To be honest when I saw the theme this month I just felt it was going to be a tricky one, not just from a story perspective, but when it came to me writing my comments. That added to my commitment to NaNoWriMo, meant that my participating in the discussion with my normal comments was going to be in doubt. I did not like this idea. It's bad enough that I'll have to stop for a few months next year.
So here we go, can't promise too much (Oh, and I will have an entry this month, ni matter how bad it is)
The Spurring Platty - This one stumped me to start with, as I could not see the redemption part of what was an otherwise excellent story, greatly written and some superb fantasy imagery. Then the penny dropped - the redemption is from the patron believing the rescue a failure, the story redeems itself when the maiden (probably not so much a maiden anymore) appears at the top of the stairs, the doubt thrown upon the storyteller vanishes.
Mith - A traditional fantasy tale, with a well constructed story. A solid study of a soldier following his conscience after years of doing what he was ordered to do. I could almost imagine this cruel man, suddenly being asked to cross a personal line, and refusing to do so, proving to himself, if no one else that he was not completely damned by the life he had lived.
reiver33 - a neat little opposite to the old adage, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. It is nicely done and there are some wonderful word usages within the text. The final idea that it is the soul of Casanova that is at the centre of the tale is sublime.
Quokka - The opening line here was superb, it drew me right into the story. In itself it was well told, giving an insight into a way of a characters life, building up an image that was full of sound and colour. But the end seemed almost like a whisper and that was why it worked so well, not giving the true ending, leading that up to the reader, and any knowledge of the England's patron saint. (I think!)
Karn - A rather odd one this time through. I read the story first, and did not quite get it, and after reading the title I felt a little more confident in what the story told. As often as I say this I believe that this might be another one where it would work better as a longer piece, but then as I said at the start I have been struggling with the (understanding of) the redemption theme. I get the impression that Jack is a nasty piece of work, but is in the point of redeeming himself as he faces a greater evil at the cost of his life.
hopewrites - uh wow! Not only was this a wonderful poem, not only was it very strongly constructed, not only did it almost feel like a spell being chanted, but it was just damn good. As you can guess I can really like this one. It also is a nice twist to the theme offering a plea for redemption rather than the act itself. (Nice coloured font as well)
Hex - This was quite a lovely little story of redemption, a strong emotional core which is well conveyed, Here we have a mythical creature kept prisoner for a life time, a one sided love affair that saw one play the role of keeper the other as near slave. The redemption comes with the dying breath, giving the prisoner the means to her freedom. Excellent.
