An SF Short Story Released on the Kindle, iPad etc

I've just made another SF story of mine available for download onto the Kindle and the iPhone, iPad, Android etc. This one is called Live from the Continuing Explosion, and was originally published in the Irish SF magazine Albedo 1 :

A near-future SF short story.

A terrorist sets off a bomb in New York's Grand Central Station. But it is immediately obvious this is no ordinary explosion. Everybody nearby is caught within a bubble of space-time inside which time grinds almost to a halt. The world watches in horror as the explosion unfolds in close-up slow-motion.

Kirsten Campbell, a young girl, escapes the blast but her twin brother is caught inside it. She can do nothing but watch him there, frozen, as she ages. Meanwhile the explosion, and then Kirsten herself, become the focus for cataclysmic change the world over.

It had a few nice reviews at the time :

"affecting, chilling post-9/11 science fiction ... offers depth enough for drowning."
- TRS2 Reviews

"scores highly with a very vivid central image and conceit."
- Best SF

"A fascinating and metaphorically effective central idea."
- The Elephant Forgets

"Original and well done."
- SF Crowsnest


As you may recall, I previously released an SF novelette (The Armageddon Machine) in the same way, just to see how easy it was, really, and to find out what happened if I did. The experiment was pretty successful, all things considered. Around 50 people have bought it for their Kindle so far.

But this time I wanted to see how a short story would fare. I've recently joined the ranks of the eReaders myself and it seems to me that the short story is specially suited to these devices. The way I use them at least. If I'm sitting down for an hour or two to read then, sure, give me a paperback. But I find I'm reading quite a bit on my 'phone when I'm waiting somewhere without a proper book - in a traffic-jam or a waiting room. It works really well. And I can't help thinking there's going to be a real market for short stories on these devices : short bursts of fiction you can download as and when and read in ten, fifteen, twenty minutes. Right now, the ebook stores I've seen aren't particularly well geared up for all this - but that, surely, will change.

So, let's see how this experiment goes. If anyone wants a free copy of the story to read or review, I'd be more than happy to provide one. Meanwhile it's on the Kindle here and all the other devices here. On some devices - those that allow it - the story is set to "free, pay what you like". It'll be interesting to see how that experiment goes too ...