WITHIN: Graded primarily on heat and narrative
WITHOUT: Graded primarily on narrative
Possible spoilers below …
WITHIN
Acolyte (mc mf md gr ma) (new) by Silver Nerd
–3/5 (decent, not perfect)–
Not bad from the start, while it felt perhaps a bit unrefined. Perhaps could have used an extra edit, but like I said, the writing was overall fine. Comma use seemed more than sparse for my tastes, but there is more than one writing school. Not overly complicated, but it didn’t have to be. I must admit the story kinda dragged a little betwixt the dream sequences, though. Though I did it once in one of my older, less than spectacular works, I don’t like it much when the author references the MC Archive in their stories. Too easy, too self referential, I guess. Also couldn’t understand the vampire stories obsession, while she didn’t appear to become one, disappointingly. Anyway, while there were no real surprises, the overall story was all right.
(ReReadability: low / follow: no)
Children of the Night (mc mf ff md fd) (new) by J. Darksong
–4.5/5 (very good, all but orgasmic)–
Even if the stars are a bit out of alignment, I can like a half decent vampire tale! Quite well written from the start, while I always enjoy vampires that prefer not to kill. Overall, I can’t say the stars were in perfect alignment for this one, but it was a good, layered vampire story, overall, with the master/slave elements luckily dialed to a bearable nuanced setting.
(ReReadability: moderate / Follow: no)
WITHOUT
Also Known As Tamsin (mc mf md) (new) by Fiat Knox
~~3.5/5 (good, not quite earth shattering)~~
I may be wrong, but doesn’t stating your real name in conjunction with your pen name kinda defeat the purpose of a pen name? Anyway, it’s interesting. I mean, if I picked up the home phone one day and the woman on the other end knew me as Mr. Potestas or Footguy87, I would have no idea what I would do! The only real squick, as another observed, is the smoking thing. I don’t really care objectively about people’s personal choices, no matter how toxic they may be. However, I find it the most unarousing thing anyone can do. Luckily, this isn’t being graded on arousal to the degree the other two were. The narrative itself was quite unique in its own way, albeit rather dark.
(ReReadability: Low / Follow: no)
RANDOM COMMENTS
Smashwords is literally the only place I’ve ever seen that states I should never use tabs. Right …
The Realms of Mr. Potestas 