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The Piano String
CURIOSITY KILLS THE CAT, AND PARANOIA DRIVES MEN TO MURDER.
In Ruby City, music, pets, and pleasure will get you time in prison. Alexander indulges in all three, until his nosy neighbor catches him, forcing him to choose between his freedom and murder.
In Ruby City, the past and present are uncertain, but oracles know the future. Can Alexander control his fate if the oracle tells him what lies ahead?
In Ruby City, music, pets, and pleasure will get you time in prison. Alexander indulges in all three, until his nosy neighbor catches him, forcing him to choose between his freedom and murder.
In Ruby City, the past and present are uncertain, but oracles know the future. Can Alexander control his fate if the oracle tells him what lies ahead?
20 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 30, 2016
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
K.P. Ambroziak
19 books73 followersK.P. Ambroziak's THE JOURNAL OF VINCENT DU MAURIER (RAGE FOR BLOOD) was featured in Publishers Weekly Reviews Roundup in 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 26, 2016
KP Ambroziak is increasingly scaling my list of authors to watch. And also my list of deeply deranged, demented, darkly disturbed authors, but that's another matter. Or maybe its the same matter...
Did you ever find something simultaneously grotesque and undeniably attractive at the same time? Like a beautiful dismembered corpse or a grotesque alien monster you just can't look away from? That's what Ambroziak's work is like: grotesquerie worthy of display in a fine art museum.
As for "The Piano String..." well, what can I say about "The Piano String?" Imagine a futuristic world as seemingly well-realized as "Blade Runner." I say this as a reader, but it's teased out in a completely offhand way within the narrative. There are hints and tricks of the light and little suggestions, but a whole cryptic urban hellscape seems hidden just under the surface, like the bulk of an iceberg. And then a "Twilight Zone"-style story plays out across this fascinating setting.
I devoured it in half an hour. You will, too. And then you'll be a believer. If you're looking for something more substantive after this aperitif, I suggest you check out Ambroziak's thoroughly twisted A PERPETUAL MIMICRY next.
Did you ever find something simultaneously grotesque and undeniably attractive at the same time? Like a beautiful dismembered corpse or a grotesque alien monster you just can't look away from? That's what Ambroziak's work is like: grotesquerie worthy of display in a fine art museum.
As for "The Piano String..." well, what can I say about "The Piano String?" Imagine a futuristic world as seemingly well-realized as "Blade Runner." I say this as a reader, but it's teased out in a completely offhand way within the narrative. There are hints and tricks of the light and little suggestions, but a whole cryptic urban hellscape seems hidden just under the surface, like the bulk of an iceberg. And then a "Twilight Zone"-style story plays out across this fascinating setting.
I devoured it in half an hour. You will, too. And then you'll be a believer. If you're looking for something more substantive after this aperitif, I suggest you check out Ambroziak's thoroughly twisted A PERPETUAL MIMICRY next.
April 10, 2017
Just finished reading "The Piano String", by K. P. Ambroziak. Oh Mister Finkle you're a bad and scary little man....this was a delightful short story thriller...another great job of story telling by a brilliant writer.
Although the oracle assured Alexander of his freedom, the package left on his doorstep seems to suggest otherwise.
Although the oracle assured Alexander of his freedom, the package left on his doorstep seems to suggest otherwise.
May 4, 2016
One trick to writing a sound short story is to craft something that is whole and complete, that is at the same time clearly a tiny piece of a larger whole. A world within a world. Structurally, Ambroziak nailed it with this story. I was completely engrossed by the up-front action of the story, the mystery, the murder, the artistry, the tragedy, all of those pieces that are woven on a tiny loom into a snippet of this man's life; all the while, hints at the rest of his world are provided that made me want to crack the glass of this perfect little snow globe and get a look at the story outside. But at the same time, I'm almost loathe to do so, because the hints given as to the nature of that larger world are pretty disconcerting.
As to the overall feel of the story, there is definitely a Twilight Zone-esque sense to it, but in a beautifully unique way. Where Serling often focused on the feelings of his individuals, Ambroziak's focus in this story is grander and more abstract. The central character, Alexander, is in fact, at a remove from his feelings. He is entirely possessed by his music, his interior reality, dismissive of all else to the point of tragic destruction.
While the tiny, concrete details in this story: the piano, the tabby cat, the charcoals, the neighbors are all utterly real and compelling, the real focus of the story is on the workings of the universe, the distinction between fate and destiny. The notes Alexander plays intersect with the larger orchestra of his world to determine the end of the piece, or at least the end of his part in it.
I am enchanted by this story, and enthralled by the writing. I am also beyond thrilled at the thought that I have not only one but two more stories by this author lined up in my queue!
As to the overall feel of the story, there is definitely a Twilight Zone-esque sense to it, but in a beautifully unique way. Where Serling often focused on the feelings of his individuals, Ambroziak's focus in this story is grander and more abstract. The central character, Alexander, is in fact, at a remove from his feelings. He is entirely possessed by his music, his interior reality, dismissive of all else to the point of tragic destruction.
While the tiny, concrete details in this story: the piano, the tabby cat, the charcoals, the neighbors are all utterly real and compelling, the real focus of the story is on the workings of the universe, the distinction between fate and destiny. The notes Alexander plays intersect with the larger orchestra of his world to determine the end of the piece, or at least the end of his part in it.
I am enchanted by this story, and enthralled by the writing. I am also beyond thrilled at the thought that I have not only one but two more stories by this author lined up in my queue!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews