Review: Paradoxically Short
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 3, 2012
Abode of the Damned is an extremely short story - in fact it may take almost as long to write this review as it did to read the actual piece. But then again, if the author describes his vision well, brevity would be a blessing. After all, who wants to spend more than the briefest possible time in Hell?I'll not provide any spoilers, partially to protect the potential reader, but also because there isn't really very much to spoil. The tale is very linear and has few plot points to spoil. But I will explain the reason for the 3 stars I awarded.As always, I started with a "perfect" 5 stars, giving the benefit of the doubt. Short stories are among the most difficult areas of prose both to write well, and to enjoy. For the reader, it seems as if one is just settling in for the ride when the time has already arrived to pull into the station and leave. Rather than a long train trip, it's more of a quick shuttle on the subway from one station to the next. The author has limited time to relate the tale and because of this must attempt to make each word count. Contrary to the beliefs of some, a short story isn't just an idea for a novel that failed to fully develop. In actuality, it should be a complete entity unto itself. I deducted 1 star from Abode of the Damned because the story reads more like an isolated chapter from a larger piece than it does as a stand-alone work. There are already events in progress when the story begins and the protagonist is largely dropped into the middle of them. Through pure luck and circumstance, he is propelled to the stated goal of the story - which is something itself that demands further description and explanation. Once said goal is attained, the narrative leaves the main character's plane of existence and leaps to a brief conclusive paragraph that resolves nothing beyond confirming the very beginning of the story. There is virtually no subtext.The second star was deducted because of grammatical and typographical errors. I'm not merciless when it comes to such things - I'll not rip a piece down with a 1-star review because of poor typing skills - but when a "published" piece appears on my Kindle with a typo in the actual TITLE, I know I'm in for a rough ride. (On my Kindle, the title of the book is, "Abode of the Dammed" - presumably a story about a pack of deranged beavers or something.)Matt has some gifts as a writer and the effort is obvious here. For the price you could do worse than give this a quick read. I found it to be the work of someone in the process of development. There is quite a lot of promise shown and as mentioned, short stories are a notoriously difficult thing to write well. With time and continued effort, Matt Cole could become an author to watch. He'll definitely need an editor sooner rather than later, but the potential is definitely there. If you see this review Matt, might I recommend something that will give you a bit more room where you can stretch out your legs and let the ideas flow a bit more easily? If a full novel isn't in the cards for you quite yet, perhaps you can try for a novella instead. Nonetheless, thanks for the effort. I enjoyed Abode of the Damned enough that I don't regret the experience and I hope the criticisms I mentioned are more constructive and helpful than discouraging and detrimental to your future efforts.