WE HAVE THE RESULTS!!! I won't blather on and on, you've waited long enough. Thanks for showing up and writing awesome stuff. If you missed any of it, go check 'em all out here (You're gonna want to after you read the effusive comments by Rebekah, so just go do it now...). Otherwise, ON TO THE JUDGES COMMENTS!!!
Huge thanks to all of you, especially Alissa, for your
patience as personal obligations prevented my getting the results back as fast
as you deserve. Your stories are,
without exception, fabulous, and I had a grand time reading them. Thank you for
seizing those vials and running in such diverse directions! And thank you for
your gracious indulgence in allowing me to blather on about them. You are far,
far too nice a batch of writers.
Comments:
KDJulicher. What vivid worldbuilding! This story of intrigue
moved effortlessly from its ominous beginning (“No mistakes, Hana”) through
really wonderful plot escalation and a perfect conclusion. This story is the
perfect example of the right sized story for the space—there’s a lot going on
and yes, enough to make the reader crave more; but not so much you feel you’re
trying to swallow a waterfall. Really well done.
Emily Karn, “Poison Princess.” What a dark tale of suffering
and revenge! I really loved the line, “Which duty was greater, the one I owed
my subjects or the one I owed myself?” This sentence perfectly captures this
story’s tension, and the vials so beautifully reflected the greater decision
Melisande needed to make. The prompt of the vials were incorporated seamlessly
in the larger tale. What a great job.
Jamie Hershberger. Love,
love, love the creative use of the vials, testing for “bluebloods” in the
literal sense. This story presents a brilliant execution of the prompt, and a
hilariously tragic ending twist. Ohhhh that duplicitous Royal Blood Tester.
This story is another example of a beautifully sized tale for the space. It’s
also a great example of voice—the Tester’s arrogance, sarcasm, and rabid
efforts to hide his mistake were a delight to read.
DrMagoo. Like I said on Twitter, any story kicking off with
a clever line like “the fate of dinner in my hands” can only be good. I loved
the very funny pairing of the innocuous (dinner prep) with murder; the MC’s
greater concern over how best to complement the poisons culinarily was (pardon
me) delicious and made me laugh out loud. Building in facets of Mark and
Callie’s relationship throughout added perfectly textured depth. An overall
funny, well-executed, thoroughly enjoyable tale.
Rasha Tayaket. Like Jamie’s tale, “Game” flies the mandatory
prompt right out of the box and keeps going. Each vial transforming a contender
into a type of dragon offered us a marvelously fresh take. And WHOA NELLIE, did
you ever do a spectacular job with this intense action scene. I’m taking
serious notes. You timed your pacing so well, pushing the external match
forward in tandem with the combatants’ mental strategizing. And your twist is
so good, flipping the scene on its head and adding a Roman-style layer of
depth.
Mark King. You know you’re in trouble if the fate of Ireland
is at stake!! This trip back to Y2K and its reinterpretation of those
events/fears as well as the priest’s psychosis brought a cleverly dark turn to
the vials. Your “Lady or the Tiger” ending is really well done. It’s a risky
move finishing with a cliffhanger, but what I really love about your final line
is it completes the story’s true tension/question, the priest’s spiritual
journey. That takes an extraordinary level of sophistication, and you’ve pulled
it off with panache.
LurchMunster. Not just a black dragon, but a ROBOT black
dragon. Love at first sight! That’s my personal bias speaking, of course,
though since I’ve long been a fan of LurchMunster’s writing, perhaps I’ll be
forgiven. And man, what a heartbreaker. The embedded scene with the MC’s
great-granddaughter was so beautifully, so tragically done. Like Mark’s story,
the real tension here isn’t the superficial plot and which vial the MC will
drink (though of course we want to know this!), but rather whether he will
choose rest or revenge. What a great story. And what a great revenge it’s going
to be.
Michael Simko. I think I may have snorted my entire way
through this tale. Such fantastically colorful names—Burgomaster, Junkerin
Liesolette, Fürstentum… This world absolutely bursts with life and flavor all
its own. It’s like Iron Chef meets Gladiator. And seriously, a priest that
trips right as he’s about to marry them and save Walther’s life? I just about
died myself. Hysterical. Such a clever tale, and ohh my goodness, an ending
line that made my heart sing with its gorgeous understatement.
Charles Short. Seriously, I know few writers (Alissa is
another one) who can take the smallest of prompts and build the biggest of
worlds. Your scifi/dystopian/allegorical take on the vials made for unique and
compelling reading. I have to say, the
darkly serious tone of the story left me totally unprepared for the
puppy-centric last line, which left me reeling. Now THAT was a twist! And I
really loved the genre mashup. Your execution of this prompt blew the lid off
my expectation. Great job.
Special Challenge Champion: Michael Simko, because the
priest’s death totally killed me.
Grand Champion: Jamie Hershberger. Originality, cleverness, satire,
voice, plotting, pacing—this story’s got it all. I’d love to read more of the
Royal Blood Tester’s (mis)adventures and politickings. Congratulations on a job
really well done.
Thank you, I am so glad you enjoyed the story. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat story, Jamie! Love the color testing and the "accidental death" part of this was done very well. I look forward to reading more!
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