On "Kopy Kats" by David Crouse (5400 words) *****

Thanks to an anonymous reader's tip, I now know that David Crouse has a Web site of his own, where he updates fans on readings he's doing and shares information on his books. He's also posted a few of his stories--some of his very best. My favorite of all of his stories (though "The Forbidden Kingdom" would likely rival this one for that spot) is "Kopy Kats," a story whose ending is one of the most unexplainably chilling finishes to a story that I have ever read. I say "unexplainably" because it isn't an ending that would, on the surface, seem to mean much. This isn't some gory shoot-em-up. It's just a question, but a question that gets under one's skin, especially after reading about a character so easily mistaken for others, about characters who seem so nakedly oblivious to the world around them. Are we all that way? Read the story here at Crouse's site.