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Young Writers Society



Shockwave - Chapter 1

by Firestarter



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Mon May 28, 2012 6:50 pm
ElizabethHuntley wrote a review...



Wow did I like it.
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Wed Dec 22, 2004 11:19 pm



Yeah, that was very good. I loved the opening, although all of the things that were pointed out I do agree with. It was great, I can't wait for chapter 2, it was very original.




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Tue Nov 30, 2004 5:26 pm
Firestarter says...



Wow, thanks for the long review.

It does need a lot of changes done to it, I have second chapter but I hate it, and later on I might change it. However I'm working on something else right now.

Thanks for the tips, I'll take them into account.




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Sat Nov 27, 2004 12:55 am
Cacophony wrote a review...



This is pretty good :). I'm looking forward to reading more.

Security officer John Thompson was having a bad morning. It wasn t just the fact he d got up late, missed out on breakfast, missed the airbus and been berated by his boss. He also had a gun in his face.


Yeah, I'd say that qualifies as a bad morning. :wink:

It was being wielded by a large, skin-headed man built like a large bull. He probably weighed about the same too. He was an amateur obviously. The hand holding the gun was shaking nervously, and a small sweat drop ran into his eye and he wiped it impatiently. He had large growing sweat patches under his cheap ripped shirt and his pupils were diluted.


Sounds like someone I would not want to meet.

Though from the apparent situation would suggest he was in a disadvantageous position, he was steadily confident.


You'd think he'd be a little more nervous. Of course the guy pointing a gun at him is an idiot.

He angrily tossed the slugger to one side, threw himself across the table and tried to grab Thompson s throat. However all he grasped was some air.


Gee, hasn't anyone ever told this idiot that throwing your gun away when you're trying to rob someone is not a good idea? :wink:

Another one? There ain t any space in the fridge. You ll have to let him go.
We re gonna let this scum out? John was raging. It was happening more and more. They released all but the ones that had killed.


Oh that figures :?. No wonder they have so many problems.

But of all the levels none were as exclusive or as luxurious as the top one, known only as the Sky. Very little was known of it. You needed a pass card to enter, and they were only given out to the lucky few, vouched by the Mayor or Security Chiefs. Of what went on up there, there were only rumours. The only concrete facts were that the robot factory and techno-labs were up there, constantly churning out new and fantastic computerised gadgets to satisfy the population, and that the richest of the citizens took up residence there.


Hmm..The rich people living on the top level seems a little overdone to me. Having the techno-labs there too seems like a nice twist though. Also I think this part is slightly infodumpish. I think it might be better if it was weaved into the rest of the story.

He raised his gun and laughed as he unleashed a round of badly aimed shots at Thompson, most skimming over his head. He dropped instinctively to the floor and reached for his gun, switching it to paralyse. It took just half a second for him too take aim and pull the trigger. The shockwave flashed across through the smoke, hit the old man s murderer, electrocuted him and threw him backwards.


I like this fight scene, very well done.

The weapon that did it lay just beside the body.


I think this sentence should read "The weapon lay just beside the body"

The slugger was a primitive weapon, favoured by the gang because it was widely available and devastating at short distances. It wasn t an energy weapon, but an ancient mechanised recoil weapon that fired large shells, deadly in the hands of a good marksman. But it was not in the same league as the police shockgun.


Just because it's primitive, doesn't mean it isn't dangerous :D.

His wife had been brutally murdered in a random attack just two years ago. He tried to tell himself that any sort of revenge attack would never take away the torture that played on his heart, the part that made him want to kill himself and join her, but just increase it. But his thirst for revenge was unassailable. He wanted to bring the Bandits down, and watch their ashes fade away into the sky. Because it was the black leather that several eye-witnesses saw on that fateful day, as one robbed her and the other shot her in the back. From behind, like a goddamn coward. He d have his revenge. He d get inside, play his way along and kill their leader. Then, and only then, would he finally lay the pain aside and move on.


No wonder he hates bandits. It feels like there's something missing here. I'm not sure but, I think it might be more powerful if you introduced the fact that the bandits killed his wife earlier. Or maybe you could have something remind him of her and that could trigger a flashback.

His name was Sapphire and he was chief of the Smoky Bandits.


Sapphire? That seems like a strange name for a gang leader :shock:.


It had definitely been an eventful ten years. The ugly scar permanently ruining his good looks had been the handiwork of the former chief, when he had challenged his rule.


And here I thought the scar was just to make him look tough :wink:.

A favourite tactic of his was to order squads to operate in pairs out of their company.


I think it might be better if instead saying this is his favorite, you showed him actually using it in the story. Of course it might be difficult to work that in....

He looked back to find the nozzle of a large slugger almost in his eye.


Darn, a cliffhanger...

To be honest I don't like it that much, but I thought I'd share all the same. Comments appreciated. Note: It's not supposed to be scientific, so I don't care about the shockgun and all the other names I made up.


Well I think how the technology affects the people in the story is more important than the actual science behind it. So as long as the science behind it, isn't important to the plot I wouldn't worry about it :D.

The only problem I see is that some parts are a little infodumpish. It might be better if you weaved the infomation in throughout the story rather than putting it into to big clumps, and cutting out the stuff we don't really need to know (Of course this can be easier said than done. And sometimes clumps of info are necessary).

Anyway, I like this. I think you did a good job of developing John and Sapphire. I think Sapphire has potential to be more than the stereotypical villain. I thought your descriptions were pretty good to and the style seems to fit the plot pretty well. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next :D.




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Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:18 pm
Firestarter says...



Woah, what happened to apostrophes and speech marks? Sorry about that, it does make it really confusing. I'll try and fix that.

Thank you both of you for the comments.

Nate; I'll take your advice. I'll look at this again and soon and make some big changes. This is one of my many stories that I never considered the ending; big mistake obviously, the story is going anywhere really. I had a vague idea, but nothing concrete.

I've done a few other chapters, I might post them up later.




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Thu Nov 25, 2004 7:00 am
Elelel says...



I loved the opening!
I liked it. The gang stuff was interesting, and the description of New London. It's too bad the quotation marks were missing, their absence made it a little confusing.




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Wed Nov 24, 2004 9:08 pm
Nate wrote a review...



I thought this was really good! The quotes and apostrophes are missing, but I think that has to do with something in the message system. I'll have to look at the code... :(

Here's what I didn't like:
- Stick to just one character; probably John. Don't use the viewpoints of other characters in the first chapter. That is, leave Sapphire to the second chapter (probably make the entire second chapter from just his point of view).
- It sounded jumpy in places, such as in the second part where you go from describing New London to John beating up a gang.
- I was confused at certain points about who was talking at what points in the first section. Make sure that when you are using dialogue that you identify who's talking right after the first part of the sentence, such as "I'm going to go to the moon," said Armstrong. "But first, I need to pack my clean underwear."

Here's what I liked:
- Your dialogue, the stuff inside the quotes, was superb. The gang members are done very well.
- Your descriptions of New London are done excellent as well. For something like that, you need to tell instead of show, but you did it in an interesting manner and you stated it very clearly so as to leave no confusing to the reader.
- Your opening was excellent! It's funny, grabs the reader's attention, and introduces the reader right away to the main character.

Overall, I really liked it.





If it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck…you should not be so quick to jump to conclusions.
— Cecil Gershwin Palmer