On "Retroactive Special" by Michael Cocchiarale (3511 words) ***

This is a competently written story that pulls you in and along by sheer good writing. The situations seem standard, and the characters, while not terribly unique, don't seem stock--they're everymen that somehow manage to seem real. Like many stories, the plot of this one is circular, ending in a place much like that start, only with changed understanding and circumstances. Read the story here.