Review: There's A Lot of Good Here
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2014
4 Stars, to me, means that I can recommend, but it is still less than an unqualified endorsement. In the Appendix the author asked for reviews helpful to his writing process and this is presented in that light.This is a "Blade Runner" take on "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?".It's slick. It has an interesting voice. It has some problems if you think about it too hard.The plot devices -- limited life span, limited habitation zone -- are presented without explanation. As they are the crux of the story line's progression they, in the end, feel contrived and, well to put it simply, like  plot devices.All stories will have a history or some outside influence that helps to drive the story. The best will have an internal and realistic logic that will help move the story to it's natural conclusion. When that history (et al) is presented as 'this is the way it is', without reason as to why it is that way, it disturbs the reader's 'suspension of belief'.Given that, the ending is a bit uncomfortable. O. K. we  got there but I'm not sure why.On the other hand. The writing works. The story moves ahead in an interesting and entertaining fashion. It kept my interest and I developed a sympathetic concern for the main characters. Secondary characters were perhaps a bit stereotypical. But then it is a short piece and I doubt that 'fleshing out' those characters would have added significantly to the story.Well done. I enjoyed it. Thanks.