle...but on their trembling feet.rnrnPyroclastic clouds are scary enough laden as they are with poisonous fumes, molten rock and other noxious core of the earth stuff, but Kevin Hopson masterfully notches the fear level up many degrees by adding more obscure and unexpected terror just in case our spines aren't feeling the yellow-striped heebie-jeebies enough.rnrnI found myself wanting to squeeze my eyes shut, fold my arms tightly in around me...and run! But the coward in me was overruled by the excited reader...so on I read.rnrnMr. Hopson takes you straight into the hell of that treacherous cloud right along with Stu and Jax...so prepare yourself for a journey that is at its spine tingling-best.rnrnI'm not going to give it away, but you really do not want to miss reading this powerful short story...and then journey on to the rest of this authors many spine-tingling stories. His talent for sending chills up and down your spine grows with each new offering. rn

For a short story this one has a heck of a twist. Jax is just wanting to get a job done and he brings Stu along for company and to help the guy out a little bit. What they run into is far more than they expected. This is a fun and great story.

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