tarana's review
3.0
These are pretty good reads and a glimpse into the world that this author has created in a book. I'm not a big fantasy fan - but most of these stories were pretty enjoyable, a couple outstanding.
Stories I particularly enjoyed were:
The Eresutna - Nicholas Kotar
Metal and Stone - Kevin Potter
Cimondeli - S K Randolf
Angles of TIme - Stefan Nardi
Forces of Magic: The Testing - Shawn Robert Smith (probably will get book)
Spots All Over - Tom Hansen
Stories I particularly enjoyed were:
The Eresutna - Nicholas Kotar
Metal and Stone - Kevin Potter
Cimondeli - S K Randolf
Angles of TIme - Stefan Nardi
Forces of Magic: The Testing - Shawn Robert Smith (probably will get book)
Spots All Over - Tom Hansen
secre's review against another edition
3.0
By and large I enjoyed this collection of shorts and look forward to reading some more works by these authors. A few of them were more confusing than interesting, but as a whole I felt these were interesting introductions to sixteen different authors. Quite a few of them are clearly tasters of the authors main works and only intended to offer a flavour of the existing narrative though and didn’t always work as stand alone shorts.
The Killing Fields; 2.5 stars. Not my favourite of the bunch as I didn’t feel it worked as a stand alone. The world seems quite interesting though, even if there isn’t enough detail in the snippet here to develop the characters or the setting.
Stolen Magic; 3.5 stars. I found this short fascinating with the way the author played with connecting universes and alternate histories. I did feel that the ending and the final action was extremely rushed and anticlimactic however. I would however be interested in reading a longer piece by the author.
Blade and Bone; 1.5 stars. Whilst vaguely interesting, the writing style and continued use of ‘the man’ to identify the main character did my nut in. There was unfortunately therefore little to connect you to the characters and the plot seemed disjointed.
The Eresurna; 4 stars. I really enjoyed this short and it was one of my favourites. I liked the way the author merged reality and fantasy, even if some aspects were a little too far fetched and jolted me from my suspension of disbelief. I found the writing engaging though and I’ve bookmarked this author.
The Wolf of Wool Street; 3.5 stars. Another strong entry with an engaging writing story and some interesting twists and turns.
The Alchemy Incident; 1.5 stars. Not really sure what was going on with this one. There’s not a whole lot of story or world building here to speak of in honesty.
Metal and Stone; 2.5 stars. A lower rating because I’ve already read this as a chapter in the authors full length novel. It isn’t a stand alone short, it’s a subsection of an existing chapter and that didn’t work well for me even if it’s well written.
Cimondell; 4.5 stars. This is one of the strongest entries in my opinion. I was caught by the descriptions of the post apocalyptic world and felt the author used the short word count well to build the characters and the world. I’ve bookmarked this author.
Angles of Time; 1.5 stars. Interesting premise but not really a full story, more a snapshot that didn’t really showcase a world or characters.
Reboot; 2 stars. Another interesting premise and there’s a little more character development here but there isn’t anywhere near enough narrative. Not enough exposition and really limited tension.
Forces of Magic; 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the world building here and would likely read a full length novel set in the same universe. The action scenes were quite well written as well.
Victoria’s Grave; 1.5 stars. Maukish and faintly unpleasant. No real tension as you know everyone is dead from the start. Limited world building and the characters annoyed me.
Spots All Over; 4 stars. Funny and interesting with a clever merging of reality and fantasy. I really enjoyed this and have bookmarked the author.
Dance of Swords; 5 stars. Excellent world building and concepts. This was the stand out favourite from the collection, which is perhaps not surprising having read some of the authors longer works.
The Silence; 4 stars. Another strong entry here with a fascinating world and an engaging writing style. Another author bookmarked.
Flights of Flame; 2.5 stars. Less impressed here unfortunately. I’m not sure what the Holtur Enigma is and why this is after it, but I’m not sure I care. I enjoyed the depictions of the wyvern’s but that’s about it.
So this is a bit of a mixed bag, but it’s an interesting introduction to some new authors for me.
The Killing Fields; 2.5 stars. Not my favourite of the bunch as I didn’t feel it worked as a stand alone. The world seems quite interesting though, even if there isn’t enough detail in the snippet here to develop the characters or the setting.
Stolen Magic; 3.5 stars. I found this short fascinating with the way the author played with connecting universes and alternate histories. I did feel that the ending and the final action was extremely rushed and anticlimactic however. I would however be interested in reading a longer piece by the author.
Blade and Bone; 1.5 stars. Whilst vaguely interesting, the writing style and continued use of ‘the man’ to identify the main character did my nut in. There was unfortunately therefore little to connect you to the characters and the plot seemed disjointed.
The Eresurna; 4 stars. I really enjoyed this short and it was one of my favourites. I liked the way the author merged reality and fantasy, even if some aspects were a little too far fetched and jolted me from my suspension of disbelief. I found the writing engaging though and I’ve bookmarked this author.
The Wolf of Wool Street; 3.5 stars. Another strong entry with an engaging writing story and some interesting twists and turns.
The Alchemy Incident; 1.5 stars. Not really sure what was going on with this one. There’s not a whole lot of story or world building here to speak of in honesty.
Metal and Stone; 2.5 stars. A lower rating because I’ve already read this as a chapter in the authors full length novel. It isn’t a stand alone short, it’s a subsection of an existing chapter and that didn’t work well for me even if it’s well written.
Cimondell; 4.5 stars. This is one of the strongest entries in my opinion. I was caught by the descriptions of the post apocalyptic world and felt the author used the short word count well to build the characters and the world. I’ve bookmarked this author.
Angles of Time; 1.5 stars. Interesting premise but not really a full story, more a snapshot that didn’t really showcase a world or characters.
Reboot; 2 stars. Another interesting premise and there’s a little more character development here but there isn’t anywhere near enough narrative. Not enough exposition and really limited tension.
Forces of Magic; 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the world building here and would likely read a full length novel set in the same universe. The action scenes were quite well written as well.
Victoria’s Grave; 1.5 stars. Maukish and faintly unpleasant. No real tension as you know everyone is dead from the start. Limited world building and the characters annoyed me.
Spots All Over; 4 stars. Funny and interesting with a clever merging of reality and fantasy. I really enjoyed this and have bookmarked the author.
Dance of Swords; 5 stars. Excellent world building and concepts. This was the stand out favourite from the collection, which is perhaps not surprising having read some of the authors longer works.
The Silence; 4 stars. Another strong entry here with a fascinating world and an engaging writing style. Another author bookmarked.
Flights of Flame; 2.5 stars. Less impressed here unfortunately. I’m not sure what the Holtur Enigma is and why this is after it, but I’m not sure I care. I enjoyed the depictions of the wyvern’s but that’s about it.
So this is a bit of a mixed bag, but it’s an interesting introduction to some new authors for me.
mackle13's review against another edition
2.0
This book should be called "Teaser Trailers". A lot of the stories are parts of larger books/universes these authors write in, and we just get "glimpses" into those worlds - but a lot of them feel unfinished and not really "short stories", per se... so...
Here are the random comments I posted in the group about each story, which might or might not make sense out of context:
Killing Fields - 2.5 stars
I actually like the writing style. Bit purple, but evocative. But the cultural appropriation is annoyi g, and the fight scene was bullshit. Agree about the obvious ending.
Stolen Magic - 2 stars
What? Where are we? Why are we? So much confusion in the opening description.
Other than that, perfectly mediocre UF style story with search for the Macguffin and hackneyed villlain.
Blade and Bone - 1 star
Some tortured writing, which makes me realize why teachers don't like the passive voice. A twist should be sold in a better way than being purposely opaque amd convoluted.
Eresutna - 1.5 stars
Nyssa wrote: "I finally read The Eresutna. WTF did I just read? I don't understand this story at all. I mean I get what the Eresutna is supposed to be or do or whatever, but I don't understand the ending at all. Frickin' Shish Kabobs! What!?! "
I'm with you here. I don't understand this at all. It seemed to jump around a lot and shit made no fucking sense.
1.5 stars - .5 just because there should be more Russian folklore stories in the world.
Wolf of Wool street - 3.25 stars
Definitely the best of the lot so far. A complete story that makes some actual sense. I liked the dark pleasure of the ending.
Alchemy Accident - 2 stars
One of those ones that feels like a chapter of a book instead of a story. Knew what was going to happen with the potion from the start.
Metal and Stone - 2
Making a name out of repeating a bunch of letters reminds me of how my niece texts, and made me want to read it as a whine. Also, "you are the chosen one" blech. And the dialogue was wooden AF, but I tried to make allowances for archaicness.
Cimondeli - 2 stars, I guess.
Just kinda bored. Mary Sueish. Rando dystopia.
Angles of Time - 1.5 stars
Agreed with Becky - the writing is so, "He did this. Then he did that. He reached. He strained. He stopped for no reason."
Also with Ala about the repetitiveness. Once more, once more, once more...
Also, horror story with vaguely Lovecraftian elements then random aside about But why?
Reboot - 2.5 stars
Not sure how I feel about Reboot. I was starting to enjoy it, and then it just ends. Feels more like the beginning of a story, as opposed to, you know, an actual story. I feel cheated.
I suppose I'm meant to be interested enough to rush off and find more, but I'm too annoyed to bother.
Also, whoever thought the line about "I ran like a women running from a rapist" was a good idea for getting to a train is just so, so very wrong...
(Someone in the group joked that this book was like, "Manspreading, a horror story", which makes it better. LOL)
Forces of Magic (The Testing Book # 0.5) - 2.75 stars
At least the title of this one is honest about the fact that it's a prequel to a larger story. It was decent enough, maybe 3-stars worthy, but I'm knocking off .25 stars for predictability... because who didn't know that
Victoria's Grave - 1 star
Definitely the worst so far. Just...
At first I was like, ok, this is a bit purple, but not terrible, and then came the second page...
The whole tortured paragraph about crying.
A tomb is not the same as a grave.
Dude falls to his knees, but then turns to leave without standing.
He comes home and sees the kitchen fire is lit, but then wifey wakes and starts the fire.
And
And who does build a house with what seems like a weapon form of axe?
Spots all Over - 3.5 stars
This was cute. On the predictable side, but I liked the ending. It was sweet. Reminding me vaguely of Fablehaven.
Dance of Swords - 2.5 stars
The writing and the story was ok, overall, but I get kind of annoyed at the
The Silence - 1 star
What was the fucking point? Like Ala said,
Fuck you!
Flight of Flame - 1 star
Is she meant to be 12? Because (Claymores are fucking BIG, btw.
(I know she's not actually 12.)
The writing was weird - like, sort of historical and sort of modern?
Also, fuck the whole, "You're not like other girls, because other girls suck, obviously."
***
I went into this as objectively as I could, despite the fact that it won the group vote under questionable circumstances. But I swear, I really did try to be objective.
But the more I read the more annoyed I got, and by the end I just wanted it to be over.
Giving it 2 stars for the, like, 3 decent stories that are hidden within (and my average rating actually does come out to 2).
Here are the random comments I posted in the group about each story, which might or might not make sense out of context:
Killing Fields - 2.5 stars
I actually like the writing style. Bit purple, but evocative. But the cultural appropriation is annoyi g, and the fight scene was bullshit. Agree about the obvious ending.
Stolen Magic - 2 stars
What? Where are we? Why are we? So much confusion in the opening description.
Other than that, perfectly mediocre UF style story with search for the Macguffin and hackneyed villlain.
Blade and Bone - 1 star
Some tortured writing, which makes me realize why teachers don't like the passive voice. A twist should be sold in a better way than being purposely opaque amd convoluted.
Eresutna - 1.5 stars
Nyssa wrote: "I finally read The Eresutna. WTF did I just read? I don't understand this story at all. I mean I get what the Eresutna is supposed to be or do or whatever, but I don't understand the ending at all.
Spoiler
What the hell did burning her have to do with absolving Solomon!?!?I'm with you here. I don't understand this at all. It seemed to jump around a lot and shit made no fucking sense.
1.5 stars - .5 just because there should be more Russian folklore stories in the world.
Wolf of Wool street - 3.25 stars
Definitely the best of the lot so far. A complete story that makes some actual sense. I liked the dark pleasure of the ending.
Alchemy Accident - 2 stars
One of those ones that feels like a chapter of a book instead of a story. Knew what was going to happen with the potion from the start.
Metal and Stone - 2
Making a name out of repeating a bunch of letters reminds me of how my niece texts, and made me want to read it as a whine. Also, "you are the chosen one" blech. And the dialogue was wooden AF, but I tried to make allowances for archaicness.
Cimondeli - 2 stars, I guess.
Just kinda bored. Mary Sueish. Rando dystopia.
Angles of Time - 1.5 stars
Agreed with Becky - the writing is so, "He did this. Then he did that. He reached. He strained. He stopped for no reason."
Also with Ala about the repetitiveness. Once more, once more, once more...
Also, horror story with vaguely Lovecraftian elements then random aside about
Spoiler
time travel?Reboot - 2.5 stars
Not sure how I feel about Reboot. I was starting to enjoy it, and then it just ends. Feels more like the beginning of a story, as opposed to, you know, an actual story. I feel cheated.
I suppose I'm meant to be interested enough to rush off and find more, but I'm too annoyed to bother.
Also, whoever thought the line about "I ran like a women running from a rapist" was a good idea for getting to a train is just so, so very wrong...
(Someone in the group joked that this book was like, "Manspreading, a horror story", which makes it better. LOL)
Forces of Magic (The Testing Book # 0.5) - 2.75 stars
At least the title of this one is honest about the fact that it's a prequel to a larger story. It was decent enough, maybe 3-stars worthy, but I'm knocking off .25 stars for predictability... because who didn't know that
Spoiler
Winthrop was going to have some dark powers?Victoria's Grave - 1 star
Definitely the worst so far. Just...
At first I was like, ok, this is a bit purple, but not terrible, and then came the second page...
The whole tortured paragraph about crying.
A tomb is not the same as a grave.
Dude falls to his knees, but then turns to leave without standing.
He comes home and sees the kitchen fire is lit, but then wifey wakes and starts the fire.
And
Spoiler
what are the draeyks? Why did they attack? You didn't believe they existed, so not a lot of them, but they're randomly attacking? Why have them use weapons?And who does build a house with what seems like a weapon form of axe?
Spots all Over - 3.5 stars
This was cute. On the predictable side, but I liked the ending. It was sweet. Reminding me vaguely of Fablehaven.
Dance of Swords - 2.5 stars
The writing and the story was ok, overall, but I get kind of annoyed at the
Spoiler
I can't kill this mass murdered who's going to rape and kill me and, like, everyone, because reasonsThe Silence - 1 star
What was the fucking point? Like Ala said,
Spoiler
Shitty God is being shitty, other gods do nothing, queen is like FUCK YOU, other gods are like, "We'll help you, but now we're gonna take away the power we gave you because we're scared of what you'll do with it... even though you only did what we should've done. But we suck. Also, we've accidentally killed you, your son is now king, I think, but we're leaving and taking the magic. 'k, bye.Fuck you!
Flight of Flame - 1 star
Is she meant to be 12? Because
Spoiler
I am the Queen of the Awesome Butt-Kicking - or whatever - sounds like something a 12 year old would say. So, 12 years old with a claymore?(I know she's not actually 12.)
The writing was weird - like, sort of historical and sort of modern?
Also, fuck the whole, "You're not like other girls, because other girls suck, obviously."
***
I went into this as objectively as I could, despite the fact that it won the group vote under questionable circumstances. But I swear, I really did try to be objective.
But the more I read the more annoyed I got, and by the end I just wanted it to be over.
Giving it 2 stars for the, like, 3 decent stories that are hidden within (and my average rating actually does come out to 2).
whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition
1.0
Edit: more like 1.5 stars, but annoying enough for me to round down. I don’t think the authors got what they expected when they gamed the vote on this. Too bad they forgot to get editors.
Currently reading for a BotM. May or may not read all of it.
The Killing Field by [a:Sarah K.L. Wilson|5322773|Sarah K.L. Wilson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1483794122p2/5322773.jpg]: 2 stars, barely
So the cultural appropriation is horrible, obviously, but that's hardly the only reason this was a terrible story. My initial reaction after finishing was that the story was perfectly mediocre. The characters were barely even facsimiles of people. The setting was cardboard and lackluster. The ending was 100% what I expected once the idea of a duel was introduced. It bored me enough I kind of wish I had kept doing work stuff instead of slacking off to read. At least learning SQL engages my brain.
Stolen Magic by [a:Meg Cowley & Victoria DeLuis|17731804|Meg Cowley & Victoria DeLuis|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: 1 star
This made no sense. The only thing that made it entertaining was how bloody awful the prose was. Stars do not circle in the sky! I couldn’t keep track of the location of the whirlwind. Pretty sure the Nile isn’t generally icy. Isn’t Khartoum wartorn and not full of happy innocents? Why couldn’t they google the stone themselves if it was so easy to find? I think that ending fight was the most anticlimactic I have ever read. Generic adventure dude turns the guy holding a super powerful stone into dust on the first shot? Is there some sort of magical all you can eat buffet? And seriously with the circling stars and quasi-erotic sounding water consumption.
Why are these sooooooo bad?
Blade and Bone by [a:Adrian G. Hilder|14833281|Adrian G. Hilder|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1477329763p2/14833281.jpg]: 1 star
I am not sure why this story exists. It is unbelievably dull. Its length is its only positive attribute and that doesn’t even qualify as a redeeming factor. It is disjointed in plot and in writing. I cared about none of the characters. The world sounds boring.
I do want to know how hair can be both trimmed and a mop.
The Eresutna by [a:Nicholas Kotar|7792226|Nicholas Kotar|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1422802716p2/7792226.jpg]: 2 stars
Better than the last 2! Still bad.
Is this set in upstate New York just so he can use the name of that waterfall? It certainly has nothing to do with the story. I think the plot had potential, but I’m betting that’s because the source material is a Russian fairytale. Where people speak a lot of Russian. In Jericho, New York. Just...why.
I found the treatment of an autistic character by the author appalling and demeaning.
Wolf of Wool Street by [a:Kevin Partner|4595411|Kevin Partner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1415635880p2/4595411.jpg]: 3 stars, much to my surprise
I actually enjoyed reading this. It wasn’t great, but I had fun. Being high probably didn’t hurt. The name thing was stupid. I approve of the religious zealots being bad guys thing. I found the “omg he killed the dude” moment completely as I expected. I don’t understand why they cried.
“had their fingers in several pies and, if rumors were accurate, also in many influential member of the priesthood.”
Do you think he meant for that to read like missionaries are fingering priests?
The Alchemy Accident by [a:Killian C. Carter|16616119|Killian C. Carter|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: 2 stars
This is not a story. This is a whole lot of exposition and setup. I don’t really have a lot to say about it. It was stodgy and blah.
Metal and Stone by [a:Kevin Potter|6197614|Kevin Potter|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1520025062p2/6197614.jpg]: 3 stars
Actually rather enjoyed this one. Needs some editing and someone to enforce a vowel limit on the names, but good story.
Cimondelli by [a:S.K. Randolph|5285000|S.K. Randolph|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: 2 stars
This reads like it was written by someone who has enough money to live on the ocean alongside Big Sur. Boring, scattered, boring again...Am I the only one seriously annoyed by the vagueness of descriptions of the extinction level event? Are the elders keeping them inside on a whim?
Angles of Time by [a:Stefan M Nardi|17427346|Stefan M Nardi|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: 1.5 stars
This sure did take up several minutes of my life I will never get back.
Reboot by [a:Eloise Hamann|8249488|Eloise Hamann|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1523803136p2/8249488.jpg]: 1 star
“I run like a woman escaping a rapist” is just not an OK turn of phrase for a throwaway exerpt designed to garner interest in a larger work. Or possibly at all. I really disliked this story.Was the dude on BART supposed to be Death? A minion of hell? Why was the death of her mother mentioned if it was just going to be dismissed as essentially meaningless? Are we supposed to care about her relationship, because she mostly seems to find it an annoyance. But mostly, wtf is the conflict in this? Half baked with disturbing patriarchal imagery.
Forces of Magic by [a:Shawn Robert Smith|15932153|Shawn Robert Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1475752392p2/15932153.jpg]: 1.5 stars
This was terribly boring, super predictable, and the pacing was awful.
Victoria’s Grave by [a:Craig A. Price Jr.|7211364|Craig A. Price Jr.|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1514755866p2/7211364.jpg]: 0.5 stars
Prose so sickly I longed for the death of everyone in the story. This was truly awful.
Spots All Over by [a:Tom Hansen|374472|Tom Hansen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1515056231p2/374472.jpg]: 2 stars
I am filled with ennui.
Dance of Swords by [a:JC Kang|18418214|JC Kang|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: 3 stars
I enjoyed this one. Not amazing, but enjoyable. Did use “summersaults” instead of “somersaults” though.
The Silence by [a:Georgina Makalani|10778995|Georgina Makalani|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1531772724p2/10778995.jpg]: 2.5 stars
I enjoyed two in a row? Amazing! Still not good.
Flight of Flame by [a:Cameron Wayne Smith|14592508|Cameron Wayne Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1486024961p2/14592508.jpg]: 1 star
And, we’re back to shit. It actually started with “set shortly after” as if the author forgot he was supposed to pretend this was an introduction to a world. It lost half a star right there. Then the main character was boring and predictable and supposed to be a badass, but was pretty much just a caricature. The other characters were also undeveloped. The story made no sense and don’t even get me started on the pacing.
Currently reading for a BotM. May or may not read all of it.
The Killing Field by [a:Sarah K.L. Wilson|5322773|Sarah K.L. Wilson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1483794122p2/5322773.jpg]: 2 stars, barely
Stolen Magic by [a:Meg Cowley & Victoria DeLuis|17731804|Meg Cowley & Victoria DeLuis|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: 1 star
Why are these sooooooo bad?
Blade and Bone by [a:Adrian G. Hilder|14833281|Adrian G. Hilder|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1477329763p2/14833281.jpg]: 1 star
I do want to know how hair can be both trimmed and a mop.
The Eresutna by [a:Nicholas Kotar|7792226|Nicholas Kotar|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1422802716p2/7792226.jpg]: 2 stars
Better than the last 2! Still bad.
I found the treatment of an autistic character by the author appalling and demeaning.
Wolf of Wool Street by [a:Kevin Partner|4595411|Kevin Partner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1415635880p2/4595411.jpg]: 3 stars, much to my surprise
“had their fingers in several pies and, if rumors were accurate, also in many influential member of the priesthood.”
Do you think he meant for that to read like missionaries are fingering priests?
The Alchemy Accident by [a:Killian C. Carter|16616119|Killian C. Carter|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: 2 stars
Metal and Stone by [a:Kevin Potter|6197614|Kevin Potter|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1520025062p2/6197614.jpg]: 3 stars
Actually rather enjoyed this one. Needs some editing and someone to enforce a vowel limit on the names, but good story.
Cimondelli by [a:S.K. Randolph|5285000|S.K. Randolph|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: 2 stars
This reads like it was written by someone who has enough money to live on the ocean alongside Big Sur. Boring, scattered, boring again...
Angles of Time by [a:Stefan M Nardi|17427346|Stefan M Nardi|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: 1.5 stars
This sure did take up several minutes of my life I will never get back.
Reboot by [a:Eloise Hamann|8249488|Eloise Hamann|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1523803136p2/8249488.jpg]: 1 star
“I run like a woman escaping a rapist” is just not an OK turn of phrase for a throwaway exerpt designed to garner interest in a larger work. Or possibly at all. I really disliked this story.
Forces of Magic by [a:Shawn Robert Smith|15932153|Shawn Robert Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1475752392p2/15932153.jpg]: 1.5 stars
This was terribly boring, super predictable, and the pacing was awful.
Victoria’s Grave by [a:Craig A. Price Jr.|7211364|Craig A. Price Jr.|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1514755866p2/7211364.jpg]: 0.5 stars
Prose so sickly I longed for the death of everyone in the story. This was truly awful.
Spots All Over by [a:Tom Hansen|374472|Tom Hansen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1515056231p2/374472.jpg]: 2 stars
I am filled with ennui.
Dance of Swords by [a:JC Kang|18418214|JC Kang|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: 3 stars
I enjoyed this one. Not amazing, but enjoyable. Did use “summersaults” instead of “somersaults” though.
The Silence by [a:Georgina Makalani|10778995|Georgina Makalani|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1531772724p2/10778995.jpg]: 2.5 stars
I enjoyed two in a row? Amazing! Still not good.
Flight of Flame by [a:Cameron Wayne Smith|14592508|Cameron Wayne Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1486024961p2/14592508.jpg]: 1 star
And, we’re back to shit. It actually started with “set shortly after” as if the author forgot he was supposed to pretend this was an introduction to a world. It lost half a star right there. Then the main character was boring and predictable and supposed to be a badass, but was pretty much just a caricature. The other characters were also undeveloped. The story made no sense and don’t even get me started on the pacing.
More...