Status Updates From Beating Hearts & Battle-Axe...

“The Cold Curse of Drathe” by Valerie Valdes. Aside from the weird apostrophes in almost all her made-up words, the story was good. Most of the others were thin characterizations, but good enough for the needs of this short story; Alena was solid enough to carry the story. The romance was told in flashbacks, giving some resonance to the ending. The weird city was appropriate for a sword & sorcery story.

The story, “Luck is Blind,” starts off well, naming the character, where the character is going, and what he is hoping for, all in the first paragraph. Immediately, Tris (the protagonist) is put into jeopardy, and we meet the additional characters. I like the characters and their portrayals. This story was good. This author knows how to craft characters that are likeable and fun to read about. I’ll give it an A.

"Anchors We Make" by Brent Lambert. There was no romantic element. Sure, the main characters were married, but it wasn’t like they need to rekindle their romance, or anything. The homophobic city protected by an army of gay guys was unconvincing.
I loved the Silent priests and their Words. Excellent concept. I liked the two main characters. I liked the overall plot.
I’ll give this story a C+ rating.

“The Demon’d Mirror of Rivilis the Damned” by David C. Smith was a joy to read. The difference between his story and the previous two are night and day. Smith knows how to write a sword & sorcery story.

"A Day in Irighaya." Yeah, this story sucked. It was bad. No likeable characters, no hint of sword & sorcery. I guess it’s happening in Uzbekistan, but they have clockwork horses and giant Kaiju-sized gods that walk around fighting each other? There was no plot, just random events happening.

I should point out that I am reading Bryn Hammond's "A Day in Irighaya." But, WOW. So many names with Qs, Js, and Zs. So much made of names in the first two pages. Compelling reading this does NOT make. One character's name is "Angaj-Dazmut." That's a mouthful. I should write an article on why people trying to sound exotic should stay away from Qs, Js, and Xs, because... damn.

Wow. Two pages in. So many names. And so many of them starting or using the letter Q. Too many amateur authors use names with Qs or Xs, thinking them exotic, but then they overdo it. In two pages, we have the Qaidam Marshes, Qi Miao, Qurjaqus... not to mention the J's and Z's in abundance. Too many names in two pages. Shit.

Finished "Rifts in Nature" by SL Huang. I didn't care for the story at all. There was nothing to hook me. The main character was unlikeable and had no discernable value to the story until the end. The romance was okay, I guess, but I just didn't care for Dorial at all. And Jason, named after Jason and the Argonauts, seemed out of place as a name. Took me four sittings to get through 39 pages. It was dull.

Started "Rifts in Nature," but paused because it had WAY too much whining.