A good short story.

I don’t read too many short stories as I prefer books that are a bit longer, but I really enjoyed The Contingency Plan. I also don’t read too many books in the fantasy category so over all this was a good one for me to read. It gave me a chance to try something different from my normal reading material.

There’s no way for a short story to contain as much detail as you would find in a novella but I think Ms. Albright did a good job with this one. It held my interest and I liked the characters.

Living in a matriarchal society, Prince Marcelo of Sheburat never expects to marry; he is not in line for his mother’s throne. The death of his twin sister changes everything. She was to marry a prince from Zioneven to complete a treaty signed by her mother and the king of Zioneven.

The agreement allows Prince Efren to choose a substitute from the dead girl’s younger siblings and he chooses Marcelo to be his marriage partner. Marcelo is so sheltered he has no knowledge that men can marry each other or what sexual activities they engage in.

There was one thing in the story that could have bothered me but the fact that the marriage of Efren and Marcelo took place on the same day that Marcelo’s sister was buried was something I was able to overlook. By American standards this would be unthinkable but it’s a fantasy, and in the world that Ms. Albright created this was apparently acceptable.

This was a quick and enjoyable story to read. I’d like to read a follow up story to see how these two guys are doing.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***