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Sunday, June 14, 2020

Out of Body, by Jeffrey Ford

[Single]
★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Horror) After a head injury, Owen starts having out-of-body experiences when he dreams. He learns a lot he didn’t know about his local community, including things that threaten even a walker. (32,759 words; Time: 1h:49m)

Recommended By: 👍GTognetti+1 (Q&A)

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"Out of Body," by (edited by Ellen Datlow), published on by .

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

Review: 2020.305 (A Word for Authors)

Pro: The story divides nicely into two parts. In the first, Owen is exploring the “night world.” He even finds friendship there, although the dangers are a real problem, and he comes close to getting killed a couple of times. In the second part, He, Melody, and Kiara work together to try to bring down the Ambroglio.

It develops all three characters pretty well, and it establishes a good bit of tension as it tends toward the climax.

Con: My biggest problem with the story is that Owen is too weak to be a satisfying protagonist. Melody bosses him around in the night world and Kiara does so in the real world. In the climax, he disappears right at Melody and the monster are locked in combat, and Kiara simply reports the outcome of her encounter with Crenshaw; Owen isn’t there for either one.

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