Having a few moments on my hands I thought I'd go back though what we had so far and see what I thought. Once again the quality is horrendously good, so much so it leaves me in awe.
I don't think there is one weak story this month!
Bella Donna - I wasn't sure what to think about this until the last line, it really made to story for me.
Karn - I really enjoyed this no end - it felt new and familiar at the same time.
Sloweye - The idea and execution superb, the only problem was the size, I would have enjoyed it longer (which cannot happen of course)
Mag The Mighty - Interesting with an epic feel, a bit like Slow's I would have been more than happy if it could have been longer!
Talyisa - Really well written, seemed familiar as though it had been waiting to be written.
Oxman - Thought it was average on first read, but must not have been paying attention, thought it was superb second time through.
Nixie - Not sure how I took this one, but it made me smile, and anything that includes Bagpuss is a work of genius.
Ursa - I really liked this one a simple idea, but a good twist ending
Boneman - Started off so traditionally, but the ending was priceless, made me smirk whenever I thought about it.
Paranoid Marvin - Quite hard to judge as thematically as it was quite similar to one of the ideas I was playing with - only better than mine. Some excellent misdirection at the start - initially I did not see where it was going.
Dusty Zebra - Don't really know what to think. Traditional fairy tale overlaying religious themes, very clever and perhaps brave idea, very well presented.
Mouse - Very clever and well written, a lot of hidden bits. Maybe a little too intelligent for me
Chris - Really enjoyed it. a traditional story inverted
Perpetual Man - Uh.. hold on that's me... still not sure whether I went with the right idea, but it was the only one that HAD to be used with the Sacrifice theme
Reiver 33 - A bit different and I really enjoyed it.
Precise Calibre - I really liked it, strange twisty logic and good fun
Allanon - Think it has quite a few levels to it allowing me to interpret it in a few different ways.
R M Tobias - Interesting, but it seemed to be the tip of an iceberg, I wanted more!
J Riff - Fun and a decidedly different look at Santa
Mosaix - One of the things I'd wondered was whether a 75 word story could be written that evokes a genuine emotional response. Yes.
No-One - Superbly written with a grim, literally dark ending.
Phew! Don't know which way I'm going to go with these, but my initial short list is:
Bella Donna, Oxman, Ursa, Chris, Reiver 33, Allanon, Mosaix & No-One. But I wanted to add everyone, and who knows what will happen when I re-read them all!
