[Corvus] Black Magic (review)

[corvus]

Title: Chapter 9 Reviewer: David McLeod

 

The Eileen connection...the Eileen conundrum. The complexity is

rescued by the clarity of characterization...and the down-to-earth

details.Author's Response:

Date: 07/12/2009 03:05 PM

 

 

 

 

Title: Chapter 10 Reviewer: Windkaizer

 

Great story.Author's Response: Thanks for the review.

Date: 07/03/2009 08:26 PM

 

 

 

 

Title: Chapter 8 Reviewer: David McLeod

 

How wonderful it must be to live in a city large enough that one

can order Persian take-out. How interesting the story is becoming!

Date: 07/01/2009 06:09 AM

 

 

 

 

Title: Chapter 7 Reviewer: David McLeod

 

The characters are becoming more complex, more

three-dimensional, and more real. At the same time, the plot and

sub-plots are becoming more ethereal. That is, the story is becoming

more character-driven and less plot-driven, and that's a good thing.Author's Response: The more character-driven the story gets, the less work the author has to do. Thanks for the review!

Date: 07/01/2009 06:00 AM

 

 

 

 

Title: Chapter 7 Reviewer: Windkaizer

 

I really like this story and the way that this is going. The

multiple storylines that you have crafted are amazing. I really am

excited about this story.Author's Response: Thanks -- I'm very glad to hear that.

Date: 06/30/2009 09:23 PM

 

 

 

 

Title: Chapter 6 Reviewer: David McLeod

 

What wonderful imagery in, "Only Eileen could praise airplane food, and tofu at that." Consider, as well, "New England is itself but a self-aggrandized patch of soil, still minty new after three hundred years..." and "The English professor down to a sugar-and-tea, practically Prufrock." For alliteration, try "...the dallying discourse, a circumlocuting comma..."

There's a great deal of colorful and clever language, including one of

Corvus's own poems, and one by Jacob Israel de Haan, that almost, almost

takes the darkness from the critic's self-loathing. This is a powerful

chapter, and not for the faint of heart.Author's Response: Thanks

very much for the review -- I wrote this chapter sitting alone in one

of Harvard's dustier libraries. Glad that paid off.

Date: 06/28/2009 06:05 AM

 

 

 

 

Title: Chapter 5 Reviewer: David McLeod

 

The dance between Chris and Paul was incredibly frustrating. (I

say that in a good way.) There's just the right touch of eroticism mixed

with the wordplay. The timing was excellent...paced just fast enough to

keep me from scrolling to the bottom of the chapter to see what was

going to happen.Author's Response: I'm glad I got the timing down! This scene was fun to write, so I'm glad it turned out well. Thanks, again, for the review.

Date: 06/27/2009 01:44 PM

 

 

 

 

Title: Chapter 2 Reviewer: Procyon White

 

I was chuckling my way through this chapter -- it's great! I

love Alex, he has all my character flaws and a few more but doesn't fret

about it, and their interaction is great, as is the pacing. The

characters are all hilarious, each in their own way, and completely

convincing. Looking forward to the next chapter, but I think I'm saving

it for later... and chapter 4, too... though maybe I'll succumb and go

on reading in an hour or so, who knows.Author's Response: I

guess if you didn't fret about your "character flaws" you'd turn into

something of a cad, so it's probably good that you're so conscientious.

And I dare you to succumb. Haha.

Date: 06/25/2009 08:02 PM

 

 

 

 

Title: Chapter 3 Reviewer: Nephylim

 

Liking it... a lot . It's... how do I describe it... um...

stress free and chatty... and I don't mean there is no tension building

in it I mean it is easy to read.Author's Response: Glad you're enjoying it. And thanks for the review -- much appreciated.

Date: 06/24/2009 08:56 AM

 

 

 

 

Title: Chapter 2 Reviewer: Nephylim

 

Thank heaven for that.... Can't wait for the next one :)Author's Response: Glad to oblige... and there's even more, coming soon.

Date: 06/21/2009 04:56 PM

 

 

 

 

Title: Chapter 1 Reviewer: Nephylim

 

I loved this. Don't tell me this is all we're going to get. Come on... there has to be more.. there just HAS to be

Date: 06/21/2009 03:54 PM

 

 

 

 

Title: Chapter 1 Reviewer: David McLeod

 

Alex's banal, senseless ramblings in the first scene brilliantly

capture the mind of the dilettante. The simile is remarkable (for

example, "it settled gently on his skin like the ends of a kite tail").

The imagery is clear. The characters are well developed: the critic who

is motivated by self-loathing, the neglected boy who wants but does not

want to follow his father's path and then is challenged to do the single

thing that he cannot do.Author's Response: I love your review -- it makes me feel like a real writer.

Date: 06/21/2009 08:34 AM