Review: Enjoyable twist on a classic short story - needs editing.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 30, 2012
The  criticism:if I could split my rating into categories, one for grammar, and the other for the storytelling, I'd start by giving the grammar only 3 stars because the editor missed glaring errors - enough so that I was distracted.  Although there were some other problems, most often it was that prepositions popped up repeatedly, and seemingly in search of their objects. (**Grammar Lesson: In the prepositional phrase, "on the shimmering sand,"  the word "on" is the preposition, and "sand" is the object.**)  Clearly, as the author revised and re-wrote, sometimes she neglected to delete a preposition in a phrase that she'd changed or eliminated.  ANY competent editor should have found these errors.  In fact, using Microsoft Word's grammar check, the errors should have been highlighted as needing revision.The endorsement:Nevertheless, I'm not on this site to criticize the grammar, but to praise the storytelling, which is 5 star.With his interest in gadgetry and invention, this new version of Aladdin is not only charming but also truly clever - and not just in the flashy-grin Disney version sense.Aladdin's opponent does not disappoint.  He displays all the cunning of a true back-stabbing, double-dealing, low-down con man and all-round reprobate.Then there's the genie in the lamp.  Will he be powerful but frightening?  Will he be comedic like in a Daffy Duck cartoon?  This being steampunk set in Victorian-era Arabia, will there really be a genie at all?  Uh...yeah, there's a genie. That's all I'll say.Aladdin's adventures should not end with this story, so I await the next installment.Order and read with confidence knowing that you'll have to use your good sense to fill in the meaning when one of those stray prepositions or other grammatical errors pops up.