Herremann the Wise said:
Match 11 - Awaiting Confirmation
Piratecat - confirmed time.
Ycore Rixle
Looking to post these pictures 9:00am Tuesday 27th May (Sydney Time) and will do so if I can get confirmation from both competitor's before that time.
Ycore Rixle - Is the Tuesday start OK (Monday afternoon your time I think)
A Monday afternoon start time is ok (the earlier in the day, the better for me).
Congratulations to all the competitors. I have read every story and been thoroughly entertained. Great stuff. What a collection of writers!
Thank you to the judges for your comments. I will keep them in mind in the second round. As a first time competitor, I found a couple of things (notably the relative importance of the pictures in the judging) a bit murky at first, but I think I'm getting a handle on it.
I commented on Eeralai and Berandor's stories up above. But I have a few more comments on other stories.
Piratecat - I enjoyed reading "Why My Brother Quit Listening to Rock and Roll." The pacing is outstanding, and if I recall correctly, in your notes you said you worked hard on polishing that. The foreshadowing was also superb. I liked the build-up more than the ending, which was still good. Overall, it definitely makes me want a sequel to see what the title's speaker does after he finds out.
FickleGM - The "Fall in lava" line is super. One of the most memorable lines in any of the stories. Well done. I liked that Bob instantly recognized the demon (he's not one of those dumb characters you root against). But I also thought his reaction was a bit too calm. In the end, I had fun reading the story. I will think of it when I am at Gen Con!
Starman - The first time I read this one, it didn't really draw me in. But I went back over it, and I was able to pick up on it. I like the Ouroboros theme, and I felt for the characters stuck in their cycle.
Rodrigo - I didn't find the main character sympathetic until the last line. Then it was like, "Oh yeah, ok, that's a good one." That was well done. Reminds me of Millay's sonnet "Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink."
RangerWickett - I liked the consistent use of symbolism, and your theme of artifice (music) vs. nature (evil, the storm) resonated with me. The poem was excellent as both an example of language even more artificial than prose and as language that is most like music; it scored on one of your major themes. "The Saints Go Marching In," played by the cell phone (a perfect example of techonology married to music), was another pitch-perfect choice. I love literary writing. Your story reminded me of Robert Frost when he was asked by someone about whether or not he thought of such mundane things as meter and metonymy when he wrote his beautiful poems ("Think of 'em? I RELISH 'em!"). You clearly relish literature, and it was a feast for the reader as well.