Stories like this are why I like EP so much. It's different.
Not my taste, but still different.
I couldn't get in to this story even a little bit.
We were told rather than shown everything: the history, the aliens, the soldier's mental state, even the tech. The whole thing was an El Camino on which the author bolted some clunky high-tech ideas, with a couple of 2D holographs in the passenger seats, which was then put it on a very predictable auto pilot to nowhere.
The tech added nothing to the story other than to say this was in the future, and to show off the author's creativity. None of the body modifications were demonstrated, the aliens were so vague that I didn't care about them, and none of the characters faced any conflict. I think there was some kind of hint at the idea that we were becoming bigger monsters than the Shards. I think the author also hoped to play at some deep emotional meaning, but the characters were all so flat that the dramatic interaction was just pantomime.
We were walked through and spoon fed the world, the war, and the character's emotional states. Everything we were shown I expected to be a moment of contradiction to all the spoon fed status quo, only to be disappointed. I kept waiting for the solider or farmer to be a Shard, the whole thing to be the memories of a canned brain, or a revelation of the true and unexpected nature of the enemy, but alas.
As for the journey vs. the destination, a journey would still indicate that the plot was going somewhere, and the destination would suggest that the end justified the means. I didn't see either of these here. Everything went according to plan, as it would with a well trained troop of crack soldiers. But I couldn't even get the satisfaction of a job well done because it was a half dozen super-modified soldiers against some scared farmers, and even though there was a brief mention of tacts (only thrown in to say "hey, I've seen a war movie too!") they weren't the focus of the story either and could have been simply glossed over for atmosphere.
That said, I'm still glad a story like this made it on EP.
I love the variety we get presented with, and apparently I'm in the minority here.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2007, 05:54:44 PM by Thaurismunths »
How do you fight a bully that can un-make history?