Review: The Best Short Story I've Read Thus Far
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 31, 2013
The Transfer is the best "novella"/short story I've ever read. Maybe it helps that I absolutely love Four, but when I stop to compare it to The Bane Chronicles (what I've read of them at least) and The Prince (a Selection novella), I can't help but decide that The Transfer beats them on every scale.First on all, it didn't feel pointless. Half of The Bane Chronicles short stories that I've read have felt a little pointless, like there was no real purpose to them. The Transfer didn't feel like that at all. Tobias's voice was the same as always as it showed us the pain and trauma of living with his father. It made me much more sympathetic towards him than I already was. We see first hand what Marcus did. Or part of it at least. Horrible, horrible, man.Secondly, it didn't leave me feeling like there should have been more. The Prince didn't really feel like it was finished. It left me hanging, like there was supposed to be some sort of resolution, but there wasn't (and obviously couldn't have been). However, The Transfer felt like a complete story in and of itself. It had a clear beginning and a clear ending, even though we already know that his story goes on and it wasn't really the end.As for the actual content, Roth did a wonderful job painting the lonely, plain, and stagnant, if not slightly edgy life poor Tobias endured. I did find myself wondering why he would ever contemplate staying, but at the same time, I understand that him thinking of staying in Abnegation with his father was really part of the trauma and abuse he'd suffered over the years.The Transfer is a great opener to the four-part series of Roth's e-novellas starring Tobias Eaton/Four and I eagerly await the rest!