“Three Revolvers on Mars,” a murderous new novella by Kristen Lee Knapp

The September 2009 issue of Aphelion: The Webzine of Science Fiction and Fantasy holds “Three Revolvers on Mars” (2009), a new novella by aspiring writer Kristen Lee Knapp. “A kind of sci-fi western sort of thing,” the novella is a tale of murder and revenge set on a future Red Planet. Here are the opening lines:

Jupiter sank beyond the horizon. The sky flared with red and gold colors, fading as a myriad of silver stars appeared above. Gulls circled in the sky, bleating as waves lapped at the small boat, juggling it from crest to crest.

A man and woman lay together inside. The man touched her hair and buried his fingers in her blue-black curls. The woman nestled in his chest, memorizing the scent of his musk and the contours of his arms. …

Kristen Lee Knapp is pursuing his bachelor's degree in English at a university in Florida. “He enjoys abusing his protagonists and their rate of survival is astonishingly low.” He also maintains the blog Life from the Slush Pile.