drsawzall

In a way, I feel sorry for Frank, beneath that gruff exterior is a sad and miserable boy. it seems to me he was the clumsy outsider amongst his peers, the one picked last when teams formed up for games. Frank leaned back in his chair, arms crossing over his chest. For a moment the professional mask slipped just enough for Marc to see the man underneath: tired but satisfied, the loner who pushed everyone away but maybe did not want to anymore. Then the mask returned.

Who doesn't love a good short story, one that fuels the imagination when a new universe of possibility is created. Drawing the reader in and leaving questions and thoughts to ponder and ruminate on. One of my personal favorites was The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Such great care was taken in creating a world that left me wanting to know more about this world, the whys, the hows, and the what-if's... And that, my friends, is the power of a short story...

Still not much in the way of information leading to definitive answers, and plenty of fodder in the comments to feed multiple red herrings!

This I gotta see…..as I wait with bated breath…ya gotta love rioters wearing only underwear….

The first weak link…if Gesi doesn’t have this man, he may never…Sazama might be the the second weakest link, he has his doubts and when pressed just may crack… I’ve been cleaning up our traces in the forged silver case. The magistrate at Naga Port claims the Draeya General received an order to capture the thieves stealing the Sura Clan Ore. We can’t find Hulan, who we placed at the port to track the Sura. Draeya General may have caught him.” Gesi Ajai frowned. “It doesn’t matter,” Gesi said, shaking his head. “The deal I made with Basileus Dio to get Naeri married into the Maenaer house gives us some protection. Basileus Dio will suppress any evidence brought to him by the Draeya General. Still, we should find Hulan. In case he has turned on us.” Let’s not forget the spy Gesi sent with his daughter, I have to believe she will trip up…. And now for Azula to see to their defense and new trading partners…

Gesi Ajai, as noted earlier is a snake, for all his plots he’ll never realize his fondest wishes. Arrogant fools such as he never realize or recognize that they plant unwittingly, the seeds of their downfall…Be it a simple mistake or oversight or diplomatic blunder, his fate is all but certain… While Azusa and sister, along with the remaining survivors of this purge, retreat back to their island it is important to remember, the trade with the kingdom is not their only option…we know from a previous chapter that there are other outlets for their wares…this perhaps will give them the time to rebuild their businesses….and Dio has much to answer for…

Johnny is a step closer to finding that "spark' within himself. The scenes the director paints with a camera are doomed to fail when there isn't authenticity. Then you're losing the audience. Great acting allows the viewers to suspend reality for a while, as they become invested in the characters the actors portray. The camera knows when an actor fails to make 'that' connection. Fingers crossed here

Lord Gesi is a snake, he’ll make a mistake or slip up, and I can’t wait for it…

I got a bit smarter this time around with the biggest, 37 ton, wood splitter out there…with the the price of propane about to hit the roof, it’s time to fight back!

Wowzer…I have the utmost respect and faith in out little street rat…wonder what the over/under is for the bodies he leaves behind…

The thought just occurred to me while I was splitting some wood for the winter…it would be, and this is the vengeful pri&k in me, poetic justice if both Albert and Rob were to meet an untimely end, either by doing something so stupid as to incarcerate them for life, or die in an accident as they were being foolhardy a-holes… Oh well…one can only hope…

And nothing will be the same at war’s end….

Here’s hoping the burglars all get a nice hole in the head…

Loneliness, clubbing, and booze…a great combination….toss in being a prick tease, and there’s nothing like getting carried away…

Right, I had that bassackwards...should not be on the PC so early...

Can you better explain Mickey's mother's need for a male to assume the mantle of "family" leadership? As a woman, one would think that she could find within her "family" someone, and excuse the pun, the balls to run her organization... I had thought/wondered why Jessie's ability to always find, and track Mickey had something to do with Hughie and your comment confirmed it... Which then leads to the question, why doesn't Hughie, for the lack of better words, step in sooner when Mickey begins to spiral? That Hughie lets the disease progress to the point as it has devolved to now, makes me think that Hughie may have "issues' of his own... The vendor was silent for a long moment. Then he reached into a crate and pulled out an AI core—older than the others, scarred, its light flickering irregularly. "This one's damaged. Glitchy. No one wants it. It's yours." Mickey took the core. It was warm in his hands, pulsing like a heartbeat. Mickey paid an awfully steep price for a ''damaged' AI that was unsellable... I wonder if Hughie is more than a 'basic' AI....

Well…the die is cast, the battle for the holy city is about to begin, augmented by Julian’s good fortune, and a cunning wife worthy of tremendous respect… What is left is seeing the future Wylan foretold can be changed as Darren seems to think…

A classic case of how to win friends and influence people…..

While they won’t be invented for more than one hundred years, August’s brother and father are in desperate need of some distemper vaccinations…..

My goodness, talk about starting off with a bang…..

Looks like a wait and see hanger

It goes to figure the bigger the spacecraft the more snacks are available… Dimitri, you might want to keep Gremlin in a closet or hide in the bathroom when you need to relieve yourself! Isiah was right to hang up on dear old granny…perhaps she and “Father Bell” could canoodle across the galaxies on a shuttle built for two….

Could not have said it any better…

Despite the sad circumstances, things appear to be moving forward without any major setbacks… Lets hope the proper paperwork to bring them to Australia doesn’t bog down…

Absolutely loved this story, well written and just a pleasure to read, as you can tell by my reactions to this story. If I had one complaint, it came to an end...