Velox

Yes, I definitely know what you mean. I'd have to say my most recent experience of that would be with The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. An amazing, amazing book that is just completely fantastic and an awesome experience to read. I often say that reading it is like going to the night circus itself, and to be able to read that again for the first time would be awesome. Funny you should mention LOTR, though--I'm actually reading that right now. I tried a couple of times a long time ago, but was too young and couldn't get into it (I also think that my parents read it to me as a bedtime story for a while, but I don't really remember too much of it). It's definitely amazing so far, and I can tell it'll be something I wish I could read again for a first time. I also wish I could read it without having seen the movies first, haha, so I can experience it completely for just what it is. Ah well. You're talking about Chaos Walking, right? Because yeah, I've heard the same things--that it has a fair amount of language in it, but at the same time, it doesn't feel out of place. Can't say myself yet, but based on what others have said I'd say that's true. Without getting too much into it, it's always a weird thing--sometimes "inappropriate content" seems fine (language and violence), but only if it's done tastefully and realistically. There's also other content that just never seems fine, even if it might be realistic. =P But awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It totally wasn't what I was expecting either when I first read it, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise. It's great that you're recommending it to people, too--it's definitely the #1 book I ever recommend. But cool, sounds good! The Book Thief is definitely a nice book, too. Probably one of the few books I would possibly consider "life-changing", in a way. Good idea with GoT--as much as I enjoyed the series, I 1. am glad I waited until I was 18; and 2. don't like waiting for the next books. =P

~ :: :: ~ Unfortunately I haven't been keeping up with these, but school and a couple other projects are done so I have a little more time now--plus, I really like this theme. It's been an amazing bookish year so far for me, with a lot of really great books read--38 read so far total. It's actually fairly surprising to me that all of the books below (with the exception of The Walking Dead) I rated 5 stars--something that I don't do very often, so to have 11 books (because of ASoIaF) already this year with 5 stars is pretty awesome. June 25: Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2013 The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. Definitely my favorite book this year. This book is truly amazing--everything about it is fantastic, and I hope to be reading it again soon, even though I'm trying to re-read less books since I have so many unread books I want to read. A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin. Specifically, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows. I'm waiting to read DwD until it comes out in paperback because I'm slightly OCD in wanting the whole series to be the same type of book. Anyway, these books are amazing, with the exception of the adult content, and are definitely all 5-star books. The Prestige, by Christopher Priest. I watched the movie before reading the book (unfortunately--I always like reading the book first), but both were still amazing. It’s very rare when it’s hard to choose which is better: the book or the movie. Most of the time, it’s the book, but either way it’s always fairly easy to decide which was better—even if both were enjoyable. For The Prestige, it truly is hard to decide which is better (the book is one of my favorite books, and the movie is one of my favorite movies). I absolutely loved the book and everything Priest did, particularly with the structure of the novel. But the film was just as amazing (as expected, coming from Nolan), and is shown in another great way. So this is perhaps one of the few times that I'm not even going to try to say which I liked better--they were both amazing works of art. Holes, by Louis Sachar. I've blogged about this book before, so I won't say much here, but it was definitely one of the most enjoyable books I've read so far this year. The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster. Basically tied with Holes. Another amazing book that I've blogged about before, and definitely one of my favorites. The Floating Admiral, by members of the Detection Club (including Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, & G.K. Chesterton). Really an enjoyable book. I love classic detective mysteries (Agatha Christie, etc.), and this one worked really well. Sure, there were a few jarring transitions--to be expected with each chapter written by a new author--but overall it was definitely really well-done. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. Full review here. Quite the amazing and heart-wrenching book. Highly recommended. Human Chain, by Seamus Heaney. Quite possibly the greatest poet alive, Heaney is fantastic, and this book of poems of his was quite enjoyable. My favorite poem by him, however, was not in this collection: "From the Frontier of Writing". Still a great collection, though. A Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This one I actually hesitated slightly to give 5 stars. It's an amazing book, but the second half does drag on quite a bit, and doesn't seem completely necessary. However, not only is it the first Sherlock Holmes, but it's really quite commendable how much thought Doyle put into the character of the killer, to be able to go that in-depth with him (again, even if it did drag on). Plus, I also enjoyed it slightly more than The Sign of Four, possibly just because I had already seen the Jeremy Brett TV movie version several times, and knew the story. The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman. And also the first graphic novel I have read. Definitely entertaining and well-done. Having already watched the TV show, it was cool to see the similarities and differences. I hope to read more of these in the future. What about you guys? Any amazing books you've read so far this year? ~ Velox

I'm pretty sure Micah's point was that real-life fish don't count; halibut, shark, carp--anything that's real doesn't count; any Bionicle fish does count. But either way, even if that wasn't Micah's point, yes, you can use Takea. You can't use real-life sharks, but you can use Bionicle ones. Also, keep in mind that all the usual FFFC rules still apply--12 is not the required word count; this is an FFFC, and therefore follows the rules listed in the first post. We're just using Micah's contest as the theme.

Yep, PM Black Six and he'll sort it out one way or another. Question answered; topic closed.

Assigned to...myself. Thanks for choosing the SSCC!

Thanks for the answers, guys--unfortunately that is indeed the case. Question answered; topic closed.

LADY KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK! : D I hope everything's going well with you--it's great to see you here again! ^^

Assigned to Tyler. Thanks for choosing the SSCC!

Always :3

Because it's the birthday of the greatest person ever: Ezorov/Katie. : D Thanks for being the most amazing friend and person ever. <3 Have some cat pictures. :3 arso for obvious reasons: All right everyone, you know the drill. It's time for a party! <: D I EXPECT MUCH PARTYING

Uhhhh. Maybe. =P I could always whip up a few contests now that it's summer. Hmm, actually, how many people would be interested in one or more of the following? Flash Fiction Marathon, like last year. OTC and Bionicle again? Just OTC? Library Olympics? Some sort of over-arching contest? For example, there's one single theme, and people can enter anything in this forum: stories, comics, artwork, RPGs...etc. That's the best I can think of that would include pretty much everything, I think.Team competitions? Probably writingArtwork to Fiction or Fiction to Artwork? Like you choose a picture and write a story/poem after it, or vice versa. Some sort of collaboration where an artist, a writer, and an RPer are put together and come up with something? Yeah, no idea if/how that'd work. =PThere doesn't seem to be as many artists here, but there could be a flash fiction marathon sort of thing but for artists? Those are just a few super quick ideas from the top of my head. I'll see what else I can think up. Yeah, this definitely seems to be the case. I'd guess it's because of summer--at least for me, personally, I'm able to start being more active now. Once the school year comes there's always the (at least) slight decrease in activity, but since things keep picking up it's good to see that people come back at least. =P Wish there was a better way to ensure activity year-round... My two cents on the post-count: I definitely would put OTC closer to the RPG forum than to COT. It's not really anything like COT, I think, as it's all creative forums/RPGs (which, in the Bionicle forums, all have post count--except maybe Comics? And shops&kits but there's none of those here =P). Not sure that means it should get post count, though--I definitely see issues either way, so I wouldn't really be opposed one way or another. I'd definitely be concerned about RPGs, though. Unless they got their own forum and just the creative stuff got post count, then that might help the non-RPG things become more active, who knows. Anyway, all I got for now. As others have expressed, the forum seems to be doing fairly well. Unfortunately the most activity seems to be just RPGs and the FFFCs, but still, those provide a good amount of activity at least.

Of course I remember you. Dang man, it's been a long time. XD Good to see you back!! As for the Turaga, man I have no idea I don't completely remember what all of them were like. =P Maybe Matau?

Really sorry for being so horrible about this, but the Member List has finally been updated! Don't worry, though, all you guys were members, I just forgot to add your names to the list.

Oh, you could've just PM'd me, but this is fine too--like I said in my PM, Tolkien and I will discuss it and you'll hear back from one of us at that point as to whether or not you're accepted. Probably will take a few days at least, unfortunately--we've got several other things going on too. Sure thing--assigned to...Grantaire. His first assignment after being on a long hiatus.

Just finished reading The Prestige, by Christopher Priest, yesterday. I then re-watched the film last night. =P Both really are amazing works of art, and I'm having trouble deciding which I preferred. Both were fantastic, and ultimately the same, yet very different at the same time. Either way, the book is fantastic and definitely recommended. The writing structure was really enjoyable. Since my last post I've also read...wow, I haven't posted in a while: The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern, which is one of my favorite novels ever. Also about magicians, but far different from The Prestige. It's really an amazing book, though. Experiencing this book seemed to be like experiencing the circus itself--reading all of the descriptions, the clever details; everything was very well-written. A fantastic story with an extremely enjoyable setting, characters, etc. I only wish it wasn't over (at the same time being extremely satisfied--as much as I almost wish it was a series, it's perfect as a standalone), and eagerly await Erin Morgenstern's next book. Highly recommended.Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton. Quite a fun book. I need to re-watch the movie sometime.Human Chain, by Seamus Heaney. Perhaps my favorite poet after Edgar Allen Poe, Heaney really is amazing. The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater. One of my friends at school made me read this, and it was pretty good. The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor, by Robert Krikman and Jay Bonansinga. Wasn't a huge fan of the present tense, but I really enjoyed the story--good addition and background to the Walking Dead universe.The Aylesford Skull, by James P. Blaylock. The first Steampunk novel I have read by one of the grandfathers of Steampunk, this was really enjoyable. I also just love the Victorian era. A Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Great first Sherlock Holmes novelette. It got a little long during the first part of the second half, but I have to commend Doyle for how much depth he put into the character, even if not necessarily all of it needed to be in the story. I also loved seeing the relationship between this story and "A Study in Pink" from the TV show Sherlock.The Sign of Four, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I really liked the old TV movie version of this with Jeremy Brett, and reading it was fun. Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow. Not really my favorite book. but it wasn't bad. Devils in Exile, by Chuck Hogan. I think I preferred The Town/Prince of Thieves, but this was an enjoyable book as well.

And I have reviewed "Ether" and "Weaver, Seeker, and Spark." Really sorry for being late on these. Anyway, congratulations! We're finished with the Charity Reviews. Thanks to everyone for all the reviews you've done. I still recommend going out and trying to review stories, but I won't be assigning them any more (with the exception of official requests, of course). And on another note, I've got some good news: Both Tyler Durden and Zarayna are coming back as active critics! They've done great work for us in the past, so it's great to have them back.

SSCC Charity Review While I'm not actually in the military like Ced is, I too really appreciate the dedication--as I'm sure you know by now from knowing me, I have a lot of respect for the members of the armed forces. And I think this story really does them justice. It's beautiful and sweet, filled with emotion and...love. Not like you didn't say it enough times. =P But seriously, this was great, and like Caleb I'm having a hard time finding anything to critique. The one-sided conversation is interesting. At a few times it's a little jarring, but...it kind of has to be. You don't really repeat what the other person says all the time, so if you did that it just wouldn't be realistic. Yet there wasn't a time when I was confused at all, either. You could tell what was being said, even if not exactly. I don't want to repeat Caleb too much, but one of the first things I thought after reading the story really was that...one of the reasons it's so great is that we're not completely sure whether the connection was actually real or not, and I think that works really well for the story. We don't need to know, and this way, whichever one prefers is the one they can say is "right." The one thing I want to point out is the one line where we do "hear" the wife's response, toward the end. I'm not sure about it...it's really a beautiful few lines there, yes, but it is the only time that we see what the wife actually says, and I have to wonder if it'd be best if we didn't. Because since we do, it causes a lot of questions like why only now, why this specifically, etc. But it's nice that, at the end, we finally do hear her. So...yeah, I'm conflicted. =P I'll just leave it at pointing it out and letting you decide, haha. Really though, my favorite part has to be the beginning. The descriptions were all simply fantastic, and I loved the thoughts and emotions contained within those few paragraphs. Really well-done. I did actually manage to find two nitpicks, though! I get what you're saying here, but this sentence is a little...confusing? Long? Unclear? Not sure of the exact word for it, but while I understood the meaning of this sentence, I think it could be reworded a bit. As much as I love this metaphor...you use it in the first sentence. It can be fine to repeat descriptions sometimes, but when you have a metaphor as unique as this, it really stands out when you use it more than once. It was fantastic and great in the first sentence, but using it again takes away a little bit of that. --- Nothing else to say, really. Great job here, Nuile. A beautiful story about a beautiful subject.

Official SSCC Charity Review. Basically, a few months back the Short Stories Critics Club decided to go through OTC and provide reviews to all the stories there, as a way to "keep up our skills," if you will. And your story is up! Before I say anything else, I just have to say how much I enjoyed this story--it's beautifully written, crafted, and executed. Really, to me, it's exactly how a fantasy story should be. It has a sense of mystery to it--no, we don't know everything, but the ending leaves room for interpretation on relating back to the beginning, or any number of things, really--but not to the point where the reader is left unsatisfied because not enough information is given. Enough is given--we don't need to know how everything works. In some stories we do, and in some stories it simply isn't executed well, but here it is. The writing style is particularly impressive. It's somewhat like a fairy tale, and that works notably well here because of this world that you give us glimpses of. Actually, it almost reminds me of The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern, because what she accomplishes is remarkable as she reveals the circus and what it's like to be part of the circus. Here, similarly, the writing very well fits this way of slowly revealing more and more, yet leaving some of it up to the imagination. But let me go back and explain in more depth the first sentence of my review. The idea behind this story is fascinating, and definitely quite fantastical. Perhaps I'm biased because I love fantasy, but I think the crafting of the idea was great--it's imaginative, fun, etc. There's so much you could do with it, yet the story doesn't feel lacking at all. It's fine if this is all you do with it, because the story progresses very well--like I said, the reader is at no time needing more, though often may want more, sure, but in a case like this that's only a good thing. The story and idea are so good that you just don't want it to end, yet the story by itself is satisfying, and brilliantly executed--the writing style playing a large part in that execution. As for any criticism story-wise, I honestly can't really think of anything. I want to say that the second section is short, and you should add more, but not really. I want more, but I'm completely satisfied with how it is at the same time, and adding more to that second section would take away from the mystery. I really enjoyed the title, too. Part of me thinks that you should name the sections, and have the title be something else, but the more I think about it the less I'm sure. The title really sums up the story--those three words are interesting together, and make you want to know more. Yet they're great little hints, and just add to the overall feel of the story. I do have a few small mechanical things I wanted to point out, but most of them are completely subjective, so take for them what you will. I'd change "as" to "like", personally. I'm not sure if it needs to be, but I feel like it should be either "as black...as polished" or "black...like polished", and I much prefer the "like" to the double "as." Perhaps add "on" between raps and the. This was one part that took me out of the story a little bit. I don't know, I just imagined everything to be...old-fashioned, if you will--medieval-esque with some possible modern qualities. But the mention of pickups and cars made me think it's now, or at least some time within the past 50-100 years or so. Not that it's a huge problem, but my only problem with that is that it then dates the story--it's not longer necessarily some fantastical world, but it's our world, and our modern world to be even more exact. Completely subjective, but I felt like an em-dash would be better than the first comma. Because it is kind of an interruption in the narrative, and a dash does that more effectively than a comma, in my opinion. Hundreds arrive--no, thousands... Wasn't sure about the inconsistency with the plural/singular words. I'd change fruit/pasta to fruits/pastas. --- And that's it. Like I said, it was really hard to find anything that I didn't love about this story. Those few minor things I pointed out are almost all small, subjective things that could go either way, and the story itself is simply great. Very well-done here, I really look forward to hopefully reading more from you in the future.

Seeee I told you it's one of the most amazing books ever. : D But yeah seriously, that book plays with your emotions so well. Glad you liked it.

Happy birthday, man! Hope you have a great one.

Sure thing! Assigned to Dual Matrix.

Oops, nevermind.

Please do not post in topics that have been inactive for 20 days or more in the SBC forum. From the Rules topic: Thanks! Topic revived; topic closed.

Theme #7: Trial by Fire Entry #1: Member: Pahrak #0579 Theme: Trial by Fire Word Count: 949 Link: Averted Trial Entry #2: Member: Pahrak #0579 Theme: Trial by Fire Word Count: 671 Link: Make It Stop Entry #3: Member name: Flaredrick: Forgotten One Theme: Trial by Fire Word Count: 165 (Lyrics) + 262 (Commentary) = 432 Link: Radioactive - Imagine Dragons (Bionicle Remix) Entry #4: Name: dotcom Theme: Trial by Fire Word Count: 615 Link: Maybe in Time Entry #5: Name: Click Theme: Trial By Fire Word Count: 786 Link: Plagued Friendship

Assigned to Zaxvo. As for your PM, sorry if I don't get around to replying for a few days, just as a warning. Now then, charity reviews. Believe it or not, there's only 10 more stories to review for the OTC forum! So I'm going to assign them all now; the first batch will be due next Wednesday, and the second batch will be due the week after. If you want to just get them done with, however, more power to you. There's a good chance the charity reviews will be discontinued after this, so make 'em count! Batch 1: Velox: Ether, by Nuile Nuile: Under the Stars, by Kraggh Yukiko: City, by Baltarc Zaxvo: Climbing the Tree of Life, by Nuile Dual Matrix: Three Minutes, by Ilyusha Blokfase Batch 2: Velox: Weaver, Seeker, and Spark, by Death of the Endless Nuile: Land and Liberty, by Eduard Bernstein Yukiko: Battle Scars, by Naina Zaxvo: Rock, Paper, Scissors, by Eduard Bernstein Dual Matrix: Exit Number 117, by Eyru