Grigore Mascautan, $0.99
Dystopian Fiction, 2022

It’s 2050, or maybe it’s not. It’s hard to keep track of time when the world is now a dystopian wasteland. 

A young fellow is wandering the place when he stumbles upon what seems like a temple, and befriends the apparently welcoming old man that has made the place his home. 

They talk, the old man shares a story, and then the young man goes away. 

The end.

Well, it is for $0.99, so I suppose I can’t expect much from City of the Blind. 

Just to be certain, I reread the whole thing to make sure that I haven’t missed out on some profound secret message that will unlock the key to eternal youth or endless wealth, although I’m not greedy and I will be happy to settle for the secret of having a mere ten billion dollars tucked in suitcases under my bed. 

Hmm, maybe I’m too plebeian or lowbrow but I don’t get anything from this story that will provide the satisfaction of having read a whole, complete story that hits all the right spots. 

To give the authors credit, the whole thing is pretty readable and the atmosphere is certainly evocative, hinting at some possible eldritch secrets to be unearthed in the tavern. Sadly, though, nothing really comes out of the whole thing aside from my $0.99. 

Weirdly enough, I do like this one in spite of how lacking it may feel. Hmm, now I’m getting paranoid. This story isn’t some weird hypnosis thingy that is designed to turn me into some kind of sleeper agent for Nyarlathotep or something, right? I’d hate to have tentacles burst out of my body as I transform into a shoggoth when Cthulhu rises from the sea. That would be so undignified, although that would also mean that this thing does have a purpose after all.

Until then, I suppose this one is worth a look if one has $0.99 and wish to toss that money to these authors. It feels like a teaser glimpse into a longer, potentially more interesting story, and I honestly won’t mind reading that one if the authors would go around to making that one happen.