Beginnings....

[Chris James]

I manage to drop into the site every day, and I am always glad to see new stories posting for the entertainment of the readers. This week we have two new stories to contemplate and I felt the desire to say something about them, even though they are still in that first chapter phase.

Rick Beck has given us Discovering Love. Not an entirely new subject, but there can never be enough ways to examine a feeling that often eludes so many in the human race. Chapter One has only given us the introduction to several of the main characters in what appears to be an emotional story in the making.

Rick is often hard to second guess, since he is fond of large emotional moments of thought that sometimes take an unexpected twist. I like that, it keeps me involved. I am looking forward to future chapters and sharing the discovery so far evident in the nature of his characters.

Altimexis is back on track with From the Ashes, another science fiction/fantasy based story. I will be the first to admit I am not a fantasy fan, perhaps it is because so much must be explained for me to grasp the concept behind the story, and yet I am reading this one.

We have so many end-of-the-world scenarios thrown at us in film and literature these days I am taking a slow approach to reading this story just to make sure I get it right. I suppose in any fiction story we are asked to suspend disbelief and accept the author’s view of the scenery before us…working on it.

I have to respect any writer who puts so much effort into getting the readers to believe in what they are saying. Readers invest a lot of thought in what they see and that means an author must be willing to go that extra mile in building an intellectual appeal.

Chapter One’s are hardly the place to judge a story, but if they build a desire to read Chapter Two then I think a story is successful. Keep me entertained, give me something new to ponder, and I will follow you anywhere. Let’s see what these two have to offer.

And yes, Lugnutz, this is a chance to get my name off the top of the forum thread here…so there!

[The Pecman]

I agree, an absolutely fantastic open on Altimexis' The Binary Planet. I'll plan to read that and the sequel as soon as I clear off some time in my schedule. Looks terrific.

[Chris James]

Back to you on the Rick Beck and Altimexis stories:

It looks like Rick is winding up to give us another complex love triangle, but he hasn't committed his characters yet in Chapter Two. I may have to let this one post a few more chapters before I delve back into it. Meat, sir...I need more meat to read!

Altimexis and his ongoing series. I realized it would be foolish to go on and wait for the next chapter to From the Ashes once I realized it was a continuation of The Binary Planet story...silly me. So I invested some hours reading the first part of the series and I'm glad I did.

Sci-fi can be difficult, but not the way Altimexis writes this one. Despite the addition of some complex science necessary to the plot I actually understood what he was saying. Aliens abound but we are only given one of them to see, feel and understand. I like furry creatures and the hero in this one is adorable. I always wondered about the sexual differences between humans and aliens, but not anymore.

Altimexis gets a gold star for getting me to read a sci-fi story and I don't pass those out easily. In my youth I read Heinlein, Asimov and a few others, but I thought those days were behind me. But now I have a confession to make:

About five years ago I started this silly little story to see if I could write sci-fi. It involved a clever human boy whose family had been planted on Earth centuries ago to assure that when the time came the alien invasion would go smoothly. When the scout ships arive this human meets his first alien boy and they fall in love. They vow to save the human race and...this is where it got complicated, the science stopped me. So I have four or five chapters that will go nowhere because Altimexis has written that story far better than I ever could. I guess I am doomed if he starts writing adventure/romance stories.

What, you haven't begun to read these stories? Better get with it!