Click on image to enlarge.
|
Ties that Bind [MultiFormat]
eBook by Ron Collins
| |
Regular |
|
 |
|
Club |
| You Pay: |
$0.65 |
|
|
|
$0.55 |
| Micropay Rebate: |
50% |
|
|
|
50% |
| Cost After Rebate: |
$0.32 |
|
|
|
$0.27 |
| You Save: |
50.77% |
|
|
|
58.46% |
eBook Category: Fantasy
eBook Description:  From the Author: "I was sitting in my car and the sun was shining. It was late afternoon, and I glanced out my window. The sunlight caught my eye and I was briefly dazzled. Strange how the mind works, eh? Somehow, I flashed on the viewpoint of a man laying on the ground, staring up at a backlit gladiator who was prepared to end their battle. A strong feeling accompanied this image, a mix of anger and pride and resignation. This man had fought a good fight, long and hard. He had lived a life in the ring, and was now ready to give it up. There would be a new champion. So I wrote "Ties That Bind" from the point of view of the new champion. We follow him as he learns lessons that the dead champion took with him to his grave."
eBook Publisher: Fictionwise.com, Published: Adventures of Sword and Sorcery, ed. Randy Dannenfelser, 1998
Fictionwise Release Date: April 2002
Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [70 KB], eReader (PDB) [30 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [16 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [16 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [66 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [88 KB], hiebook (KML) [69 KB], Sony Reader (LRF) [44 KB], iSilo (PDB) [14 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [17 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [45 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [26 KB]
Words: 5008
Reading time: 14-20 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud DISABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED
 
"In Ron Collins' "Ties That Bind," we find a man who is slave to another through magic. Elron was a blacksmith until his village was conquered. He watched his sweetheart dragged away to work in the death mines, while he was enslaved to a despicable "agent." Elron is linked to this agent so that he cannot leave nor kill him--or he himself will die. The agent arranges fights to the death for Elron, and Elron finds himself killing other men so that his agent can get rich. Elron sees no way out, until one day he decides that death is preferable to his life of enslavement. This piece seems fairly uneventful and unsuspenseful, until the end when Elron has decided that this is his last fight. The ending is something of a surprise, although a discerning readerís thoughts will probably run along the same lines. The story is nicely written and worth reading."--Crystal Forkan, Tangent Online (Learn more about Tangent Online, the Internet's leading SF&F short fiction review website)
"...a satisfying story about a warrior forced to fight gladiatorial contests and with apparently no way out. Collins's characterization goes a long way towards making the tale enjoyable."--Steven Sawicki, Absolute Magnitude
Elron of Keth stood over the Black Knight's prostrate form. His breath came in deep gasps that tasted of blood and sweat and the grit of the gladiator Circle. His ears rang with his pulse.
The knight's eyes narrowed into dark balls of hate. He glanced from Elron to the edge of his blade. "Do you have the courage to finish?" the knight said with superiority that didn't match his position on the dust-choked field. Elron grimaced and gripped his sword in both hands. A single stroke and the knight was silenced forever. At first the only sounds were the pounding of Elron's heart and the wind whistling over the field. Then a throaty roar broke through like the rhythmic throb of a charger galloping closer in a foggy mist. He stared into the stadium seats. People shouted and gestured, their faces red and their mouths moving. Guardsmen stood outside the Circle; their armor gleamed in the midday sun. Kallus sat behind the wall, a smug smile affixed on his heavily jowled face. The man next to him threw coins into Kallus's lap and rose angrily to leave. He had done it. He, Elron of Keth, was the new Champion of the Circle.
|
)
