Review Post: April 20th Update
"Undertow"
mc ff (20,564 words)
by 8-bit
I won’t do a full review since this story is a work in progress. I might not ever since I read a preview and talked with 8-bit enough to bias my perception.
I want to briefly mention that, despite the slow start, this is a delicious, intriguing, comfortable narrative. I think the pacing thus far contributes to the comfortable feeling—comfortable in the sense of enjoyable to read, not content! 8-bit’s controllers are often conflicted and some of the interactions in this piece explore rough ethical territory. 8-bit has a distinct "southern novel" style to his storytelling. Slow starts and character development often seemingly for their own sake are common. This is a valid style and one I deeply enjoy. Regardless of your color preference: READ THIS! Start now before it becomes an even longer story.
Believable, rounded characters are 8-bit’s forte. Getting lost in his stories is effortless for me. June’s sensual, literally hands-on control method could easily be something ethnic. Perhaps she’s practicing an ancient tantric or healing art without realizing it. I’m not sure if 8-bit knows what June is doing, but what she’s doing is easy enough to believe in this fictional universe just close enough to our own to be that much more approachable. I don’t think he’ll disappoint with future chapters, and I’m sure he’ll take this story in a good direction (and I’m seething to know where!).
My only real criticism thus far is that the "this limb did this while the other one did that" description of actions feels a bit clunky. Is this level of detail really necessary? 8-bit uses some interesting punctuation and sentence structures in those descriptions. This is a bit odd to read sometimes. This is a small niggle within an amazing story.
* * *
That’s all for this week. The Updates really haven’t held my attention, lately. I did read the two recent trilby stories (I enjoyed them, mostly), but I’m still pondering them and I’m not sure what I think of them. I might post reviews or at least rambling comments about them in the future.
~Valbot
mc ff (20,564 words)
by 8-bit
I won’t do a full review since this story is a work in progress. I might not ever since I read a preview and talked with 8-bit enough to bias my perception.
I want to briefly mention that, despite the slow start, this is a delicious, intriguing, comfortable narrative. I think the pacing thus far contributes to the comfortable feeling—comfortable in the sense of enjoyable to read, not content! 8-bit’s controllers are often conflicted and some of the interactions in this piece explore rough ethical territory. 8-bit has a distinct "southern novel" style to his storytelling. Slow starts and character development often seemingly for their own sake are common. This is a valid style and one I deeply enjoy. Regardless of your color preference: READ THIS! Start now before it becomes an even longer story.
Believable, rounded characters are 8-bit’s forte. Getting lost in his stories is effortless for me. June’s sensual, literally hands-on control method could easily be something ethnic. Perhaps she’s practicing an ancient tantric or healing art without realizing it. I’m not sure if 8-bit knows what June is doing, but what she’s doing is easy enough to believe in this fictional universe just close enough to our own to be that much more approachable. I don’t think he’ll disappoint with future chapters, and I’m sure he’ll take this story in a good direction (and I’m seething to know where!).
My only real criticism thus far is that the "this limb did this while the other one did that" description of actions feels a bit clunky. Is this level of detail really necessary? 8-bit uses some interesting punctuation and sentence structures in those descriptions. This is a bit odd to read sometimes. This is a small niggle within an amazing story.
* * *
That’s all for this week. The Updates really haven’t held my attention, lately. I did read the two recent trilby stories (I enjoyed them, mostly), but I’m still pondering them and I’m not sure what I think of them. I might post reviews or at least rambling comments about them in the future.
~Valbot
posted by valbot at
10:49 AM
1 Comments:
It's always nice to know when people are reading =) Thanks. Hopefully future chapters won't disappoint.
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