Review: Didn't quite hit the mark...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 18, 2013
I received a free copy of The Memory Lights in return for an open and honest review.I was initially drawn to this novel, by the accompanying blurb.I had thought I'd be handing out a 4 or 5 star review. It sounded like something that I could sink into. Alas, I was left a little disappointed that the story itself didn't live up to its promise.For me, the story lacked depth. Depth of plot, depth of character etc and read more like a first or second draft. There is the promise of a great story hidden amongst the bare bones on offer here. I would have liked to have read more back story and character development, as the story stands, there is no real explanation of why the heroine has so many names. Yes, we do get some indication of why at the end, but even that is a little hurried and confusing. Why would her 'husband' call her by both names?The story also appears to be hurried,with the resolutions thrown in at the end and there was an over use of 'SHE' which proved to be distracting. There were other issues with the use of Americanisms like 'BLOCK' which wouldn't apply to Victorian England.There are also some minor editorial errors, most notably within the first paragraph that could do with some attention.On the whole, as a short story I'm afraid it didn't quite hit the mark for me.