Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Black Friday, by Alex Irvine

[Tor.com]
★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Dystopia) Caleb Mug and his family participate in the annual Thanksgiving Weekend “Black Friday” Mall invasion. Only this invasion is televised, has sponsors, and involves real guns and real casualties. (5,333 words; Time: 17m)


"," by (edited by Jonathan Strahan), published on by .

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: Obviously this is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but it delivers a scathing anti-gun message. The conclusion, where the ticked-off twelve-year-old simply shoots her dad because she’s unhappy that she isn’t getting her way simply underlines the message.

Con: The message permeates every paragraph and makes it impossible to suspend disbelief for more than a few seconds at a time. Caleb is at his least believable at the very end when he applauds his daughter for having the gumption to shoot him.

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