Review: excellent voice and a talent for storytelling
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 25, 2011
CharactersWith such a short length, it's nearly impossible to develop the characters very far so I thought their development was ok for the length. I would have liked to have been given a stronger, deeper reason to care more for Jiri (a dead father is cliched, I wanted something more). I was a little bored by Linus's personality - which may or may not have been the point, but it's hard to care about a story when you don't care about the main character.PlotFor both stories, the plot is the type where everything seems normal almost up to the end - but you somehow know there's something that's not quite right. Each story left me with a "wanting," though one in a more positive way than they other.I found myself thinking about the ending of "Woods" for a few days after I read it. I want to know: Who? When? Why? But I'm happy not knowing, content with coming up with my own explanations.As for "Button," I felt like this was one of those stories that borders on greatness. However, at the end, I wanted something a little more powerful. It's hard to explain what I mean without spoilers but I felt like I was promised something that wasn't completely delivered upon.DesignThis is the most professional design - both inside and out - that I have seen since I started reviewing at Sift. There weren't any strange blips on the internal formatting and the cover is perfect - beautiful and intriguing.World BuildingSince it is essentially set in "our world," the world building for "The Reset Button" is good - you know where and when you are. However, I struggled a little with the first story. It felt (I'm sorry I can't offer more concrete explanations, perhaps it was the voice?) like it should be a more rural, less-advanced setting but there were details to the contrary.WritingThe writing in this story is top-notch. Aside from being free of typos and grammatical mistakes, the writer has a strong, clean voice. He's able to sustain an air of mystery and suspense without it feeling cheap.OverallInteresting stories written by a writer with an excellent voice and a talent for storytelling. Characters were the weak point in both stories, which is a common deficiency in this sub-genre. Strong characterization would have pushed this up to five stars for me. This criticism, of course, should be colored by the fact that characters are one of the most important facets of a story for me; other readers may feel differently.Review by: Sarah of Sift Book ReviewsSift Book Reviews received a free copy for review from the author. This has, in no way, affected the reviewer's opinion.