I'm not sure what I was expecting. A shoot-em-up perhaps, or an idea-is-hero SF story. That was clearly my prejudice of game world based stories, because What I Remember Most is a very human story, highlighting some of the stupidity and futility of war, even in its more sanitised forms.
This is well-written and captures the spirit of a peaceful people, told from the point of view of a teen-aged would-be artist. The hints of the background story and also of what might happen in the future, provide a gentle hook for those who might consider reading more.
My only real criticism (apart from a couple of typos which I'll leave KeVin to find himself) is with some of the biblical style of telling. It works perfectly well in terms of getting the information across, but grated on me. Again, that might be due to my own preferences.
I would recommend this as a good prejudice-buster and stereotype-breaker for all you readers who might otherwise pigeon-hole this genre.
Now, if I can only pull a similar trick with SF...
Yeah, there's a bit of Bible ("wars and rumors of war") and a bit of Karl Marx ("from each according to his ability, to each according to his need") mixed in there. The Outworlds Alliance is furiously egalitarian and just a tad sanctimonious; the cadence and vocabulary of my young narrator's tale was meant to convey that.
I do write shoot-'em-ups as well, of course, but the context of the conflicts, the worlds and people involved, is what interests me. There are only so many ways to spell "bang" after all. I'm not alone in this. Depending on the universe and the vision of individual editors, I'd estimate anything from a tenth to a third of game fiction is about the universe surrounding the conflicts rather than the actual battles.
5 comments:
I'm not sure what I was expecting. A shoot-em-up perhaps, or an idea-is-hero SF story. That was clearly my prejudice of game world based stories, because What I Remember Most is a very human story, highlighting some of the stupidity and futility of war, even in its more sanitised forms.
This is well-written and captures the spirit of a peaceful people, told from the point of view of a teen-aged would-be artist. The hints of the background story and also of what might happen in the future, provide a gentle hook for those who might consider reading more.
My only real criticism (apart from a couple of typos which I'll leave KeVin to find himself) is with some of the biblical style of telling. It works perfectly well in terms of getting the information across, but grated on me. Again, that might be due to my own preferences.
I would recommend this as a good prejudice-buster and stereotype-breaker for all you readers who might otherwise pigeon-hole this genre.
Now, if I can only pull a similar trick with SF...
Thanks for sharing with us, KeVin.
Yeah, there's a bit of Bible ("wars and rumors of war") and a bit of Karl Marx ("from each according to his ability, to each according to his need") mixed in there. The Outworlds Alliance is furiously egalitarian and just a tad sanctimonious; the cadence and vocabulary of my young narrator's tale was meant to convey that.
I do write shoot-'em-ups as well, of course, but the context of the conflicts, the worlds and people involved, is what interests me. There are only so many ways to spell "bang" after all. I'm not alone in this. Depending on the universe and the vision of individual editors, I'd estimate anything from a tenth to a third of game fiction is about the universe surrounding the conflicts rather than the actual battles.
Oh, and I meant to add: Thanks for your review. I appreciate you taking the time.
I enjoyed that, and it added a new dimension of understanding to the other work of yours that I've read. Thanks for posting, KeVin.
Thanks for that KeVin. I enjoyed the story very much and your post helped enlighten this reader who wouldn't know one end of a game from another.
Post a Comment