Review: "The End" by J. L. Avey

Grade: C+

The End by J. L. Avey, which can be found at B&N and Amazon, is a science fiction short story set at the end of the universe.  :Let me begin with the disclaimer that this is NOT an alternate history.  Avey is the identity of "The Kiat", an active member at AH.com who is also the author of An Alternate History of the Netherlands, which also has its own blog.  I am always up to supporting the writing careers of fellow alternate historians so I agreed to read and review his short story that he self-published.

The plot of the story focuses on the last sentient being struggling to survive in his artificial habitat located on a dead world orbiting the last star, a red dwarf that is slowly blinking out of existence. His only goal is to outlast the dying star and witness the end of everything, even though it means waking up to eternal darkness.  The story is very short and focuses on following the being's routine that serve the dual purpose of keeping the habitat running and preventing boredom.

The story fits well into the dying earth sub-genre and wins some extra creativity points for setting the story right before the abyss swallows the last bright invader.  We never learn exactly who or what the being is.  We know he is male, needs oxygen to breath and is not native to this final outpost of life.  In fact we learn very little except how pointless his life really is. The lack of plot hurts the story as does the typos inherent from a self-published work.  One reviewer on B&N complained of formatting issues, which I cannot confirm since I read from a MS Word document.

People who do not mind a quick depressing tale at the end of universe will enjoy The End.  It is a good start for a new author and hopefully we will see more in the future from Avey.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a volunteer editor for Alt Hist and a contributor to Just Below the Law. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press and Jake's Monthly Anthology. When not writing he works as an attorney and enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana.

New Releases 5/8/2012

New Books (e-books)

The Day by Walt Munza

Description from Amazon.

This is a science fiction novel set in the future where the earth is polluted to point of not being able to support life. This is a world where man has to struggle, just to stay alive. The wars that began in the Middle East have been over for decades, but the ones in South America were just beginning. This is about a squad of soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment led by 1st Lieutenant Ryan Jackson, a black man from Mississippi, and a black female Staff Sergeant named Andrea Lee Davis from Los Angles, California. She was a trained sniper out of Fort Benning, Georgia and she was also a Muslim. She often wore a black vale to help hide her face while looking through the scope of her sniper rifle. She was a loner, but proud of her accomplishments. She was looking forward to making a career in the Army.

The squad had just returned from South America and being re-supplied with new recruits at Fort Hood, Texas. They made a short trip to Fort Rucker, Alabama, were they picked up some additional supplies to begin a training mission in northeast Alabama, when it happen. The squad found itself thrown back in time and was about to fight in one of the bloodiest battles in the American Civil War. Ryan, being a black man from the south, was torn apart having to serve with the North while killing his fellow Southerns. This was his chance to make it right and he damn sure wasn’t going to give up the opportunity. Andrea was also afraid of what was about to happen to her. After all, there weren’t that many black females in the US Army back in 1862. But that was nothing compared to the orders that were given to her by Ryan. What she was about to do was going to change the course of world history as we know it, but for the better, or worst? All she knew was, Ryan gave her an order and she was going to carry it out, no matter what happen in the end.

New Short Stories (e-books)

The End by J. L. Avey

Description from Barnes & Noble.

At the end of the universe, the last sentient being struggles to survive on a dead world orbiting the last star. His only goal is to outlast the dying red dwarf and witness the end of everything.

[Editor's Note: This is more future history then alternate history, but the author is an active member of AH.com under the handle "The Kiat".  He has been kind enough to send me a review copy, which I hope to review in the near future.]

To fans, authors and publishers...

Do you want to see your work given a shout out on our New Releases segment? Contact Mitro at ahwupdate@gmail.com.  We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.

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Mitro is founder, editor and contributor of Alternate History Weekly Update. When he is not busy writing about his passion for alternate history, he spends his time working as a licensed attorney in the state of Illinois and dreams of being a published author himself one day.