The Old Man and the Dead
Mort Castle
Genre: literary zompoc
Sub-genre: creative historical horror fiction
Novel, novella, short story: short story (from the anthology Best New Zombie Tales Vol 2)
Serial or stand alone: stand alone
Setting: Ernest Hemingway’s “real” and “fictional” worlds
Characters: Hemingway, Adam Nichols, psychiatrist, et al
Synopsis: A brief journey through Hemingway’s final days, as he recounts some of the horrors he witnessed during his time in war-torn Italy and Spain. Told from both Hemingway’s conversations with his psychiatrist and using Adam Nichols as a fictional protagonist. The stories are dark, horrific accounts of a time of war, and a world sinking into Hell.
Thoughts: The first thing I have to say is that, outside of For Whom the Bell Tolls, I’m no fan of Hemingway. Since this is not a review of Papa’s works, I won’t get into why his books don’t work for me. However, I’ve read enough to know exactly what Mort Castle has done with his exceptional short “The Old Man and the Dead.” This is a cleverly done, brilliant even, homage (perhaps parody, though those are often much the same thing) of Hemingway’s novels, his writing style, and his life. A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, “Old Man at the Bridge”, and the Nick Adams stories all make an appearance here. But for this tale, Castle/Hemingway tells a different series of stories, one in which the dead rise and attack the living. They only do so during times of war, when Hell has come to Earth. And true to Romero-lore, the only way to put down the risen dead is by a shot to the brain. Hmmm, perhaps one can see the direction this story takes; a justification for why and how Hemingway’s life ended the way it did. For me, “The Old Man and the Dead” is one of those stories which make reading one of the pleasures in life. As I stated earlier, I’m no fan of Hemingway, but I loved this story.
About the author: Mort Castle has more than 350 short stories to his credit and a dozen novels. He is a writing teacher, speaker, and editor. On Writing Horror, from the Horror Writers Association, is one of his editorial credits, which many consider to be the bible for horror writers.
Links
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Best-New-Zombie-Tales-Vol-ebook/dp/B0043EV97W/
Website: http://www.mortwrites.freeservers.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MortCastle
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