Crueler and More Unusual
Four More Short Stories of Judicial Horror (Cruel and Unusual Book 2)
by Erik Dean
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Pub Date Oct 16 2018 | Archive Date Nov 30 2019
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Description
Read four more stories of judicial horror from the award-winning author of Cryptic, Erik Dean.
DUMMY
Robert Holman failed to heed the warnings and an innocent night out turns into a nightmare. What punishment is fitting for this Dummy? He realizes too late that being sorry is not enough, and that there's no hiding from the vengeful hand of fate.
EARLY RELEASE
An amendment to the US Constitution allows for grieving families to apply for Early Release for the prisoners who murdered their loved ones. The prisoner is set loose and the family has twenty-four hours to exact their revenge. If they don't kill the prisoner within 24 hours, they're awarded their freedom. Kelvin Heyer, a bank robber, is the lucky winner this time. Will he outrun his victim’s vengeful family long enough with a little help from a Friend?
PUBLIC POOL
Best friends and business partners Carlos and Luis are thrilled when their swimming pool design company wins the lucrative bid to build new public pools in Phoenix, Arizona. Their delight is spoiled by a business rival and Carlos’s growing—and mutual—attraction to Maria, Luis’s wife. Lust, passion, and greed quickly build up to murder and betrayal.
BROKEN JUSTICE
In the future, trials take place in small pods instead of courtrooms and most cars are driverless. Holly Barlow is one of the few people who still prefer to drive her own car, but she is caught speeding and must pay a fine. She quickly learns that the court pods do more than simply accept payments for fines—they can also vaporize lawbreakers, carrying out executions instantly... and automated systems are known to break down from time to time.
From courtrooms of the present and into the future, you'll enjoy these ironic and horrific tales with a twist.
Advance Praise
The art of the short story demands a certain skill and Erik Dean seems to have it in abundance." - Readers' Favorite
His vision of a judicial system of the future is especially terrifying as it is so plausible.
Readers' Favorite 5-Star Review for CRUELER and MORE UNUSUAL
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9781728863498 |
| PRICE | $2.99 (USD) |
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Featured Reviews
Reviewer 575895
I was fascinated by the description of this book. Looking at the summaries of each story encouraged me even more to try this book.
Crueler And More Unusual is a collection of short stories about judicial horror. I can just hear you all wondering what exactly constitutes judicial horror. The stories are based on different scenarios which can happen in the justice system. The stories are all based in fantasy so we have some rather odd consequences for crime within these pages.
The first story, Dummy, deals with drunk driving, an issue which we should be all familiar with. The end result was rather fitting here. Anybody who can drive knowing that he/she is drunk is a dummy as the ad campaign in this story kept mentioning. Robert Holman was the dummy in question here.
Early Release was a story about something many victims of crime would empathise with. Imagine getting the chance to have revenge on the person who killed your relative. What would you do if you had a day for you and your family to find him and kill him?
Public Pool is a story about greed and betrayal. Two best friends have won a fantastic bid. For them, this is the chance of a lifetime. However, due to personal and business conflicts, a murder occurs.
My favorite story would have to be Broken Justice. In this story, justice is dealt with using artificial intelligence. However, as with anything mechanical, there can be breakdowns. This may seem minor but the same system which is responsible for fining jaywalkers and traffic violators is also responsible for vaporizing murderers.
The flow of the stories was excellent, although, I did find that the author went a little too much into detail sometimes. The character development was well done and each story was engaging. I can safely say I would not mind reading some more of this author’s work.
Violence: Very graphic descriptions of blood and gore
Sexual Content: Mild
Profanity: Mild
Religious Themes: None
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: One of the stories is written about a drunk driver
Susan M, Reviewer
This is an excellent collection of four stories that centers on a possible future American criminal justice system and its distressing consequences. The characters are complexed. I found the stories to make me think about capital punishment. His use of technology in the stories make me think that texting can be a dangerous tool in what you “write” to others. It’s excellent in that it makes me rethink about our justice system could be.
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