William G. Chandler Jr. on Orange Torture
By William G. Chandler Jr.
I mentioned in my last review that I’d be continuing my author spotlight with William G. Chandler Jr. the first review I posted was on his futuristic piece, Dwarf Complete. This review will center on his short story called Orange Torture.
I’ve never celebrated Halloween before but I do enjoy haunted houses and a good scare so I was intrigued and more than happy to read a short horror story during this harvest season. Orange Torture follows three teenagers on their night of trick-or-treating, each child is 14 years old but still wants to spend their late night collecting as much candy as possible. We are invited to their world through their silly conversations and ‘youngster’ dialogue. We see their neighborhood and their costumes and their immature banter but then we see a sudden change of events.
I can’t say too much without spoiling it for some because it’s a short story. But a simple teenage joke ends up turning into a night of revenge. Let’s just say what starts out as laughs ends up in tears. Orange Torture isn’t just a title but a literal event in this little tale.
This is the second piece I’ve read by this author and there are similarities in each story that shows the consistency in his writing—both good and bad. I appreciated the ‘to-the-point’ style of writing Chandler has but I would have liked a bit more detail here and there. I think this story would have benefited if it’d been fleshed out just a little more. I want to know more about these characters and see a bit more personality and spunk from a group of three teenagers. That may be asking a lot from a short story but I think Chandler is more than capable of creating a layered book.
Also spotted a few format errors but nothing that would turn me off from future works. This is a decent story that deserves a read, especially from those horror fans.