Jason Waltz’s Reviews > Crimson Quill Quarterly: Volume 4 > Status Update

Carson Ray and Knox deliver a decent banger of a close to this issue. There's blood, sorcery, shape-shifting, treachery, temptation, thievery, and religion, lol. The character, challenge, fight, and decision rang solid.

Well gotta say, McIlveen's "Flesh Eater's Curse" was a chore to read. Rather juvenile, way over-the-top protagonist, and heavily, heavily (and often illogically) written. Danger and tenseness and dark deeds existed, but not strongly enough to overcome the writing. This one could use a lot of editing guidance.

Next, Dar is the primary character but he doesn't matter on the last 4 pages which are from another's POV. Both oddities happen in the last five pages, so the story ends dissatisfactorily.

I enjoyed the first Olson Spearslayer story I read so I looked forward to this one. "Cold Steel...and Nothing More" delivers the same fierce fighting & interesting storytelling. However, it also includes 2 odd writing choices: first, a very quick handful of paragraphs answer to Dar's search for his daughter. 10 year search, solved and resolved faster than you read this.

Don't believe I've read anything from Mike Adamson before, and he has such a distinct style, I think I would recall. Talk about a story matching up with the interview answers so deftly! This is a beautifully written, not-quite-story travelogue without much conflict. It took almost 2 pages to hint at the point. Not very exciting or enthralling or short storyish, probably fits better in a novel written similarly.

One of the main reasons I grabbed this issue was because everyone I know has been talking about Logan Whitney's story. I figured it was time I read it. I'm glad I did. It's fun, adventurous, dangerous in numerous ways, and enjoyed by two characters who love a good thrill and steep challenge but not at the cost of comradeship. Fun title. This actually reminds me quite a bit of Logan's hero and tale in my Reach for the

Whelp. Story #2 is better than the first story. It is filled with valor and dark wyrdness and fighting but ...it's an odd mix of things that could be better blended.