Contest January-February Short Story Contest Voting and Reading Thread

I made a change
Hope your brain can cope with the new standings

Grrr, !mrahil

 

All stories have a vote now, and what an incredible tied race for first place.

Grrr, !mrahil

 

Am glad every piece has at least one vote.
But wow, this is practically by a whisker!

 

Ack, those percentages are triggering the OCD. That does not equal 100%!

THAT EQUALS 200%! ... Well... 199.8 actually, but rounded up...

THAT IS MATHMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE!!!!

Yes, I know WHY it's doing that, but that is not stopping my brain from blue-screening at seeing a percentage breakdown of votes going into a two-hundred percentage.

 

Just one week left to make a difference in the standings!!

Also, are there any more reviews to be expected?

Grrr, !mrahil

 

Exactly

Grrr, !mrahil

 

I hear that. I too was hit particularly badly by life this month... And it has been stressful trying to course correct mistakes not of my own making but certainly kick me as if they were.

 

Been busy but have been slowly working on some kind of rough review-things...hopefully next couple of day-things maybe?

 

Alrighty, here's my attempt at some review-things:


Story One: Heh…heheheh..heh…’condensed chaos’ that’s actually such a fun way to write the theme without actually saying it within the story piece. Well…Chaos Dwarfs are actually used but well, I thought it was funny regardless.

The author of this piece has nailed the PoV switches from both sides, with enough drift and point of reference from both (BRROUMGH!!!) to keep them tied together with the narrative stitching. Everything builds up in tension until the final PoV…and…to be continued?!

Gah!

This is a great piece, but generally cliffhangers/to be continued endings do not fare well in these competitions. Which is a shame as it is a far better piece than I imagine the votes will seem to paint it as.


Story Two: Well I wasn’t in there, not even as a cameo…*sad verminous noises*

Ok seriously though, what a crazy and hilariously fun take on the theme! The commentating was quick witted and a joy to read. Pacing kept me pretty well invested with some very brutal and scrappy fighting/wrestling that often went way below the belt…poor darkfourth… And of course, you couldn’t have such a match end with a final guest interference to save the day.

As fun as this piece was, for a competition as this it might have been a little too meta and too in-jokey compared to other entries which might lead to it not getting as favourable results. For someone who doesn’t know the forum members mentioned, it could come off as strange.


Story Three: A classic Old World tale that follows the theme without any twist. Quite impressive to boot given that it seems to take place within a single room and technically not a lot happens…and yet I was never bored or distracted for a moment. The descriptions were very evocative with a few little bits of alliteration without it being too overbearing. The Chaos Dwarf himself was so deliciously wicked, he’d make an awesome Saturday Morning Cartoon villain but in all the good ways.

There were a few issues I feel with this piece. The Skink was too much a passive observer to my mind, they were unnamed and only had one real moment to shine at the end, and even that I feel could have been handled a little better and more cutting of why the Chaos Dwarfs will fail as a race. I also raised a furry…I mean scaly eyebrow at the part where the Skink apparently sweats, despite lizards not having the capability to do so…maybe it was part of the magic? But it took me out of the story a bit.


Story Four: Huh.

Other than a shirt and a nickname there was very little to do with the theme or Lizardmen at all in this piece. I also briefly entertained the notion that there was a reference to Brunner the Bounty Hunter…but alas no.

What we got however, was a beautifully orchestrated dystopian tale. In places even reminded me a little of Asimov. As an entry itself there is very little to fault with this piece, the pacing felt just perfect, descriptions were solid, and there was a lot of heart and emotion to it. Honestly, I would not be unhappy if this piece did win, not just for the comedy factor of playing vaguely with the themes but also because it was a very very good piece.


Story Five: Aha, a classic prophecy based one. Very well written too!

I like that in this piece the sorcerer is emboldened by the prophecy rather than quail before it, there’s a very Macbeth element in it where the overconfidence in the prophecy forgets the issue of exact wording. I think I prefer this version of one locked in a prophecy compared to one who tries to prevent it and in doing so self-fulfils.

There’s a few areas where an extra proof read would have helped iron out a few odd misspellings and make a singular choice if it’s Chaos Dwarfs or Chaos Dwarves (…ohno…I’mopeningthatcanofworm-thingsnow,aren’tI?) which I feel would have elevated this piece that little bit more.

However, still a very strong and enjoyable piece!


Story Six: *Lets out a breath*

Okay, I was way too ready for this to be some horrible fate of Cold Ones or otherwise small creature doomed to an awful death… For once I am glad this was not the case. Well...mostly…

The tension build up was really quite something and the pay off was satisfyingly hilarious (even down to the ‘clever girl’ reference.) The whole reveal was also much rib-tickling in that like several other pieces, the theme was subverted and taken very literally. Bravo.

I guess if I had a gripe, it is still colouring over that Tzeentch still technically won. A whole clutch of Cold Ones have been mutated into tiny noxious breathed creatures and will most likely never go on to defend the temple cities in the way they had been intended. In the weird machinations of Tzeentch a single lessened or missing cavalry charge at a singular moment could alter the course of so much. I dunno…the Slann seemed to take such a thing in it’s stride.


As always always these competitions showcase some truly great writing from all involved. That I could have four more vote-things...

Fantastic work all!

 

Great reviews, worth.waiting for

Grrr, !mrahil