The last shot
E-book, Czech
The last shot
Short Stories About Fateful Decisions and Their Consequences
Choosing the right title for a book is a real art. It needs to be simple, memorable, and hint at just enough, but not too much. In this respect, POSLEDNÍ VÝSTŘEL (THE LAST SHOT) is almost perfect. It has suspense, mystery, fate, and ambiguity. Because the meaning of these two words can differ diametrically. If we take it strictly literally, it is a straightforward definition linked to firearms and an actual last shot, whether intended for an opponent or oneself. Such a shot can mean absolute victory or complete defeat. You just have to place it in the right context.
On a more abstract level, more possibilities open up. From a final stand, revenge best served cold, and defending oneself and others, to heroism, cowardice, hatred, and guilt, and even a gnawing conscience, the effort to forget, or the desire to defy fate. The last shot can be an end, but it can also be a new beginning. Because something is always ending and something is always beginning, as Andrzej Sapkowski also reminds us in one of the stories.
And how did the authors of the short stories in this anthology tackle the theme of the last shot? Judge for yourself.
František Kotleta
František Kotleta (* 1979) He already has his own shelf in bookshops, and it's no wonder – he is the bestselling and most popular author of Czech fantasy fiction. He achieved this status with his Bratrstvo krve (Brotherhood of Blood) series (2010). Also legendary is the Spad (Fallout) series, which deals with the world after a third world war, followed by the two-part Underground and a series of paranormal detective stories featuring private investigator Tomáš Kosek. He followed this with Kyberpunková swingers party (Cyberpunk Swinger's Party), where his daughter Eva takes over the fight against demons, magic, and old gods. With Kristýna Sněgoňová, he created the twelve-part space saga Legie (Legion), which tells the story of the crew of the ship Kraksna as they fight an alien invasion. Behind the pseudonym is journalist and screenwriter Leoš Kyša, author of the award-winning detective story Sudetenland, set in an alternate reality where the expulsion of Germans from the Czechoslovak borderlands did not happen, and Syndikát (The Syndicate), a crime story from the near future. His books are successfully published in Poland and also in the USA. As an editor, he has several sold-out anthologies of Czech and Slovak fantasy fiction to his name.
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