Eight Reasons: The Village of Last Hope

In The Village of Last Hope Michael Abel, dazed and confused, wanders the rain-filled streets, depressed to the point of suicide. Earlier, after arriving home, he found his wife in his brother's arms. Distressed beyond the point of no return, Michael flees his home and runs.

     As he wanders, cold, wet and freezing, a stranger appears, offering Michael a safe place to spend the night. Gabriel leads Michael to a door in a concrete wall under the Interstate, and they enter a hidden village. There, Peter, the gatekeeper, demands to know what Michael did—and gives him three days to remember.

Too late, Michael discovers he is a prisoner, but is it of his own making? Has he gone completely insane, or has he done something so evil, he is damned forever in The Village of Last Hope?

 Our Review: In a short story which devotees of The Twilight Zone will recognize immediately the reader can’t help but wonder what has really happened—and what exactly is going on. Is the “Village” an analogy for Purgatory? Is Michael stuck in limbo, unable to move ‘up’ or ‘down’, until he admits to what he’s done?

Or have the mysterious entities which Michael has long termed “they/them” finally achieved their goals to destroy him? One can’t help but keep reading to find out. And the truth will blow your mind.

 On a scale of 1-5, The Village of Last Hope merits a 7.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews