n nYou know that office bromance: two of a kind, always taking their lunch together, always wearing the same sly grin. Only ever a hair away from a cold joke about how spreadsheets are a living hell; about taking a bullet if it means going home early on Friday. Sometimes in these fantasies, they're heroes being hauled out on a stretcher. n n nn nSometimes they're the ones pulling the trigger. n n nn nNow, say these guys discover a loophole that makes some days less real than others-less permanent-and start to act out their violent fantasies without fear of reprisal.

Why shouldn't they? Tomorrow, everything will go back to normal, with no one the wiser but them. n n nn nThey'll always remember what it felt like to act on their basest impulses. They'll know how it could feel to do it again. n n nn nMaybe you don't know these guys.

Maybe you don't want to. n n nn nSoft Targets is a reality-bending novella about malignant malaise; the surrender to violence; and the addictive appeal of tragedy as entertainment. n