Review: A potential novella compressed into a short story
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 13, 2011
The story features an SAS member (UK special forces) who's told that his pursuit through the woods is to capture motion for a video game.This variation on the old theme doesn't get enough time to unfold or to build a characterization and as a result, there really aren't any surprises and the reader doesn't get enough time to identify with the protagonist. It reads a lot more like the summary of a potential action movie or novel than like a real story. The obstacles are overcome so quickly that there's no time for the classic roller coaster of suspense from the first realization that things are not as they seem to the first very specific threat and his response to variations on the threats and responses.The descriptions and sense of location are strong and it's decent writing, just not great story-telling.