The first thing you should know about this story is that its not really a
short story; its a prequel to Miss.Rae's main work "The Last Degree". A conflict
is set up, the protagonist decides to take action and then the story ends. Its
like a commerical in written form. That being said, I liked it.
The
opening is weak; James stumbles into his apartment between shifts. It quickly
gets better though. My interest perked at the phrase 'zombie night'. Exposition
(James's family, work, etc) fills in as he gets dressed for it. The prose is
this short and jagged thing that fits oddly well with a guy lacking in
motivation and who runs on coccaine.
The scene at the strip club is worth
reading and not for that reason. Its the escalation from a simple party to a
lethal brawl seen through the eyes of a bouncer that drove me from page to page.
The fact that everyone is hyped up on drugs and alcohol and dressed like the
undead makes for nice irony when real blood mixes with red dye.
However,
she started lossing me at the next scene. Debba (the girl on the cover) reveals
her secret to James. Him being a borderline stranger I couldn't fathom why she
would be so open. By the cliff hanger she's lost me entirely because I didn't it
buy entirely and because I can think of an Oscam's Rasor alternative. On the other
hand, my skeptical 'that's it?' was a halfbreed with a disappointed 'that's
it?'. I would have read the second chapter if there was one.
A second
problem I have is Debba's character, though depending on events in the main book
it might not be a problem at all. Based on the ending I feel she is solely here
to give James a kick in the pants and trigger the main work's plot. On TVtropes
we call that "Disposable Woman" and it annoys us, but if the main book reveals
this is not the case than I applaud Miss. Rae for making me think that trope was
in effect before I realized that might not be the case.
Nothing is
resolved. The conflict is only starting at the end. I HAVE read short stories
that worked like this so I suppose it can stand alone in 'X-files' kind of way.
This work being an 'appetizer' for "The Last Degree", though, I feel it would
work better as a prologue than a prequel. I read it in about half an hour (it
took me longer to write this review) and only costs 0.99 cents so if you want
something 'short and sweet' you should buy it.
Click here for the next review request: Nimpentoad
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