SOL: Story Reviews

Island Mine by Refusenik

2013-05-19T03:28:36Z

"Refusenik: Endings Guaranteed" would be the slogan that I used to market the author of Island Mine. Two stories in six months, both unique on SOL and both complete; I'm not sure which of these attributes is more unusual or interesting.

I usually wait a little and gather my thoughts before writing a review, but it seems that IM will join its predecessor in forcing me to write a review immediately following its conclusion. Where to even start with this bundle of excitement?

First, I suppose it's worth mentioning that readers looking for something similar to Human: Phoenix will likely be disappointed. I don't mean this as a bad thing, just that everything about this story is very different, excepting some stylistic influence from the author. H:P was the story of a troubled young boy as he grew into a slightly older boy, whereas IM is about a young man who is mostly settled on who he is but continually runs into trouble in the course of his plans for not dominating the world.

On the topic of those plans, this story's base premise reminded me of any number of other stories that I've seen on SOL. The difference, however, is that Refusenik put some work into crafting a background for it, and, as a result, it didn't just devolve into a series of mind-numbing orgies. For this, I am massively thankful, and I hope that some other authors can take note of the use of "plot" and "events" here for use in their own works.

Character-wise, I think Refusenik has improved tremendously in the course of writing this story. Waylon is still a little clumsy and robotic at times, but his personality shines through for most of the story. Other characters, however, feel fleshed-out and realistic.

My favorite parts of this story, without a doubt, were the Crystal City scenes. Refusenik managed to create a very entertaining portrayal of military and governmental bureaucracy, and I found myself looking forward to each one. The downside is that towards the end I found myself enjoying and anticipating them more than the main story. Perhaps this is a case of too much success?

Technically this was one of the best-written stories I've ever read here. An incredibly impressive effort here, and the time spent was well worth it.

One thing that I've noticed in reading the author's blog, and in the way that the story is set up, is that readers seem to be demanding that this story either go on infinitely or have a large number of sequels. Regardless of whether the author intends to write a sequel, I'm going to go on record here: Island Mine should end here. Some stories SHOULD continue, some stories CAN continue, and other stories are complete. This is one of the latter kinds. The proper response is to acknowledge your enjoyment, thank the author, and then reflect on what you've read.

This is a good, well-written story by an up-and-coming author who I hope to continue seeing more of. It has a satisfactory resolution, and I'm grateful for the chance to have read it.

Plot: 9 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

A Servant of Wisdom by Invid Fan

2013-05-18T07:30:08Z

I've read only the first two chapters of this story, but I am intrigued.

Invid Fan is a good writer. His style is gentle and easy to read, flows well, and mercifully free of technical errors. If people don't like his work that can't be the reason.

It shouldn't be the characters -- they are sympathetic, and well drawn.

The plot? I found the opening pages a little slow, but otherwise interesting enough to keep me reading. I don't want to give away secrets, but there are elements of faith in this, a story by an admitted atheist. There is a God in it. Or perhaps that should be a god, small "g" but that's the reason for the story, I think.

There's no reason I can see for a low score. It doesn't deserve it.

I'm looking forward to future chapters.

Plot: 8 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 8

Wifes Arrest by Duck22

2013-05-17T02:37:16Z

Must be English as a second laguage. It is a pity that writer does not use an Editor or a Proof Reader to help along Duck22, after all it is a free SOL service. The story about a criminal family, corrupt cops, and whores dressed as wives, could be a fun read, but not with all of the errors as it stands.

Plot: 2 | Technical Quality: 2 | Appeal to Reviewer: 2

Last Frontier I by Luckier Dog

2013-05-15T10:34:01Z

I just finished Last Frontier I by Luckier Dog and for the most part found it VERY readable.
He proves you don't have to have sex dripping from every paragraph or chapter to write well.
I do wish the characters were developed more. Did I miss another prequel?
I just seemed to dump the characters into various scenarios with little or no back ground to justify the setting.
The story is good and I'll look forward to reading more of his works.
I did read the epilog and felt a few words should be said.

I'm a Pagan. Always have been and always will be. That said, it does not mean I cannot appreciate another's efforts, not only in his writing but his life. Good On YA!.

Don't let the little minded dweebs get your goat. Live your life as YOU see fit, guided by what YOU believe. Let the others observe and wish.

'sheets

Plot: 8 | Technical Quality: 8 | Appeal to Reviewer: 8

Happy Trails With My Sister by Lubrican

2013-05-15T02:39:45Z

Lee and her brother, Robby, are the epitome of how a one parent brother and sister should be with each other; supportive, sexually aware of each other, as they are partial nudists, and on a family camping trip with their giant of a father. Circumstances dictate that they share the pull-out bed in the camper, which only leads to the pleasant culmination of their love for each other.It surprises me that Lee doesn't become pregnant from the unprotected lovemaking, but we can only hope that she does, because it has become the norm for those delightful tales of family love that I personally like so much from Bob's dirty, salacious mind, for which we thank him!

Oh, and enjoy!

Now when it comes to reviews there is normally a place to show sexual content ... but it's missing but I give it an eight out of ten ... no pregnancy!

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

But Who Am I Really? by RH Music

2013-05-12T02:35:42Z

I had this story come up on a random search. I would probably not normally read it, but I decided to do so, and I'm glad I did. It was very good.

On his last day of vacation in Ireland, Hugh picks up a beautiful local hitchhiker, Erin. That night, an ancient Irish lullaby has unexpected side-effects and the couple is thrust into a new life which they find strangely wonderful. What happened is that their minds switched bodies.

Apparently the hormones are a large part of whether the body feels male or female. This story is written from Hugh's perspective. It is interesting to see Hugh adjustment to what his body is now experiencing as he experiences love and finally pregnancy and marriage.

Through the whole story the 2 characters are trying to figure how to get back to their own bodies. When they finally figure out how to do it, the outcome is as expected.

The editing of this story was VERY good. I was astonished when I looked and saw that it was not even updated.

The sex was there, but not a major part of the story. Sometimes the masturbation parts were even hotter than the intercourse.

A very good read. Not a normal transgender story.

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

A Sunday Afternoon by Edward EC

2013-05-12T12:26:29Z

This is really not bad at all! I only read it out of curiosity and because it is short. 'Spanking' is not normally my thing, and I think it often sounds very silly when I hear about it in the news, and can be even sillier when somebody writes fiction about it. Now, if not exactly 'converted', I'm a little more 'enlightened'!

A real sense of the mentality behind it is conveyed by the author. This paragraph sums it up nicely:

'Her weekly spanking is her real life: not her job, nor her family, nor her friends. It is only on Sunday afternoons that she truly comes alive. This where she belongs. She now is where she wants to be, where she needs to be. Over his lap she will receive the one thing from life she most craves. She will find her pain, her release, her intense pleasure, and her escape. This is where she will redeem her meaningless existence from the last six days.'

Also, the manner of writing it in the 'simple present' tense and the characters being nameless is very effective. It reads as a snapshot of this particular fetish which those who practise it would no doubt enjoy very much, but those of us not in the game also get a voyeuristic pleasure out of the story.

Wow, spanking is actually quite a horny pastime - if done right, and if the arse (British spelling for me) is a good one! That's one small criticism: more attempt could have been made to describe this lady's butt a bit more vividly, especially as it is kind of the 'lead character'! I'd like to have an idea what the two people look like too.

But a very neat little effort, especially if this is a first-time author here. Very solid technically too.

I'd like to see what Edward EC can do with a more wide-ranging story or other types of sex.

Plot: 8 | Technical Quality: 8 | Appeal to Reviewer: 8

Naked in the Spring by Jacqueline Jillinghoff

2013-05-10T11:16:58Z

Jacqueline Jillinghoff may be the only author on SOL who would even dare to open a story with a quote from Walt Whitman, one that works perfectly with the piece.

This is one of JJ's little gems in her Danielle series. Danielle likes to get naked -- in public where she might get caught clothes-less. She's gotten naked in school (no, this is not part of the Naked in School universe) but now spring is here and she wants to get naked outside, only Daddy's made her promise not to.

To say that JJ captures Danielle's "voice" perfectly is understatement:

"I kept my promise to Daddy for a whole week, which I think was pretty good, but finally I had to give in. It was nighttime, though, so I told myself it didn't count."

The atmosphere, the feel of the story is perfect. You'll feel what Danielle is feeling -- the sights, the sounds, the scents, and the delicious wickedness of daring to venture out into the night, where Danielle makes an interesting discovery about herself.

It is short, it is sweet, and it is hot, a superb addition to JJ's collection.

I don't seem to have the opportunity to give it a Stroke value, but if I could it would be a 10+.

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Family Pool Party by Lubrican

2013-05-10T12:20:01Z

Warning: spoiler lower down after 'the almost French-farcical...'

Here is your model 'stroke story'. There is not a lot of time wasted in build-up, background or description, but enough is provided to give us the bare flesh (so to speak) of the characters. Much of it feels like tongue-in-cheek, but Lubrican captures the burgeoning sexuality of a teenage girl-come-woman with lots of neat little strokes (again, so to speak):

'I wanted to look down at her thrusting breasts, to see how close they were to me' - yep, we men know that situation!

'There was nothing girlish about the woman who kissed me back, either' - easy to imagine that!

'...only been three or four years back, when Megan was filling out and flowering into womanhood.' - yep, that's a 13/14yo for you, in a nutshell.

And Lubrican conveys her here indirectly, with this simple strong phrase: 'My cock had lost some of its firmness while we talked, but now it reared back up to full potential.'

And, yep, don't under-estimate what goes on in the mind and libido of a 14yo, let alone a 17yo: 'It turns out she'd have let me do this when she was still fourteen and still sitting on my lap. Except her mother forbade her.'

Since she is the all-important character, as a male reader I would have liked a little more visual description of 'Megan'. With what little brushstrokes are given, she leaps off the page, so how much more vivid she could have been. Bum? Hair? Eyes? The way she smiles? Legs? Vagina when naked? Come on, Lubrican!

Also, the almost French-farcical ending where we find out that everybody has been having sex with everybody for years in this 'close' family could possibly benefit by a deeper knowledge of their characters, and how they came to be like this. As Megan said, "we are unusual". It was, however, beyond the scope of the genre, so not a weakness as such - but a curiosity to know more about them all!

As with any story, it's an enjoyable ride when it's presented well. As you'd expect of a prize-winning author, grammar, narrative, formatting and dialogue are excellent. Lubrican's talent for good turns of phrase give even this outlandish premise a lot of conviction!

Plot: 9 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 8

Psst! My Sister Loves Me - Dammit! by Lubrican

2013-05-09T12:59:07Z

You have to be a born loser to really understand this story of a mean, ugly, cheap son-of-a-bitch who even gets fucking his sister wrong. And his life as an opinion pollster wannabe is the pits. He actually decides that he is going to tell the new show producers what is wrong with their scripts, and sad to say, he's right.

So, he gets his sister pregnant, and she wants another one as soon as they can. All his totally stupid loser ideas end him up a gadzillionaire, and however bad his comments are he makes a million telling them how wrong they are.

So blame it all on Bob and Peaches, they're the ones who wrote it. All I had to do was read it. They're going to let me out of the Home next week.

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Triple-A Dushay by Tony Stevens

2013-05-08T05:40:11Z

I was suckered into reading this story, I read the story details, and there was no mention of baseball, so I started to read. I know nothing about baseball! Shit! I know nothing about cricket! That's one of my national games, and isn't AAA the American Automobile Association? Once I started to read though, I was hooked.

Despite the wealth of baseball references, most of which could have been written in Sanskrit as far as I was concerned, I was almost compelled to stick with the tale until the bitter end. There were no silly mistakes to spoil my concentration, no grim grammar, or horrific homophones, just a great story, well told.

The tale doesn't have a happy ending, though it does offer the possibility of good things to come, but don't let any of that put you off, just keep the box of Kleenex handy. I might add, that none of the other stories in the Take Me Out To The Ballgame series even came close to grabbing me like his one. So again, get out the Kleenex!

Read, and enjoy!

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 9 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

The Coctail Cabinet Eye Opener by Winterfrog

2013-05-07T01:37:26Z

I have mixed feelings about this story. I like the blunt and honest kind of way it is written, and the reflections on right and wrong, which give it some substance. I liked the 'detective work' with which the adultery is discovered early on, hence the title which encapsulates the story perfectly. If it wasn't for the cabinet discovery, his eyes would have remained 'closed' and maybe everybody would have carried on 'happily ever after', so to speak. That's quite thought-provoking: I wonder how many couples in real-life cheat one each other and it is blissfully never discovered?

One not-so-good thing was the technical quality. I hesitate to give it a very low score for this, as it seems the author might not be a native English-speaker, but it does say it has been proof-read. Well, it could use a lot more commas, in my opinion. A lot of the sentences look very 'teenage' in their execution, and there is not a lot of grammatical imagination to enhance the emotions. The paragraphs break up the prose for no other reason than to break it up, like someone has taken a paper-slicer to it at regular intervals like the Romans put castles exactly a mile apart on Hadrian's Wall regardless of the terrain.

The topic of adultery and cheating would normally appeal to me much more than the '7' I gave it, but we could have done with some actual sex in the story: basically, it was all tell and no show.

Finally, I'm left feeling a bit pissed about all the fall-out and the proletariat revenge-ethic. I always believe that if people could just chill out a little about sex and 'share and share alike', all this angst and jealousy could be avoided. But that's just me, a pervert.

Plot: 9 | Technical Quality: 5 | Appeal to Reviewer: 7

The Perfect Visitor by Lubrican

2013-05-06T12:52:36Z

I dunno why, but I'm a sucker for Bob's stories. And then to top it off it is Edited by his personal Editor, Peaches! Now in this delightful story about an old, old, retiree named, surprise, surprise, Bob. Now poor old Bob seems to be a Born Loser, his wife has left him for greener pastures, and his sister-in-law's daughter, who has Goth tendencies,and a six year old son who is a budding Leonardo da Vinci, who is searching for her families roots arrives for a weeks stay with Gramps, falls in love with her, but she plays hard to get.

Now Mr. Lubrican has a policy about incest; if she wants it, she gets it, but no prophylactics, or BCPs, or timely withdrawls, and it makes for a much more entertaining tale.

But the trouble is, when does she, who disdains marriage, get preggers?

Enjoy this story inspired by Peaches herself.

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Thicker Than Blood by StangStar06

2013-05-05T02:19:11Z

Cindy has lived her whole life with her poor, overlooked sister Mindy having to live a troubled, sad life. Mindy just never had anything, except the love and support of her parents, and the ability to fuck up anything that could make Cindy happy, including stealing all of Cindy's boyfriends.

And now, Mindy has something else - Tim. Tim is perfect, he's a great guy that treats Mindy like no one else has treated her, and she is in love.

Cindy, in the meantime, has lived her whole life to make her parents proud, something that would never happen. It's love at first sight for her with Tim, but instead Mindy is getting everything she wants as usual.

A great story about a girl who is perfect, who's had a terrible life, and a cheating, fat, slut of a woman who's had everything handed to her and appreciated none of it.

Really entertaining, great pacing, and a great ending.

Plot: 7 | Technical Quality: 9 | Appeal to Reviewer: 7

Lauren and Bonnie by Coaster2

2013-05-02T10:39:33Z

Zach has a loving marriage with his wife, as their sons grow up though she starts to look outside the family to develop herself and takes on a job and her priorities shift.

Lauren and Bonnie is a short story about family, and setting priorities and expectations, and what should be important.

It's a good, short read and worth the time to appreciate the storytelling inside it.

Plot: 6 | Technical Quality: 8 | Appeal to Reviewer: 6

Runaway by Sparkyman1961

2013-05-01T10:14:41Z

"Runaway" is a story about Duncs, an electrical engineer by trade and Amy, a homeless runaway at the end of her line. Duncs, having travelled to conduct some work away from his home office, unexpectedly stops to help a raggedy homeless teenage girl. At first the girl, Amy, is coarse, blunt and fairly withdrawn. Duncs, unsure why he's trying to help the girl as it's outside is normal tendencies, slowly but surely breaks down the walls Amy's surrounded herself with.

Amy's had an absolutely horrible childhood. The daughter of a former teenage mom, Amy has been subjected to physical, mental and sexual abuse by the plethora of guys that comes and goes out of her mother's life. Her only escape has been an exercise bike that has kept her slim and in excellent physical shape.

Duncs is a kind and gentle man. He's a father to a teenage daughter and son and he's married as well. His marriage, however, has become strictly platonic. He misses the companionship and love of his wife. He knows that they're still together if for nothing else than their kids.

Over the course of the story, Amy transforms from a withdrawn bitter girl into a beacon of beauty and love, much like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a beautiful, colorful butterfly. Not everything is peaches and cream, though, and Duncs and Amy go through their own bit of struggles. Soon Amy is accompanying Duncs on his work projects and eventually gets hired at the company he works with. Along the way, Duncs daughter, Jessie, becomes Amy's first and firmest friend, someone who's almost important to Amy as Duncs is. In the end, as much as it kills him to do so, Duncs lets Amy go so she can become even more than what she currently is. They've remained in each other's life; Duncs comes to consider her his adopted daughter.

For me this was a very heart-warming and touching story. As sad as the ending is, this is a must-read story. Sparkyman1961 has crafted a truly excellent story with "Runaway".

This is no stroke story, however it does have more than a fair bit of sex in it. It takes a couple chapters to get into the first sex scene, but after that the sex holds up very well.

Even without the sex, this story would be one that I'd still strongly recommend.

There weren't many technical issues with the story. There were MAYBE a handful throughout the entire story. As long as the story is, it's almost expected to have a few mistakes in it, but luckily the mistakes that were there didn't detract from the story whatsoever. One thing a reader might have to get used to is the use of Britsh English. Sparky has included a small glossary for some of the words and slang terms for those of us who are American or don't know British English very well.

Again, I absolutely loved this story. The romance in it, along with showing the best in humanity, gives this a very high appeal rating for me. This is, by far, the best story I've read on SOL. Read it; you won't be disappointed if you do!

Ultranumb74

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Overcoming the Bitch by James Muddelson

2013-05-01T12:23:03Z

David's the only guy in the office who can deal with "the Bitch", Elizabeth. His coworkers can't stand her, his boss is even having problems with her, and she's making everyone's lives a misery.

He sees that she's just a dedicated, driven professional woman, and can see where she's trying - but he's her equal and it's not his place to do anything about it.

That is until his boss begs him to try and help with the problem.

He asks her to get a drink and discovers "the Bitch" is actually someone he could get to like.

A fun story with an amusing set-up. A nice diversion, with some sexiness and a woman that I think we could all fall in love with. Even if she is a bitch.

Plot: 7 | Technical Quality: 9 | Appeal to Reviewer: 8

Intersecting Circles by Jay Cantrell

2013-05-01T10:26:11Z

Eric is a guy who doesn't really like the rainy days, they've never worked out well for him. When his golf day is interrupted by rain he has no idea how bad the day is going to get though.

So, it's a cheating wife tale, but it is pretty optimistic. I enjoyed it quite a bit and liked the approaches taken through the story as Eric deals with his wife's infidelity and settling into his new life.

No sex really, but it's a nice story, and when you get stuck in a rut of reading cheating wives tales and feeling gloomy, this one can help break you out.

Plot: 7 | Technical Quality: 9 | Appeal to Reviewer: 7

Second Chance by S-Des

2013-04-28T09:04:05Z

Tim is the highschool geek who never had much going for him but his head - and then into his life comes Pete. Pete is a few years older and acts as a mentor for Tim, guiding him to a better future and opening up opportunities.

With a bit of attention, Tim starts to blossom, become more social, more secure, and more sure of himself. In college he starts to fall for a beautiful girl who stops him dead in his tracks and lands him flat on his ass.

This story is so full of heartbreak and heartache, there's cheating and mistrust and hope and joy... such a tremendous emotional roller-coaster that had me in tears several times.

Seriously gut-wrenching and a fantastic read - it takes you through several years of Tim's life and how a lifetime of hurt can affect a man, his relationships and his relationships, both in college and in adult life.

There are some sex scenes scattered, and they are fairly intensely charged and very erotic and add to the plot well.

I don't want to spoil anything because it is something that you need to experience for yourself - it's a romantic and incredibly emotional journey and I highly advise you to take the time to read it and stick with it to the end.

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Lost in (Fold) Space by Tedbiker

2013-04-27T02:21:01Z

Now let me get this right, Hex is an FTL Captain, like a Master of an Ocean going vessel on Earth. Only he is travelling through the cosmos via 'folds' in space/time. He loves his job, except he is without a mate. However his freighter is diverted to a point in space occupied by an earthlike world controlled by an Artificial Inelligence he humanises by calling 'her' Andromeda. She takes the form, read Avatar, of his ideal woman and by her laws he assumes ownership of the world. His sense of duty obligates him to return to Headquarters and then gets caught up with burocracy and if not for the fact that his world will not accept anyone from accessing her property he would be pushed aside. Instead he is sent back to his lover, and his rightful place in its future and all is well again.

I enjoy Ted's fertile mind and his ability to write entertaining stories which leaves you with the desire to read another 'tedbiker book' Enjoy!

Plot: 9 | Technical Quality: 9 | Appeal to Reviewer: 9

Check "Yes" or "No" by HLD

2013-04-19T11:08:50Z

Jacob has had the local women interested in him since he came to town and started teaching at the high school. Unfortunately, he came to town with his wife, Tracy.

Now though, Tracy is divorcing him, as her mother has been a poison pill to their marriage.

Now he is back on the market, who will he fall for? How about another teacher - Ann Marie is a beautiful woman who has been hot for him since he started working with her, but can he take the chance?

A very cute story with a great gimmick, that you can probably guess from the title. Very romantic and just a little hot to boot.

Plot: 7 | Technical Quality: 9 | Appeal to Reviewer: 8

Lights by Phil Brown

2013-04-19T11:01:42Z

Allie has just started at a new school and is lost, literally. Just then a handsome guy helps her out in the middle of the rushing throng between classes. She is instantly smitten and he seems to have been bitten as well.

Chase, the guy in question, in the meantime is trying to juggle football and choir. His girlfriend Rhonda, is committed to the choir but is weighing up her future with Chase, just as he is wondering about his own commitments.

A great start to a story that I hope gets continued.

I recommend a read, if only because of how well written it is, and how drawn you will be to the characters.

I hope Phil continues it.

Plot: 8 | Technical Quality: 9 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Disappointed by Rachael Ross

2013-04-12T03:49:11Z

Sobering Reality in a Dive Bar.

This story, alone, highlights the supreme talent of the late Rache.

She takes the obvious and puts meat on it. Everyone who reads this has had the same question:

'How blind can Lois Lane be not to see that Clark is actually Superman?'!!

And the twist at the end just reinforces her genius.

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 9

Saving One Another by Ultranumb74

2013-04-12T04:34:54Z

A cool and fun new story that's in progress, "Saving One Another" is the story of Garrett, or Gary as he likes to be called, and the very young neighbourhood hottie who is capturing his heart, no matter how reluctant he is to give it up.

Gary has just gotten back from being shot down while in Afghanistan, during take off. Held captive for a short time, and with a body that's busted by the plane crash - he gets rescued. That's just the start of his trouble though.

He comes back to "civilization" to find his wife withdrawing from him and a bitter divorce in his future - and he still has no clue why. He loves her, and his daughter, but he gets his heart broken and betrayed.

Gary ends up back home, in Idaho, where his family is from - and moves to a neighbourhood that is poor, but seems to be okay, full of people just getting by... except for one. Rudy the redneck sonofabitch next door, a guy who drinks too much and beats his wife - a true asshole.

While trying to hold his long-distance connection with his daughter, and move on from a life that has kicked him in the pants in many, many ways, and during a time that he is going through PTSD and depression, and suicidal thoughts, Gary becomes best friends to a beautiful, smart, too young for him girl.

Shiloh is the unfortunate step-daughter of Rudy the asshole next door. She's 16 and living in a war herself, and Gary becomes her rock as she becomes his anchor.

It has some technical flaws in grammar, but easily overlooked. The "stroke" in this story is delayed as the story progresses and Shiloh ages, but when it arrives it's definitely there.

The story that comes out of this is one that is romantic and sweet and is more than worth your time to read it.

Plot: 9 | Technical Quality: 7 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Holding the Fort by HedbangerSA

2013-04-11T09:34:28Z

Preface: This review was cut down ~25% for being too long.

Introduction: This story is the closest I've ever come to giving an "honest" '10' in a review for Technical Quality. Why the quotes around "honest", you ask? Well, I won't say that some of my recollections regarding grammatical accuracy from a few of my earlier reviews were inaccurate, or that they may have been enhanced by rose-colored lenses, but--ow, ow, OW, QUIT IT! OKAY, I ADMIT IT, I SCORED SOME STUFF HIGHER THAN IT DESERVED!

"Holding the Fort" is a story about some Loser Dweeb Virgin (LDV) who runs his high school newspaper and spends a lot of being shy around his house: let's call him Russ. The story opens with this kid alternating between complaining what a huge LDV he is and randomly reminiscing about the time he popped a boner while talking to a girl in his class when he was eleven years old. In fairness, she sounded like a total babe; who among us doesn't arbitrarily fantasize about eleven year old girls, right? Okay, I saw some people hit the back button there, and that's okay, because what they don't know is that I have a sense of humor.

Worthy of note, you'll find in the introduction one of two mentions in the story that Russ has a younger sister. She's like one of those ghosts from a Mario game who moves around when she's not being watched.

Russ is home alone on Halloween when group of drunken plot devices show up later in the evening and gang rape his bowl of candy. After they leave, Russ finds a straggler Plot Device. Note the capitalization on this one. This Plot Device is super ultra incredi-hot with GiganTits and HypnoButt. It also comes equipped with a VacuSuck module as well as PregImmune. But wait, there's more! Act now and get it loaded with Exhibitionism for-

Damn, this review is not going well. I'm going to gloss over the rest of the plot until I arrive at the spot where I get annoyed at a contrived part in the final chapter. It could have been left out. Nobody would have known. There could have been another conflict instead which made more sense!

LDV Russ is the only character who undergoes character development, despite the story being alternately told by him and another character on a chapter-by-chapter basis. This alternating was extremely confusing the first time it happened since there's no warning or indication that it would happen; I'm glad that it did, however, because the second perspective added depth.

Russ starts as a huge LDV, we've been over this. He changes, largely at the whim of the second main character, into a cool and popular non-virgin who takes names and kicks asses. I will confess, however, that I was a little confused at his lack of resistance to change.

Character #2...we don't see in the "before" stage, just "after", so there's not much going on here transition-wise, though this character is well-developed.

This story is extremely well-written, but in the last chapter, suddenly, without warning, and little did I know as I was reading, there was a glaring typo. Ouch. Spectacular job otherwise.

Sex is a major factor in this story, both as a plot device and because this is a guy in high school who is making up for all the time he spent not getting laid. A surprise, though less of one since this is rarely ever mentioned in anything on SOL, is that nobody in Russ's house seemed to notice the very distinct smell that sex produces. Perhaps his parents and his sister, who gets as many mentions in this review as she did in the story, decided to cut him some slack because he was breaking out of his LDV shell? And what about the obvious wet spot on that bed? Did he not find it at all gross to use his sister's blanket like he did? Why do I feel like these things tell more about his character than the rest of the story?

Russ did okay for himself. He got some pussy, some Plot Devices, and he emerged from his mundane life to become one of the Cool Kids who fucks the prom queen. Repeatedly. Seriously, all the time.

This story has a ton of non-plot sex considering it's a short-ish story which focuses the reader on its plot. It's a reasonable sort of plot, and it doesn't drag on or leave the reader wanting more; all things are resolved, and we're happy enough to leave them that way. I'm impressed with the author's ability to keep the reader interested and cognizant of the plot despite all the fucking going on; too many stories get lost in sex, and I'm thankful that this one did.

Final verdict: this is a pretty good story. I think that, while the final chapter provides resolution, its contrived nature is also likely the reason why it doesn't have a higher score. Readers confused by relative lack of Traditionalist Erotica phrases? Or maybe it's the lack of incest? All speculation. Kudos to the author for a job well done, and perhaps we'll see another story at some point.

Plot: 7 | Technical Quality: 9 | Appeal to Reviewer: 8

The Negative Seduction by Izzy McMaster

2013-04-11T07:13:19Z

Izzy McMaster: wrote one story, did it well, called it quits.

"The Negative Seduction" is the tale of a cool MP who succeeds in a very entertaining method of attracting a detached, yet bodacious, Italian secretary. To say more would spoil what little mystery remains in this short story after reading its description and title, but I can say that even having predicted the full course of the story, as most readers will, it was still fun and enjoyable.

I find myself at a loss here because this is a much shorter story than I usually review, perhaps the shortest that I've ever reviewed? I'll fact check myself on this sometime if I get bored I guess. Character development and change, which is generally my favorite aspect of a story, is muted here: our main character is set in his ways and doesn't do anything outside his normal way of acting for the duration, but our female lead does reveal a bit more characterization along the way. It's well done altogether, even if we never get a completely firm grasp on who the characters are or what they would do in any given situation. The story is too short to provide that sort of info, and it is mercifully absent rather than bore the reader.

Izzy McMaster is a proficient writer, avoiding unnecessary descriptions, remembering I before E, and making only a very small number of trivial and nearly unnoticeable grammatical mistakes along the way. I shall emphasize my praise here, because it's seldom that I read a story which has ZERO random typos or misspellings. Or at least none that I noticed.

Sex exists in this story. I'd estimate that it takes up roughly 20% of the story's length, maybe less. It is not integral to the story's progression that the sex scene be included, but I appreciated its presence and it was tastefully done; no cumsluts magically appeared, no rampant manhoods plunged into bottomless depths, and nearly all other cliches were absent--a victory for both the author and reader.

Despite the relative brevity of this story compared to my usual reviewables, I laughed a number of times at the character-driven humor. I would say that the interactions between the two main characters in the middle of the story is certainly the high point, because the conversations and reactions are well thought-out and very plausible. It's no stretch of the imagination to picture this story having occurred somewhere.

I don't have anything more to add at this point. If you have 15-20 minutes and want a fun story with a good ending, try this out.

Plot: 9 | Technical Quality: 9 | Appeal to Reviewer: 9

New Friends 2 by Halcyon

2013-04-10T06:25:30Z

I'm not sure I've ever been as upset after finishing something on SOL as I was upon finishing a this story a few minutes ago. Things were going terrifically, I was pleased with almost all the new developments, but then the author decided to follow through on the foreshadowing and hinting and obviousness which I had been dreading for the previous twenty-something chapters. Sorry, sorry, reviews are supposed to start at the beginning, not the end. Rewinding...

This is the second review in as many days that I've posted for Halcyon, and it marks the completion of my review coverage for this author's work. #2 is just like #1, but with more focus on the interesting characters. The downside to this is that the change in venue (spoiler alert: it's college time now) means no more Zangief.

All the comments from my review for NF1 apply here except for one: this story is MUCH better written from a technical perspective. It's still not going to make anyone's top 10 list for spelling or grammar, but it's infinitely more readable, and I'm tremendously impressed at the improvement.

I realized about halfway through this story that Hunter is basically Aquaman. He consistently gets crazier when he's away from the water for long periods of time, and he seems to be invulnerable and gain strength while he's in it.

I think the best part of this second story is the character development for previously-peripheral characters. Ryan got fleshed out a lot, which was a nice tough since I decided that he was awesome around halfway through the first story. Another character who only had a bit part as a plot device in the first story also got a ton of development, though it's pretty integral to the plot so I'll shut up about it here.

Sex is a little less plentiful in this story than the previous, or so it seemed. Maybe it was the increase in angst, or perhaps it was my willful denial of the inevitable story resolution, but something confused me into thinking that there seemed to be much less sex than there actually was when I started writing this part of the review. Looking back, however, there was basically the same ratio of plot:sex I think. Anyway, there's a lot of it but not enough that it detracts from the story or feels out of place.

I'm sad to see this series go, though I'm glad that the author finalized it and didn't continue writing about characters who had reached their "happy" endings. The characters were fun and engrossing to read about, and Aquaman was a pretty cool main character. The author's portrayal of all things Aussie did some justice here as well, and I enjoyed how it complemented the attitude of the main character.

An interesting comparison to draw here is to the OSL series by bluedragon, though I haven't finished that one yet because I grew too upset with the departure of a favorite character at a certain point. Both have a similar sort of feel during the times when the main character decides to fuck everything with a vagina, the California setting, sisters, and multiple girls vying for the happy ending with the main character. I guess the biggest difference, aside from the personality of the main character, is that in the "New Friends" series, nobody dies horribly, gets disfigured or raped, or has revenge sex to get back at an ex. Okay, the OSL series doesn't have all of those either, but fuck me if it isn't dark at points.

This is a great story and an adequate resolution to the series. Ignoring my own feelings on it, all major plot threads were tied up and the main character does get a good ending. Relationships are all good, everyone is happy, and that's the end of that.

Dammit, though, why do authors always make me love the ending which never happens!

Struggle through NF1, then read this one. It's worth it if only for the comedy value.

Plot: 8 | Technical Quality: 7 | Appeal to Reviewer: 9

Crazy for Daisies by Catharina'sSOL

2013-04-10T12:47:02Z

A hot little story about a brother coming to realise his attraction to his twin sister.

It's a stroke story, so there isn't a lot of plot - but what's there is detailed, and well set up. The characters are described more than some I've seen in stories that are > 1,000kb.

All in all, it's a pretty sexy, little, bite-sized story, and if you like the codes then you'll like the tale.

The only downside is that it changes tense in the language, especially during the sex scenes, but hopefully that doesn't pull you too far out of enjoying the rest.

Plot: 6 | Technical Quality: 5 | Appeal to Reviewer: 7

New Friends by Halcyon

2013-04-09T07:34:17Z

There's not a lot to say about this story that Teloz didn't already say perfectly, so I'll try to just fill in the important points:

* Impressively lifelike characters, many of whom are extremely funny.
** Especially the fathers.

* Possibly one of the most accurately-written and hilarious LSD experiences I've ever read about.

This is a great read, if you can read it.

Plot: 8 | Technical Quality: 4 | Appeal to Reviewer: 9

Triptych by aroslav

2013-04-09T03:54:09Z

Triptych isn't a good story, it's brilliant! So good, I lost a lot of sleep to read it in one sitting.

Let's get the mundane bits out of the way first. Technically this work is excellent, not perfect, but then, nothing is ever perfect. The characters are beautifully drawn, though you do need to have read Model Student to get to know them. The plot is pretty unique, with a few twists and turns to keep the reader interested; no, not interested, enthralled!

This is by no means a stroke story, though there is plenty of sex, but the sex is erotic rather than 'in your face pornography' (not a ten inch dick in sight!). The interactions of the characters make them seem very human, and fallible. Indeed, despite success and a wonderful home life, the main protagonist is very unsure of himself.

I'm often wary of stories that involve sports, especially from American authors. Too often the reader is assailed by technical terms and statistics that have little meaning to non Americans. In Triptych, although Racquetball is an important part of the story, it doesn't overwhelm it. The same is true of the art, it too is a central part of the story, but although the reader gains some insight to the art world s/he is never overwhelmed by the technology.

As for the story itself, I thought about the Robert A Heinlein classic Time Enough For Love, where a man lives for hundreds of years, and experiences love in all its forms. In Triptych however, Tony experiences love in all its forms in a small part of his lifetime.

I have to admit that polyamory really pushes my buttons. I firmly believe that we all have an almost unlimited capacity for love, it's only constrained by the mores of a repressive society; monogamy is not natural! Please note, I'm talking about love here, not lust; lust is unlimited too, but is often divisive and destructive. Love is powerful and binding, and this is what this story tells us.

Not only does Triptych get that message across, it does it in a powerful and emotional way, such a way that the reader can't help but be emotionally affected by it. I found the final chapter to be very emotional, and very powerful.

If you never read anything else on SoL, read this! Bookmark it, download it, and read it again.

Read and enjoy!

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 9 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

The Making Of A Gigolo (1) - Tilly Johnson by Lubrican

2013-04-08T09:19:19Z

I really don't like the title of Lubrican's "The Making of a Gigolo" series.

The word conjures up images of unctuous continentals with thin moustaches, or slicked-back layabouts sitting by the pool and resting up after a night of seeing to the sexual wants of wealthy divorcees 40 years their senior. And neither of those images matches up with Bobby Dalton, Lubrican's resourceful young man from the Heartland, who knows how things work and how to fix them, particularly where women are concerned.

I just had to get that out of the way, since the title is just about the only thing I don't love about this series.

"Gigolo" may not be the best thing that Lubrican has ever written; after all, the series was posted during the winter of 2007-08, and the author's work just continues to get better. But it's probably his greatest literary enterprise. It's like a quilt, each new volume representing a patch with a new female character, but it's all stitched together with the ongoing storylines of previous chapters.

Bobby is a baby-boomer, the first child born to Mirriam Dalton before her husband went to fight in the Korean conflict. In his father's absence, Bobby ends up with seven sisters, compliments of Joe, a soft-spoken itinerant handyman. But Bobby is an example of nurture over nature: although he is the only one of the clan who isn't Joe's offspring, the older man becomes the younger's mentor. Before exiting the tale, Joe teaches Bobby how to fix just about anything, and at some cosmic level, he also seems to pass on the ability to understand and deal with the wants and needs of the fairer sex.

By the time Bobby reaches manhood, he's helping to run the family farm and working around town as a jack-of-all-trades. That brings him into contact with a number of women who are unhappy on one level or another, setting him off on an interesting path.

Like many of Lubrican's tales, "Gigolo" is set in middle America (in this case the fictional town of Granger, Kansas), and that's perfect for this series. Although set over a decade from the '60s to the '70s, the rhythms of small-town life would seem just as appropriate for the '40s or '50s. Even though the country is going through social upheaval, those new attitudes usually work their way from the coasts inland over time, so even as Vietnam and the sexual revolution are issues, it also seems appropriate that a woman having a child out of wedlock would be scandalous in a small-town society, and that the idea of cunnilingus or even being taken from behind would be both shockingly exotic and exciting to women whose previous sexual partners have left them less than satisfied.

Setting that aside, Bobby is a fairly timeless hero, a gentle soul who tries to bring happiness into the lives of the unhappy women he encounters, based on what he sense are their needs. And he's not a one-note performer; he's not adverse to pushing the envelope with a particular women, even if she doesn't realize that's what she desires in the moment. The key, of course, is that Bobby always turns out to be right.

You'd never categorize "Gigolo" as a stroke piece, but one of the hallmarks of the series is how much more intensely erotic many of the scenes are than a lot of much more graphic fare. Lubrican takes us inside the head and heart of each of Bobby's partners and expresses their flowering in ways so emotional -- and even poetic -- that it's bound to get a rise out of the reader.

The danger with this kind of a multiple-volume approach is that the story could devolve into a simple anthology of loosely related stories. But Lubrican avoids that by, in the end, examining just what kind of a life with which someone who is loved by many -- but is considered marriage material by almost no one -- could end up. Bobby has to go through painful self-examination, as well as the experience of many important people in his life moving on, before . . . well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?

To write a review of "The Making of a Gigolo (1) - Tilly Johnson" is like writing a report on the acorn when you've got your eye on the tree it spawned. The first couple of entries in the 16-volume set actually might come across as a bit skimpy, but devotion to the series offers a great payoff. The story really hits its stride with "TMOAG (8) - Felicity Chumley" and just keeps getting better and better through the conclusion. None of these stories are standalones, which may hurt accessibility a bit, but the richness of the series from start-to-finish makes the journey a pleasure to take.

And for those readers who enjoy Lubrican's penchant for writing female characters who end up in the family way . . . let's just say that this story is the Mother lode.

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Magestic by gwresearch

2013-04-07T05:15:45Z

Ripping good yarn! If you've got time...

All the other reviews are dead on, I'm just adding a "DITTO!" and why I agree.

Take a look at it if you like Clive Cussler or even Crichton's fiction.

It's not as well fleshed as either of those authors' output but just as entertaining IF you have the imagination to do fill-in on scenery and characters.

But that's okay because, if he did all that, the book might approach 'War and Peace' proportions.

It's 5.5 megabytes of text as it is.

I normally don't like to read novel length stories on here, but it hooked me. And I warn you... it's hard to shut down your screen once you start it.

I also don't normally rate ANYTHING on here 'Ten', I save those for mass published, and thus, edited books But this one deserves it for plot and appeal. Don't let the 'technical' scores throw you... it's VERY READABLE IF, as I said above, you have imagination.

Mmm... btw, sex but no explicit sex. It's not necessary.

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 8 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Pippa by Tedbiker

2013-04-06T12:29:21Z

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm a sucker for schmaltz, but darn it, what's wrong with a good, emotional love story? Another of Tedbiker's "Serendipity" stories, this one adds an element of drama and suspense to his usual theme of rescue and recovery.

A victim of her own issues of self-esteem, Pippa asks Daddy for a sailing cruise for her 17th birthday. Naturally, she's taken for a ride (an unexpectedly dramatic one)aboard Serendipity in the capable hands of a familiar cast of characters.

Pippa is not a victim of abuse but of her own feelings of inadequacy. Just as she's finding herself, a victim of a sex-trafficking ring drops in on her and the crew of Serendipity, and the chase is on.

Rather than risking any spoilers, I'll just say that this is the first time I've read one of Tedbiker's stories from cover to cover in one day. Granted, it is not as long as some of his other Serendipity tales, it is 49,000+ words, a respectable length. If there is a fault it is that it could have ended with the resolution of the dramatic chase, instead of going on to wrap up the predictable romantic relationships.But it is nice to know they all live happily ever after.

Technical quality is, as usual for Tedbiker, excellent. There are good sex scenes, and the violence, unusual for a Serendipity story, is brief and discreetly handled. Don't be put off by the occasional phonetic Russian. It can be skipped over, but based on my own rusty Russian (5 years in high school and college and I was never fluent), it works.

Plot: 9 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 9

Schoolgirl Slave by Fantasy Stories

2013-04-06T09:44:53Z

Ah, that feeling when I realize I've stumbled upon yet another unfinished story and have reached the end of it. Why can't I quit you, SOL?

"Schoolgirl Slave" is a misleadingly-named story about a boy with conveniently absent parents and a girl who is secretly a porn star, directed by M. Night Shamalamamalanamalan. Two thirds of the previous statement are inaccurate, but I'll leave it to readers of the review to determine which.

Richard, our hero who I'll whimsically call "Dick" for the remainder of the review, grew up as the BFF of his neighbour, Janet. They were together every second of every day and had lots of fun enjoying platonic activities. Suddenly and without warning, puberty hit, and Janet got involved with some popular kids who couldn't stand Dick because he has a dick, and they forced her to cut off all contact with him in order to remain part of the cool kids club. Or something. I confess that while this was the foundation of the story and Dick's motivation through the entire thing, it wasn't adequately explained and didn't make much sense--the latter of these two adding more depth to the story because teenage girls are so obviously confusing and irrational.

After years of being tormented by his former BFF's unexplained withdrawal, Dick becomes a master computer hacker and, using this supernatural power, deus ex machinas Janet's hidden diary off her computer. The diary, termed "The Most Realistic Teenage Girl Diary In History" by a team of diary experts, allows Dick to blackmail Janet into becoming his sex slave. He then proceeds to use her as his private sperm bank between his alternating bouts of complete hatred and total devotion.

The selling point of this story is, without a doubt, the characters. I'm not sure I would call them believable, but they're always congruent with themselves, and they have very clear personalities. The perspective shifts constantly between them on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis which ignores time; frequently the narration describes events from Dick's point of view and then jumps right into Janet to describe her feelings on what just happened as it happens again. A bit confusing at first, but it grew on me. Character development is also present, though very slow, and the story ends just as I was expecting some climactic resolution on this front.

I do not recommend reading "Schoolgirl Slave" to anyone who is easily offended by constant misspellings, homonym/homophone misuse, grammar issues, or an extremely British author. I wouldn't say that issues resulting from these things prevented me from understanding anything in the story, but it was a noticeable nuisance, and an editor is certainly on my wish list if the author decides to finish the story.

As the title and description imply, this story is all about sex. Not a single chapter after the intro goes by without being mostly about sex, and it takes something like ten chapters just to get through the first day of the story because of all the fucking going on.

This story would normally be one that I'd avoid. There's a huge focus on things which are normally squicks for me (BDSM, more on the SM side; humiliation), but I recently read "Summer Training" and its sequel by T.S. Fesseln (reviews pending), and I was intrigued by the similarity of this story's description. Short summary: they are entirely different.

Looking over what I've written, I feel that I've been a bit more negative than my average review, which wasn't my intent when I set out. I think the author put a lot of work into creating two interesting and conflicting personalities, and I think that Fantasy Stories succeeded in making those personalities into a pair of truly fucked up kids. The sex scenes, which are certainly the focus, are hot and well-written from an action standpoint. A great job on both fronts.

I'll close by saying that while the name of this story implies that there is a school involved, there is not. I can only speculate that perhaps the unwritten third leg of the story would have seen the characters returning to school and living their lives outside of the constant sex, but I suppose I may never know, and that's a shame considering the work which went into making me care about these two crazies.

Plot: 7 | Technical Quality: 6 | Appeal to Reviewer: 7

Saralinda by Gray Beard

2013-04-05T11:35:40Z

Generally, I don't review stories that already have reviews attached, especially when I agree with the review in question. Saralinda however, is a special case. Though I agree with the majority of 'Orangeade's' review, I definitely don't agree that Saralinda is just "an enjoyable read ..."

I've often compared finding a really good story on SoL, to finding a nugget of gold amongst the dross. Saralinda is much more than a nugget, Saralinda is pure gold, through and through.

Technically, the story is very good, just a few missing words, and the odd typo. Grammatically, it's excellent. That said, 'Gray Beard' weaves a tale of naivete and love that I found totally engrossing. From stunted beginnings, the main protagonist eventually flowers into true womanhood. 'Gray Beard's' characters are well rounded, and believable, and the reader is inexorably drawn into their world, a process that at times, I felt incredibly moving.

Getting emotionally involved with a story may seem odd to some, but that's the aim of a good author, to suspend the reader's disbelief, and involve them in the world they've created. To this end 'Gray Beard' succeeds admirably. If you fail to read this story, you've missed out on something unique. If you aren't moved by it, then I feel sorry for you and yours.

Read, and enjoy!

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 8 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Bosom Buddies by Bosom Buddies

2013-04-03T08:41:18Z

Ian's a bit of a nerd. He wears his comic book t-shirts, and hangs out with his AV Club friends, and does well at school and not so well with the ladies. In a moment of courage he asks Corrine, one of the hottest girls in school, to be a part of his club's movie - as the damsel in distress.

He soon finds he gets along great with Corrine, and her friends - 5 of the hottest, and well stacked, women at his school.

They're from different backgrounds, with different interests, but as a group they get along great - and Ian starts to find his emotions and hormones leading him to interests with each of them.

But none of them are interested in him, especially not for a relationship, so he is confused and tormented. Then they decide to start changing him into a more attractive man, and he becomes a closer friend, and eventually... well, you just have to read the story!

One of the hottest, and well written stories I've read for a while, this chronicles Ian's final year of school before he goes off to college, and how he learns to be friends with some beautiful women and helps them grow as well.

I hugely enjoyed it and it's sexy, and fun, tender and melancholy - with regrets and sadness, and growth and joy.

Everything you'd want in a coming of age story. Read it.

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

The Quiet Man, the Silent Girl by Sparkyman1961

2013-04-03T01:48:47Z

Yeah! Well ... okay, so I'm a sucker for a good romance, even more so when it's a weepy one. Not that a macho old fart like me would shed a tear over a story ... yeah, right! Suffice it to say, The Quiet Man, the Silent Girl has angst in spades. Even the predictability of the ending doesn't detract from the emotional impact.

There's always a serpent in paradise though, and in this case it's the technical quality. Yes, some of the errors are obviously typos, but the oldest faux pas in the book is mixing up 'two', 'to', and 'too'. You can encompass the rules in a sentence, more or less:

The other two children went to the swimming pool too.

It's not f'kin rocket science! On the other hand, the eagle eyes of a good editor or proofreader helps a lot. It's so frustrating to see the stories of clever, imaginative authors torpedoed by simple rules of grammar. Even if they're not sunk, they're certainly badly damaged. I'll be honest, it's not quite as simplistic as my example may show, but it's close!

Sorry for my little vent Sparkyman, but the story really is very good, and as Oliver Twist said, 'Can I have some more please, sir?' Just tighten up the editing!

Where was I? Oh yes! Did I mention that this was a good story? I'm sure I did, but if I didn't, I have to say, The Quiet Man, the Silent Girl is a good story!

Read, and enjoy!

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 7 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

There Is a Reason by A.A. Nemo

2013-04-01T02:30:58Z

Becky and Bret are highschool sweethearts - a beautiful blonde and the quarterback. Already planning the rest of their lives together they are split apart under tragic circumstance and discovery of infidelity.

Bret runs away from Becky, his home, his town and his life from Georgia to Montana, and starts new.

This is a longer story than usual for A.A. Nemo, but is beautiful, tragic, heartwarming and heartbreaking.

It had me actually moved to tears at a couple of points, and I really enjoyed and loved the story and where it eventually led. I really recommend if you read any of the stories, that you make sure you read this one.

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 8 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Finding Jessica by A.A. Nemo

2013-04-01T07:53:38Z

Matt O'Connell has just gotten back from Afghanistan after serving with the marines and going through hell, and he runs into Jessica, the girl who broke his heart.

In college they were sweethearts, but he was the nerd and she was the popularity obsessed cheerleader - and when he catches her with another their love, and their engagement is over.

Now they have a second chance, but have they changed enough to have another go at it? Have they changed at all?

A surprising and heartwarming tale about getting to know someone over again.

Plot: 8 | Technical Quality: 7 | Appeal to Reviewer: 8

Heart Condition by A.A. Nemo

2013-04-01T07:50:05Z

David Ryan has finally reached his goal in his professional life, he's being made partner at his law firm, at the same time his personal life detonates - his loving wife Keri has been cheating on him. To make matters worse it is with his boss.

Taking off he ends up on the other side of the world, to escape for a time, and maybe to find love again.

Another short romance in A.A. Nemo's formula - the one thing I'd love to see is for him to eventually turn one of these into a longer story. I know he did so with Concordia, but David has a whole life to rebuild here, and there's always some interesting background characters in the stories like Brendon and Dmitri in this one.

Love it for what it is, another quick story about recovering from betrayal.

Plot: 7 | Technical Quality: 7 | Appeal to Reviewer: 8

All About Simon by Jessy19

2013-03-31T10:45:49Z

Hallie found love at first sight in Simon, the problem is they were children, and her mother fell in love with Simon's dad too.

Now they're siblings and her mom never listens when she tells her that she's always loved Simon, not before the marriage, not after - and she can't be with her brother, can she?

A short story that has some romance and heartbreak and a fast rollercoaster of emotions for a young woman in love with a guy she can never have.

Plot: 8 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 8

Concordia by A.A. Nemo

2013-03-31T10:08:56Z

James has discovered his wife's betrayal. She's been cheating on him with her own sister's husband, and Kate is making one last ditch effort to try and rebuild her marriage when he discovers the truth.

The story starts on a cruise ship where James and Kate are getting away to recapture what they lost, when Alan and Melissa, her sister and brother-in-law, show up as well. James discovers the truth and immediately is destroyed.

In the wake of another tragedy he has the opportunity to start a fresh life, but does he want to, and what faces him if he tries to?

An intriguing story of a man who is rebuilding a new life from the ashes of his old. It has some great drama, some interesting back-story and in the end is quite heartwarming.

Plot: 9 | Technical Quality: 8 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

One Woman Man by A.A. Nemo

2013-03-30T11:25:40Z

Jake is with the love of his life, Allison - so why can't he quite trust her? Well, they have some history and it comes back to haunt him just as he loses his job.

He's had some rough times, was injured fighting for his country, losing the job he works on with his best friend, and now he's gotten himself into a fight with Allison. It's going to pick up his friend, drunk at a bar that he has to think about where his life is going and what things mean to him.

An interesting shorter story about a guy and the romantic hurdles he faces trying to find love.

*** I recommend reading "The Look of Love" before this to appreciate some of the later content, if you're interested in reading more then this would be the correct order for A.A. Nemo's stories.

Plot: 8 | Technical Quality: 8 | Appeal to Reviewer: 8

That Look of Love by A.A. Nemo

2013-03-30T11:19:16Z

Tom Wallace is a man who has been married to the love of his life for half of his life, and they've been having a few issues lately - and then he finds a photo that destroys his life.

He has one other love, Lady Ester - his yacht, and he takes off on her only to discover an adventure.

This is a well written story that is similar to quite a few of A.A. Nemo's, so if you've read some of the others then you'll enjoy this.

I would look for "One Woman Man" after this, for another story that might be interesting for you, and might hold some clues about what was next for this couple.

Plot: 7 | Technical Quality: 8 | Appeal to Reviewer: 7

Fiftieth Birthday by A.A. Nemo

2013-03-30T01:16:06Z

I'm not usually one for "cheating" stories, because I find them heartbreaking and difficult - but this one is well written, and more of a breakup, romance, next stage of life story.

Michael, a retired FBI agent and lawyer has just concluded the biggest deal of his life and is returning to his wife of 25 years, only to find his world shattered and looking for a way to move on.

It is told from a few different points of view, but is very detailed, and interesting. It's short, and fairly predictable, but in the end, sometimes you want something a little predictable and at the end you feel like you've had a glimpse into a life that could have happened.

Plot: 7 | Technical Quality: 8 | Appeal to Reviewer: 7

The Accidental Watch by Old Man with a Pen

2013-03-29T10:56:12Z

So there I was, sitting peacefully contemplating, no, not my navel, but the monetary state of the World, and the ratio of the good old British Pound, and the un-gold standard US Dollar, and I realised that years ago when I was a lowly Brit, a five shilling coin, a Crown, was only one Dollar in exchange. In fact we called it a Dollar. And then over night, the British Pound was de-valued and instead of Four, there were only two Dollars to the Pound. And where was Wendy when I needed her, or her Watch?

Now do not worry, just read all the stories in sequence, leave your worries behind you, and enjoy your trip to Fantasy Land in the hands of The Old Man with a Pen, a very fine Raconteur, if I say so myself! However, there ain't much sex here, alas! And I've given it the max for Plot, 'cos I haven't come across it yet,

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Two Nudes by Holly Rennick

2013-03-28T02:01:35Z

I just sort of stumbled across this little story, and I'm glad I did. Although it's written in an almost 'stream of conciousness' fashion, I found it pretty erotic, and it certainly pushed a few of my buttons.

It's pretty good technically too, with no glaring errors to divert the reader's imagination, it rollicks along right up to the delightful twist in the tail. The language too, portrays the age of the main protagonist, as she stumbles into adulthood.

For me, this was the epitome of the short story genre, and I thought it was worth far more than the measly 7.71 it actually scored. I definitely recommend it!

Read, and enjoy!

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 9 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Recluse and Ghost by Dual Writer

2013-03-23T06:25:44Z

I'm writing this review after DW finally ended it. So now I'm wondering what to do with my Saturday Afternoons until the next Book starts. Oh, yes, the Review.

When Mike, our hero, buys a Retreat in the foothills, he senses something is happening on the 'haunted' Mountain. He ain't wrong! He discovers a woman and daughter living a squalid existence, which he cannot allow to be. And that starts a series of events which shatters his resolution to retire from the world, and live out the rest of his life quietly as the 'Recluse.'

The story becomes like the proverbial snowball starting life at the top of the mountain, and rolling unstoppably down the mountainside getting bigger and bigger as it progresses.

Now DW has had some help with the story, and it shows in the professional quality of the story. The characters are believable, and the geography is enjoyable, but, alas, things are left hanging without explanation, which suggests further chapters are forthcoming some time in the future. Well, I suppose I can go back and re-read about Florida!

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Hindsight 20/20 Book 2 by SmokinDriver

2013-03-22T10:39:20Z

Currently in progress, Hindsight 20/20 Book 2 is a continuation of the story of Britt, a young man just graduating college, but an old soul - so old that this is his second time through life.

He's reliving a do-over of his life with his consciousness from his last time through.

This is the story of how he's building his empire after college - still a young man he's rushing through life, committed wholly to making this time through mean something.

Along the way he finds lovers, and perhaps loves, but has to sacrifice his time to see the fruition of his dreams.

The story is fairly light on romance, but Britt runs into his friends and loves from the previous books, and all their stories continue showing how Britt is helping them along the way.

A great story, perhaps a bit lighter on the romantic content than the last book, but the ambition, drive, and story of Britt will keep you riveted through the chapters.

Plot: 9 | Technical Quality: 7 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10

Recluse and Ghost by Dual Writer

2013-03-22T10:27:04Z

Mike Grayson has pretty much had enough - he's fought as a soldier and now he's back in the States and he wants nothing more than to be a modern hermit, hiding himself away from the world, but the world has another plan for him.

Mike finds a large, rundown farm that is perfect - away from a small township, one old crackpot lady who is ready to move off the mountain and makes him a deal, the first of many for Mike, and although the mountain might be haunted, he takes it.

Further and further Mike finds himself involved back in the world, in the community and building his own extensive family.

It's a beautiful tale of a man who was ready to hide away but would do anything for anyone that he could, and everything he gets in return - a generous, heartwarming story of some hardships, and some funny and great times.

A lot comes easy to Mike through the story, but it always feels earned because he gives so much back to his family and his community and it's a story that makes you think that maybe you should get out there and make a bit of a difference yourself.

The life Mike lives, running a farm and businesses is so unlike mine, but you find the character really relatable, he's an everyman that works hard and benefits from what he puts back in the world.

An interesting part of the story, for me, is that it could almost be a setup for a harem story, and there's many women that come into Mike's life that would easily fall in love with him, but it doesn't always turn out that way - and you're okay with it, because Mike is a great guy.

It's so well written, and so detailed, and brilliantly put together with so many interesting characters you want to know more about all the time/ I swear if you start this one you will not stop until you're up-to-date and begging for the next chapter to come out.

Plot: 10 | Technical Quality: 10 | Appeal to Reviewer: 10