Chillered was published in Interzone 190 (my last in the magazine when it was still edited by David Pringle) in July/August 2003. Click here for a PDF or here for html.

A gang of youths with no previous history of even petty crime embarks on a series of deliberate, clinically organised and extremely brutal murderous robberies. Who are they and what makes them do it? And who, if anyone, can stop them?

Chillered got me my worst review (see below - let me know if you know of a better one; or indeed a worse one). Obviously I didn't set out to write a story with no redeeming features. Oddly (you might think when you read it, as there are no planes and religious fanatics here) the original idea came out of the events of 9/11: how could apparently normal, sane people calmly slaughter children and anyone else in their way? As you will see, I have no real answer to that, and in fact in my story killing people without some kind of assistance proves unnerving and hard.

My story does, in passing, address the grim truth that - for those who don't die peacefully in bed - death can come suddenly, while you're doing something else and with different plans. No quantity of PDAs or future business appointments is going to make a difference if the Grim Reaper crashes through the door and anybody can go from active to dead and gone forever in a matter of seconds. It's hard to believe, as it hasn't happened to any of us reading this now, but it does seem to be the case.

There was, incidentally, an Interzone story that anticipated 9/11, published in Spring 2001: "Hijack Holiday" by Ian Watson. It was about murderously suicidal plane hijackers, though their target was the Eiffel Tower.

Best SF Reviews:"A thoroughly unpleasant story with no redeeming features. [...] Granted they are much longer, but Thomas Harris’ ‘Hannibal Lecter’ stories for the most part leave out the gruesome details, and do have a lot of character depth and insight. [...] If this is Interzone’s attempt to keep up with the likes of The 3rd Alternative, then they have missed the mark by a long way!"

If you check out the whole review, the reviewer is mistaken in saying that the woman the protagonist is talking to is his probation officer - the character is training himself up for an operation and has plans for her.

Illustration is a photo of me standing next to a window, messed about with in Photoshop.