Well. It's time for another story review, this tile from our newest review team member, @Talo Segura. Enjoy!

The Transporters
by Israfil

Reviewer: Talo Segura
Status: Complete
Word Count: 16,570

I might have said that you ought to know the forgotten realms of Dungeons and Dragons, but you don't. It was the gnolls who made me go and look it up. As might be appropriate to this genre of story, a portal opened into a fantastic world. I should point out this story does not have a gay tag and is a tale of fantasy and magic, there is no gay theme, but don't let that make you sidestep a good read.

This author has a sense of humour that adds a smile and enhances his writing skills. "...he had two options: stand his ground and face his death or make a futile dash and die running. There was no choice here - he always knew which one he would choose. He spun around and sprinted down the road." It's obvious from the start these guys are anything but seasoned wizards, I mean, he left his rune stick behind!

Being, as far as I know, a first story, there is always room to be better, and this author has all the potential to do so. Some rather nice descriptions pepper the narrative, "Streaks of green scales extended from beneath her eyes, traveling down her cheeks like emerald tears." Mastershakeme commented, "I liked the description and the setting a lot! I kinda imagined being in my rundown apartment and then Holy shit! The alarms are triggered! The apartment's about to become a war zone and the little doggy prisoner, who said they'd be sorry, finally has his day." There is no holding back from the action and whilst the picture of what's happening is revealed slowly, in little snippets, which might be confusing, personally, I liked it that way. You have to work at it a little, which draws you in, at least it did for me.

A reader commented, "The three wizards are proving more interesting than I thought they would be..." which was also true for me. With everything building up, attack upon attack, threats and subtle vying for advantage, the young wizards grow on you, as hopefully their magic abilities will grow, and improve. I'm tempted to say it's a life and death struggle, at the very least that element keeps you turning the pages, as well as rooting for these odd room mates! I love the way the tension is built, how the author drops little hints into the narrative, "...for a moment as a shadow passed in front of the streetlight outside." You might almost miss the significance, it is subtle crafting of the story plot.

If I have any criticisms they are very small, the point made by a reader that there are a lot of characters which might get a bit muddled. However, this is the first story of The Deadwood Chronicles, and as such it has a role in setting the scene and introducing the action and the characters. My only real criticism is there is no second story to continue the tale. So whilst this story is complete, it is the first battle in the war, and for the moment we have no more. Perhaps, we might encourage the author to continue?

I cannot sum things up better than another reader who wrote: "the action was fast-paced and full of adrenaline. This was a quick read and a fun one too."

Category: Fiction  Genres: Adventure, Fantasy  Tags: young adult, magic, wizards, roommates, urban, modern  Rating: Everyone