Mike’s Reviews > Forbidden Acts > Status Update
Mike
is on page 148 of 390
Choke Hold by Lucy Taylor: 4/5 Very difficult to read, but well-written. Would've gotten a 5, if not for the predictable ending.
Blackpool Rock by Philip Nutman: 2/5 (DNF) Hard to follow, premise not great.
Forgotten Promises by Edward E. Kramer: 2/5 This had a shit-ton of potential, but Kramer's approach to this story is transphobic, and focuses too much on shock value instead of character development.
— Mar 21, 2016 07:51PM
Blackpool Rock by Philip Nutman: 2/5 (DNF) Hard to follow, premise not great.
Forgotten Promises by Edward E. Kramer: 2/5 This had a shit-ton of potential, but Kramer's approach to this story is transphobic, and focuses too much on shock value instead of character development.
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Mike’s Previous Updates
Mike
is on page 372 of 390
The Picture of Jonathan Collins by Karl Edward Wagner: 3/5 Interesting premise, and well-plotted, but the characters aren't well-developed enough for this to be memorable.
Happy Couple by Danielle Willis: 5/5 Easily the best story in the anthology. Well-developed characters, very well-written, and there's something atmospheric about it that really resonates with me. Worth the price of admission.
— Apr 13, 2016 03:44PM
Happy Couple by Danielle Willis: 5/5 Easily the best story in the anthology. Well-developed characters, very well-written, and there's something atmospheric about it that really resonates with me. Worth the price of admission.
Mike
is on page 342 of 390
Facets of Solitaire by Christopher Golden: 4/5 This was a nice twist on a typical forbidden romance, and the main characters were surprisingly well-developed. The dialogue and situations were a little cheesy, and I didn't get some of the worldbuilding, but on the whole, this was one of the strongest stories here.
— Apr 09, 2016 11:14AM
Mike
is on page 312 of 390
You Hear What Buddy and Ray Did by John Shirley: 2/5 I liked the voice of the narrator, but the story just wasn't very interesting - cheap, confusing, and not as inventive as it thinks it is.
Playing Dolls by Melissa Mia Hall and Douglas E. Winter: 1/5 This was confusing, badly-written, and overall baffling.
— Mar 26, 2016 11:14AM
Playing Dolls by Melissa Mia Hall and Douglas E. Winter: 1/5 This was confusing, badly-written, and overall baffling.
Mike
is on page 274 of 390
Brainchild by Rex Miller: 2/5 Definitely disturbing in a way that nothing else here is, but it's not very self-aware, and the lack of character development makes it difficult to connect to.
Furies in Black Leather by Nancy A. Collins: 3/5 Part of me wants to write this off as a cheap revenge fantasy, but it is pretty well-written and unpredictable. It just happens to lack any depth whatsoever.
— Mar 25, 2016 08:19PM
Furies in Black Leather by Nancy A. Collins: 3/5 Part of me wants to write this off as a cheap revenge fantasy, but it is pretty well-written and unpredictable. It just happens to lack any depth whatsoever.
Mike
is on page 238 of 390
The Energy Pals by Howard Kaylan: 1/5 The premise is stupid, it's badly-written, and it really doesn't fit in this anthology.
The Agony Man by Don Webb: 3/5 This wasn't bad, it just doesn't stand out very much in this anthology - there are at least two or three other stories that are very similar. The main character was alright I guess.
— Mar 25, 2016 02:42PM
The Agony Man by Don Webb: 3/5 This wasn't bad, it just doesn't stand out very much in this anthology - there are at least two or three other stories that are very similar. The main character was alright I guess.
Mike
is on page 208 of 390
High Heels from Hell by Mike Lee: 2/5 I'm really barely even sure what this story was supposed to be about. It seems like the only point was cheap shock value, and it wasn't even that shocking compared to some of the other stories here. It's not even very well-written. The only saving grace was that the protagonist was kind of a compelling character, but he wasn't put to good use.
— Mar 23, 2016 02:50PM
Mike
is on page 178 of 390
Coming of Age by Douglas Clegg: 4/5 Another one that was difficult to read. The story's potential was somewhat overshadowed by its shock value, but it at least says something, unlike most stories here.
— Mar 22, 2016 08:40PM
Mike
is on page 94 of 390
The Real World by Brooks Caruthers: 3/5 I liked the premise, and even the protagonist. But the story lacked focus, and the themes started feeling a bit pretentious and didactic after a while. I dunno, I feel like Caruthers expected these to be new ideas to me, and they really weren't. But it was still one of the better stories so far.
— Mar 20, 2016 08:14AM
Mike
is on page 64 of 390
Light of Thy Countenance by Alan Moore: 2/5 Good premise, overwritten as fuck.
The Contract by Brain Herbert and Marie Landis: 1/5 Contrived, boring, transphobic.
Blood Knot by Steve Rasnic Tem: 3/5 Very intense, plot twist too unexplained.
Interrogator Frames by Rob Hardin: 2/5 The premise has potential, but the writing isn't very good, and it's just hard to follow.
— Mar 19, 2016 02:13PM
The Contract by Brain Herbert and Marie Landis: 1/5 Contrived, boring, transphobic.
Blood Knot by Steve Rasnic Tem: 3/5 Very intense, plot twist too unexplained.
Interrogator Frames by Rob Hardin: 2/5 The premise has potential, but the writing isn't very good, and it's just hard to follow.
Mike
is on page 14 of 390
I'm working on Light of Thy Countenance by Alan Moore, and... holy shit is this ever overwritten. It doesn't match at all with the tone of the story, and it makes it really hard to follow. Which is a shame, because there is potential here - it's a great premise for a horror story. But as it stands, it reads like Moore is trying to tell a story in the form of a college thesis.
— Mar 18, 2016 02:51PM
