» Mon Jan 18, 2010 3:40 am
Okay, so... I normally only do in-depth reviews on request, but since this is finished, I feel I can let loose, as it were. Hope you don't mind the criticism, and I will be harsher than my last review now that everything is done.
Starting with the basics. I find your use of the mechanics to be rather odd. Your grammar and your spelling are both off in many cases, but in strange ways. For instance, most of your misspellings are actually words, just not the right words. I think you may have an issue with spell check, because otherwise I would really have to wonder how some of them occurred. Another issue is commas. After my previous review, you did indeed improve very much in that regard, but I've noticed it's still quite lacking in the dialogue in particular. Another issue grammar-wise, is that you don't do the dialogue correctly.
For instance: “I’ll tell you, if you answer my questions.” I replied.
This should be: “I’ll tell you, if you answer my questions,” I replied.
You always put a comma at the end of a sentence in dialogue if you plan on continuing after the speech is finished. That's a very common mistake among young writers. Moving on though, there are some other issues I have with your mechanics. Specifically, with the characters. I'm not quite sure what it is, but they seem rather stiff. That's probably because of the lack of commas in the right place, as that can break flow. So can overuse, but I can overlook that more easily since they're easy mistakes to make. I don't get much of a sense of emotion from the characters, but rather from the setting and miscellaneous writing. Which is good, because that's something a lot of writers struggle with, but again, I find it odd. It seems like you're going through the problems in reverse order of how you should. Most people have trouble establishing the advanced mechanics, and thus can't write anything of length. You, on the other hand, have no issue with advanced mechanics, but tend to putter out on the basics. It's quite odd, but I suppose no writer is the same.
You have a certain flavor to you for the use of drama, which again, is good. That's how I myself write, and it's nice to see someone else take that path. Most people these days write in satire, or overuse romance or action to the point where it's merely an annoyance, and the audience is going what the [censored]. Drama is good. Drama is balanced. It's both the easiest to write in, because of how simple it is to create, but also the hardest, because of how hard it is to maintain. And you do maintain it, so good for you.
Now then, on the issue of length. On this point, I am going to agree that this is the best fic on this forum right now. So many writers can't write anything of a decent length because they can't get down advanced mechanics. You do, and you have made something of length, which is excellent. I can't say that enough; it is truly, truly excellent that you can write so much. If I had to take wild guess, I'd place this at fifteen, maybe twenty thousand words. It's a bit hard to tell with the forum, as it messes up the length and form, but I'd say that's about right, give or take. Now, for a site like FF, where I write, that's the standard, but for this forum that's quite a bit, and again I applaud you for that.
Okay, moving on. The story is generally well written, with the characters being good, (But again, stiff.) and the plot being believable, if slightly convoluted to the untrained eye. I feel that there are several areas where you don't do a very good job with your descriptions, but it's enough for me. It might be a tad confusing, but I've had to make sense of far worse. Of course, at the very end you have a classic title drop. Very nice touch, and one I honestly didn't see coming as I'd always figured it had fallen out of practice here. I personally love that, as it can really make something come together, and I make a point of doing it in my writings, though not necessarily as the final word.
Now, I could go on a very long explanation of the characterization you've done here, but I'll spare you the torture and simply say it's a job well done. It could use some improvement, and you delved deep into a few clich?s, but avoided the majority of the ones I thought you would have, thus making it all better. So again, kudos on that.
I'll say this as well. I remember when you first came around these forums, which wasn't all that long ago, honestly. Your writing then was far, far worse than what I see now. You were one of those RPers I see come and go, and think: 'They're a dime a dozen.'
Well, Aussie, congratulations, because with this, you have solidified yourself in my book as a great writer, RP or not. You've progressed a long way, as have others who came around the same time you did, such as Francois. It would seem that my generation of writers in this forum, aside from a handful of people, have faded to dust on this board, which is sad. But, with writers like you replacing us, I feel that this forum does indeed have bright future after all. So cheers mate, have a good one, and congratulations on completing this.
Hoping to see more of your writing soon-
David