Escape Pod Flash Fiction Contest, Honorable Mention: The Way Before
By Anna Schwind
Read by Ann Leckie
When Chasca turned eleven, her father took her to a ship farm, to choose her vessel. She stood on the observation deck, evaluating the herd. Chasca selected the farthest ship. It faced away from the others and bumped the edges of the corral. She understood.
Rated G.
I really liked this story. It’s the perfect structure and gives plot points only when necessary. Proof that great stories can be told in very little words.
I really enjoyed this story, i got that rare feeling of apifany(sp) after it was over and i realized
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that the daughter WAS the wife.
Sounds like it needs a bongo playing in the background the way its written and read…
It’s not that I’m not a fan of short fiction, it’s that I rarely hear a good one. Short fiction is probably one of the hardest things to write. It is no surprise then that this one falls short as well. It started out well but quickly nose-dived.
[...] “The Way Before” by Anna Schwind (read by Ann Leckie), we have a spacecraft and pilot linked in symbiosis. [...]
thanks anna!