Review: This isnt a short story, it's a few chapters.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 05 14, 2013
EDIT: Ms Low was kind enough to read and comment on my review, and now I tend to blame the publisher. Marketing this as a "short story" sucked. I've read her other short stories, they're great. She mentions that she wrote it as vignette ("In theatrical script writing, sketch stories, and poetry, a vignette is a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression about a character, idea, setting, or object.") That's exactly what this is, and it fulfilled that idea to a "T." (:D) Unfortunately for me, the expectation of a short story (ie, a plot instead of a few scenes. Well, it did have a vague meta-plot, but not one specifically story-specific) and disappointment in what it actually was still stands. Had it been clearly noted as vignette, I think I would have actually liked it, because it did have an interesting sketch for a new 'world'. Like I said - I blame the publisher.ORIGINAL REVIEW: Let me preface my disappointed negative review with this: Im a big fan and this so-not-a-short-story wont change that. In fact, Im probably being harsher as a fan than I would have been otherwise, because I trusted her to give me something special and interesting, and she welshed on the deal. I do hope she reads this and it generates one teensy smidge of forethought regarding her next "short story".I ended up giving this 2 stars because it's a decent beginning of a standard Gennita Low book. Keyword "beginning". It's not set in her standard COS/GEM world, and while there's a  wink-wink-nudge-nudge "gleam of silver eyes" cameo from a passing character, the world isnt explained at all. It's hinted at, like she does in the beginning of her other stories, but then .. that's it! The story is over! You have two characters you've never met before, with an ... agency or ... something shadowy and mysterious and underground-y..... the barest outline of a plot point, and that's all. I could forgive the lack of info on "The Temple" (that's the shadowy, underground-y... whatever it is) but the lack of *a plot* made me very disappointed. I feel like Ms Low opened up a file of old story ideas, tossed in an incredibly bare-bones love scene (and excused herself by saying, well, the person who's POV it was from doesnt remember very much, so it's not like I had to write anything), and threw it up for $2 to make a quick and easy buck.She does mention at the end she plans to do some short stories on 'the early years' (read: story ideas from before the COS/GEM world was fully fleshed out) but THIS WASNT A SHORT STORY. It was a few chapters, little more than an intro. If she'd have introduced it as a serial novel, I'd have given it 4 stars, because at least I would have some faith the blanks were going to be filled in. As it stands, we're left with two people we dont know, she doesnt give us enough info or motivation to care about them, and the ending is left completely up in the air. I do mean completely. It ends with the heroine saying, "I've never thought beyond the promise of us." Dont worry sweetheart, neither did your author.All I could think when I was done is ... jeeze, I guess it's a good thing Amazon gives a 7 day return period.