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Review of Love Song  Open in new Window.
Review by Martha's ba... Author IconMail Icon
Rated: 18+ | N/A (Review only item.)
Review: Love Song, Poem, MaxG

Title: "Love SongOpen in new Window.
Chapter: Poem
Author: MaxG

Plot: A lover looks back over the life of a relationship.

Style & Voice: Perfect for the format.

Referencing: N/A

Scene/Setting: N/A

Characters and POV: The lover to his beloved.

Grammar and Punctuation: It's poetry - grammar is secondary to getting the meter right.

Just My Personal Opinion: Color me impressed!

I'm hopeless at scansion, (in Latin class I used to just count up the number of syllables and then try out combinations of spondes and dactyls 'til it came out even) but it passes the 'read aloud' test. Last night when I read it, I thought I detected a few hiccups, but re-reading it today, it all works.

Corny? No. This sort of poetry isn't meant to be hip and ironic. And, I think, as someone who himself works in a technologically archaic form, Peter might be particularly struck by his uncle's efforts in shaping his thoughts into such a demanding framework.

**********************************

When our bodies and souls in the darkness of night
Lay together in bed and share rest and repose, /// perhaps '_to_ share rest and repose' instead'? It just sounds better to me.
Then do whispers divine and exalted give light
To the life that we share and the love that one knows/// I don't think you use "one" as a pronoun anywhere else here, would 'we know' fit instead?
Will forever be held in our bosoms and souls.
In the night we are naked, our hearts we reveal.
In our love and our coupling we long to dispose
That great distance between us that love can't repeal.

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Review of Two Hundred  Open in new Window.
Review by Martha's ba... Author IconMail Icon
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)
Strong, "day in the life" story, very effective.

This isn't a genre I normally read, so take this for what it's worth.

Some grammar issues, but I mostly only noted things that looked like typos.


Two Hundred

814Am. Rapid knocks on the wood door annoy me enough to jerk me out of my uneasy sleep. My shoulder and neck ache, and my elbows are rug burned from sleeping on the harsh carpet. I look at the door, hoping the knocks will cease and I can get another hour or so to sleep, but three more knocks, even harder, beat against the thin walls of my unfurnished apartment. I get up slowly because I want them to wait. I stretch out the sore kinks all over my body and haplessly step on a soda can on the floor. The pain doesn’t register. I just feel angry at the lack of sunlight forcing its way through the windows of the next apartment over that leaves me in a dark cave that’s not really my home.

8_:_14 A.M. or at least AM

Generally, I understand what you're getting at, but “the lack of sunlight forcing its way through the windows of the next apartment over” is confusing. Is he angry not only because he doesn't get any sun in his apartment but also because his neighbor does?

“This ain’t your mother’s house, Robert. You pay to stay, that’s how it works. Your days are up man. If you don’t have the rent by the time my office closes, I’m gonna have to give you the boot buddy.”

Normally I wouldn't worry about the grammar, but I think this is just a typo. “Your days are up_,_ man.”

He turns and walks down the hall. I almost follow him so I can argue my case some more, but I know it’s no use. I swing the wood door shut with all my might, but it rubs against the carpet and barley touches the door-pane. Where am I gonna get two hundred dollars? Keeps running through my head like a broken record. There’s nowhere for me to go if I get evicted, I don’t have a job or drugs to sell, and if I get caught stealing while I’m on bond, that’s a one way ticket to the pen. Where the hell am I gonna get two hundred dollars? I snatch my pants up off the floor and put them on. The only shirt I have is the wife beater I’m wearing, so I remind myself to be grateful it’s late in the spring. I know there’s somewhere to get two hundred dollars.

_barely_ touches the door pane.

I think “Where am I gonna get two hundred dollars?” should either be in quotes or italicized.

I was hoping now he would return the favor. I’m not going to ask him for money, but I’m hoping he can point me in the right direction. I walk down the alley between my building and the one next to it, and sure as the sunrise he’s there. He said his name was Luis, but his friends call him Nutty. He’s leaning on a brick ledge wearing Cortez Nike’s, long socks, and Dickies shorts. He’s a true homie and I like that about him. He knows who he is and who he wants to be. I wish I had money or drugs or an electronic devise of some kind to give him, but I’m dry. I hope he takes sheer will as collateral.

device

I really like the last line.

He passes me the cigar and looks in my eyes for a long moment. Then he strokes his chin, pulling at strands of mature hair.

I don't get the “mature hair” part.

Its 11:15

It's

Waiting is a mental game. I’m anxious and nervous, but I know what I have to do. I can almost smell the money, and feel it in my hand. The feeling is almost like a strong hate, frustration and anger to the fact that I can stop at nothing, or I’ll be on the street. It’s the way it is. You live to pay bills and die, and you might as well get it, or just sit on the street with a blanket. I’m angry that the world has brought me to this. I wish I could claim some land, get a gun and protect myself. I would grow my own food, and live simply. Instead I have to rob gangsters in order to survive another day.

This part is very effective.

I sprint back into the building and up the stairs. I know they won't be gone long, there’s a liquor store on almost every other block in Denver, with my heart racing as fast as my feet I stop in front of 214 and press my ear against the door to take a quick listen. I don’t hear anything so I step back and lunge my foot into the door. It swings open, slams into the wall divider and shuts by the time I slide my body inside. The living room is on the left. I rush in and stop right next to the small coffee table in the middle of the room.

I'd put a period after “Denver” and start a new sentence with “With my heart racing as fast as my feet. . . “

Time slows down when your heart beats faster than your thoughts can contemplate. In a time span that feels much longer than a minute I turn and look at the man. I study his facial features, his thin goatee, his sharp, slanted jawbone, and his upturned eyebrows.

Great first sentence.

I turn a corner at the end of the alley and peek to see if I lost my tail. He’s still behind me, but far enough that I know I can lose him with another block or so. I cut through the parking lot of my building and walk in the back entrance. Without stopping, I run to my apartment, close it, lock it, throw the weed in the closet, sit down next to it, close the door, and close my eyes to wait for a couple hours or so.

Closing the closet door after he sits down seems weird. I'd expect he'd do all that and then he'd crash.

I don’t see anything just outside the door of my apartment, and there’s nobody loitering in the halls. I walk to the exit door of the complex and look outside through the glass. There are small groups of people scattered about. They’re all Hispanic and they all look the same to me. I step outside into the bright sun. Every voice I hear sounds like someone calling to me to stop, but I ignore it all and keep walking briskly, confidently, and as incognito as I possibly can. I see a group of people standing where Luis was earlier so I walk up slowly and study the faces. None of them are Luis.

Instead of “incognito” I might go for 'inconspicuous.'

4:07 PM. After helping Marky’s mom haul an excessive amount of needless junk into her van, like old typewriters that don’t work, a dresser halfway torn apart, and boxes and boxes that she had no idea of the contents herself. She paid me 50 dollars, and I dialed my apartment manager to tell him I’m coming with the money. He says hell stay until 6PM so I figure I’ll be okay as long as Luis keeps his end of the deal.

_he'll_ stay

I go back to the alley. Every Mexican I’ve seen looks just like the guy I was fighting earlier, so I figure paranoia has been getting the best of me. I decide that it Luis isn’t there, I’ll just wait until he comes back. To my elation, he’s standing there with two other guys, so I walk up.

_if_ Luis isn't there. . .

“You what’s up foo, what you up to?” He asks with the suspicious sneer of an untold secret.

Should the first word be “yo” ?

“Hey bro you gonna need protection out here no doubt. Do your thing bud, but come see me in the alley, ok? I don’t want them S.A’s to come after you. Plus, you did me a favor, and I did you two favors. Now you owe me a favor,” he reaches his hand out for me to shake. “Okay?”

S.A.s?

When I shook his hand, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I had to return the favor, and some favors, well sometimes they’re your demise in disguise.

Great closing.
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Review by Martha's ba... Author IconMail Icon
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)
This is a good start. And very impressive for something not written in your native language.

I had a few suggestions/corrections. As always, these are just my opinions, so take what is useful to you and ignore the rest.

travelers needs. Should be 'traveler's.'

On the day he was born, his parents with other Golems were on a journey to survive from human outrageous attack of their cavern village.
Couple of points about this. I thought Golems were made, not born, although you're free to change the legend to fit your story. To remind myself of the legend, I read the wikipedia article on golems and I see that there's more variation in the legend than I thought.

Also, 'on a journey to survive' doesn't work very well. I think you mean something along the lines of 'running for their lives from the humans' outrageous attack.' (Don't actually use 'running for their lives;' it's sort of a cliche. I'm just using that to explain what I think you're trying to say).

It was believed by the Elves that it were Golems who stole the Tombstone
You may want to use the active voice here: 'The Elves believed that . . .'
There are several ways you could go w/ the rest of the sentence. The one closest to what you have is 'it was Golems who stole. . . ' If I were writing this, I'd go with: 'The Elves believed that the Golems had stolen. . . ' but that's just me.

As allies, human agreed to help and bring the Tombstone
back. Not getting it,

It isn't clear what they weren't getting. Do you mean that they weren't able to retrieve the tombstone?

Human's armies formed barricade and
closed all the exits by burning the land from North, South, east and
west, all of them.

Either 'human armies' or 'armies of humans' 'formed _a_ barricade' or 'formed barricades.' Also, I'd lose the 'by' and add a comma: ' . . . closed all the exits, burning the land. . . '

He looks up, and he sees her coming, slowly approaching him from the
sky. Usually, she comes with her whole family, Donia, her daughter and
Pulsar, his husband.
I think you may mean 'her' husband, here. If not, who is the man that 'his' refers to?

I see some interesting undercurrents here - some of which I'm not sure whether or not you intended.
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Review of Dog Days  Open in new Window.
Review by Martha's ba... Author IconMail Icon
Rated: 18+ | (4.0)
A very strong piece.

I don't really have much in the way of suggestions, but a few thoughts struck me.

The Wednesday before it happened, Before what happened? Plenty of significant things do happen in this piece, but none of them seem to have the weight of the sort of event this presages.

Okay, this is just me being OCDish, but Liam's shoe is ruined Friday morning. The headmaster tells Liam to return the note the next day - which would be Saturday, and it doesn't seem to be the case that they have school Saturday morning. In real life, people do that all the time, say 'see you tomorrow,' forgetting about the weekend. But slips like that seem more significant in fiction than when they happen in real life.

Also, you don't have to explain it, it could just be one of those things, but, as a reader I am curious about why the father seems to only care about the dog.

One of the things I particularly liked about this was that it conveyed a very strong, regional flavor.

Keep writing, I look forward to reading more of your work.

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Review by Martha's ba... Author IconMail Icon
Rated: 18+ | (4.0)
Wow. Definitely got the whole creepy thing going on - in a good way. *Smile*

"subservient moon" My first thought when I read this was: how (and to whom) could the moon be subservient? Mulling it over, I'd say it's possibly appropriate, but you may want to consider whether that's the word you want there.

"And yet they mocked me not" Would be stronger w/o the 'and.'

"horrified perplexity" "Perplexity" is not a strong word and this undercuts the tone of this piece. I'd look among the synonyms for 'indecision' for an alternative.

"However, something far worse than the wind plagued me." Again, would be stronger w/o the 'however'.

"the realisation of the decision became apparent." The rest of the language in this piece is very strong and direct, but this phrase, not so much.


"And all the time my village got closer." Confused here. I was under the impression that the narrator had chosen the path not going towards the village. Given what we realize about the narrator in the last para. it would be wonderfully creepy if metaphorically she/he/it has decided to take the road of evil while physically heading towards the village (and all the unsuspecting villagers). But, at the moment it seems like the two roads are literal and it's unclear which way the narrator is going.

"gave into temptation" should be 'gave in to temptation.'

Unlike her we never survived." Could use a comma after 'her.'

Terrific grisly humor in the last line.


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Review of Johnny  Open in new Window.
Review by Martha's ba... Author IconMail Icon
Rated: 18+ | (4.0)
Of course it's worth working on. It's a good set up to what could be an interesting story.

I don't really have any suggestions on technical points. The grammar and word choice seemed appropriate for the story.

The only thought I do have is - coincidences happen, and if there's just one amazing coincidence in the setup that shouldn't be a problem. But, if it's going to turn out that he's living in the same apartment as his late, estranged father and the picture he pulled up from google, and fortuitously kept, just happens to have to have been taken at the exact time the two men who had given his father the bad drugs were leaving, well that might be too much coincidence right off the bat.

But, that's probably just what you want the reader to expect. *Smile*
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Review of Harriet  Open in new Window.
Review by Martha's ba... Author IconMail Icon
Rated: 18+ | (4.0)
I enjoyed this vignette. I'm from the US, so not an expert on the Australian dialect, but I have seen Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, so we have that in common. And I've read Bryson's _In a Sunburned Country_ so I know about kangaroo as menaces to traffic. *Smile*

The first thing I noticed is that the tone of the narration seems very formal, especially compared with the dialect. Unless you're making the point that the narrator isn't really a part of the community, or doesn't use the same speech patterns, I'd loosen that up a bit.

For example, you have: "I had heard a lot about him but had never met him." You might want to change that to: "I'd heard a lot about him, but never met him." It's not as casual as the dialogue, but it doesn't make such a sharp contrast with it, either. You have some casual bits, "the dog had had a real good go at it," so you want to try to even out the tone of the narrative a bit.

You have ‘larrikins’ in single quotes. I'd probably leave those out, unless you're making a point that it isn't normally a word you'd use.

I don't understand at all why you have town in single quotes, unless you're making a point that it's not much of a town, and if so that isn't really clear.

I had to say the explanation of Harriet's name out loud a few times, but then I chuckled.

As I said at the beginning, I'm no expert on the dialect, but I thought you used it effectively without going so far that it seemed like a parody.

Good on ya!






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Review of "Laura"  Open in new Window.
Review by Martha's ba... Author IconMail Icon
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)
Never mind Laura; I was nervous about what was going to happen. *Smile*

Very good use of double meanings.

Technically I don't see any significant problems except with the paragraph spacing/line breaks. I know the editor is sort of a pain, but cleaning them up will make the story look a lot better.

Substantively, I don't see any problems. I find "smiling ear to ear" rather cliched, but I understand why you'd want to avoid "smiling widely" or "smiling broadly."

Nice piece. Keep it up.
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Review of The Unborn God  Open in new Window.
Review by Martha's ba... Author IconMail Icon
Rated: 18+ | (4.0)
This is well written and I like the set up.

I have only a few minor suggestions.

"Obsidian" isn't really a color. It's is a form of natural glass. Maybe just have it that the blade had turned to obsidian?

"The Empire was far more important than the desires of one woman, even if that woman happened to be the Maiden of Life."

As I read it, what makes Kira important is the fact that she's the Maiden of Life, and it seems that there's an inherent element of sacrifice in that role. So, maybe it makes more sense to say "especially if that woman." Although I may be inferring more than is there.

Do we ever find out why the unnamed man shed a tear over the dagger?

"The servant was agile, but Calvin was determined to end this inconvenience."

"Inconvenience" works there, but might interruption/disruption/delay/distraction (pick one ) work better?

As a reader, I appreciate the fact that you obviously took the time to polish the grammar and spelling. Nice work.
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Review of My story  Open in new Window.
Review by Martha's ba... Author IconMail Icon
Rated: E | (3.5)
I like this. It looks like it's going to be an interesting story.

Some points. You use "a light emitted" or variations several times. Usually things emit light; the light doesn't just emit.

"Emblazon" doesn't have anything to do with fire. Maybe you meant "blazing".

"Hi, I see you've finally woken up." She said - use a comma after up and then a lower case s in she.
'. . . woken up," she said.' That needs to be fixed throughout.

You use "not obliged to" several times. Are you using that to mean, "we could, if we wanted to, but we choose not to."?

I'd break up the paragraphing. At the least, I'd change to a new para. each time a new person speaks, unless it's something very short.

Someone who is 300 kilos is over 650 lbs. Yes, it makes the kick impressive, but it's a little implausible that someone that big is a back alley mugger. I mean, you could make him a down on his luck sumo wrestler, but. . . I'd choose a weight that was a little more realistic.


Good work. I look forward to reading more from you.
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