This little story about made me cry. I think everyone can relate to Eric after experiencing what 2020 had to offer. When the world around you is exploding into chaos, sometimes the best you can do is wake up and go about your normal business. Although at the end, I did want to shake the characters a bit and scream at them that everything is clearly not fine! I will definitely be rereading this gem.

This story is:
(a) account of 2020 written by person using hallucinogenics;
(b) mutated offspring of Brave New World.
How come this is the only work from this author?! I want more - so much more - stuff like this from him.

4.5/5

“If we just don’t acknowledge what’s happening, it won’t get us.”

An eldritch short worthy of the most terrifying episode of Twilight Zone one could possibly imagine.

I’m so glad Eric got his promotion! It’s so nice to read a story with a happy ending.

This short story is hard to quantify. It's horror but in such a surreal way that it is slightly comical. At the same time, the tale is a bit disorienting at first.

Eric has to get to work. More importantly, he has to be on time AND make a good impression because the regional managers will be there and he wants that promotion.
The problem: the Moon is cracking up, something very weird is happening to people that involves blood and gore and ... will it everything really be fine if he tells himself exactly that often enough?

Whether this is Earth, Hell's version of Earth or a parallel universe - it was weird, in a slightly dark sort of way.

Still, it lacked the certain je ne sais quoi, unfortunately.

You can read it for free here: https://www.tor.com/2020/07/15/everythings-fine-matthew-pridham/

"... Heaving, retching, drenched in sweat, barely able to stay on their feet, but they were okay. Just peachy. They knew because they told one another this, and several times."

You know it's good when gore is not the scary part. The choreography of pretending everything's fine was fascinating.

hashtag zeitgeist indeed

This is brilliant! Its both terrifying and pleasant read. And yes, this is 2020 in a nutshell. A world going to shits and what can we do but pretend, 'Everything's Fine', and funny enough, we may very well be alright.

“what a…lovely, lovely night. We’re having a good time. We’re okay.”

If interested, here's the link to Everything's Fine from TOR.COM.

Eric swallowed his tears and looked down at their clenched hands. “We’re fine,” he said, “everything’s fine.”

Ooof, this was a whooper. I was not expecting ... any of what I just read. But I think that made the read all the more hard-hitting. So I recommend just diving straight in. But beware of lots of gore.

If you can just avoid noticing the horrors literally killing the people around you, you might survive. A day in the life of Eric, a normal office worker. https://www.tor.com/2020/07/15/everythings-fine-matthew-pridham/