Short story:
“Look Away” by Andy Hooper
“Look Away” by Andy Hooper
Though technically moribund, the Webzine Infinite Matrix has revived this April with three new pieces of short fiction.
The sprightly short story “Digital Love,” a “nanotale” by Mary A. Turzillo, puts a funny spin on our love affair with technology by having the present-day protagonist apply for marriage to her Mac, “Austin.” With pitch-perfect details, Turzillo writes a gently absurd diversion.
Another “nanotale,” more properly a flash story, “Take-Away” by Ellen Klages is 29 words of carefully selected amusement.
The longest new offering, “Look Away” by Andy Hooper, combines the then-nascent game of baseball with the lore of the Confederacy to re-imagine the confrontation over Fort Sumter, South Carolina. On April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries fired on Union Army Major Robert Anderson, who was stationed there with two companies of men.
With a realistic style, Hooper takes on the point of view of the second-in-command, Abner Doubleday, using impeccable knowledge of warfare, ordnance and, of course, America’s favorite sport. The you-are-there language and smooth pacing makes the story seem very convincing; the highest compliment I can pay Hooper is that I found myself asking why this tale wasn’t in the history books because it all made perfect sense to me.