Listening to this story, I was correctly able to predict each and every plot element, and this was bothering me.
Until I realized why.
The whole story felt like a "been there, done that, bought the proverbial one-size-doesn't-fit-anybody T-shirt" experience.
Let's look at the story elements.
First, we have the setting, post-apocalyptic world. This is the stereotypical post-apocalyptic world, a world of extremes. Extremely cool mutants, and extremely diverse worlds. You have the city representing "order", humanity (more on that in a minute) and the wastelands.
In the city you have the Black Clads whose job it is to separate two extreme opposites: the haves and the have-nots. The haves live in an ordered, civilized world (speculation) at the expense of the have-nots, who have brought the word poverty to a new low. I'd like to hear more of their stories. We're only treated to a glimpse, but I get the feeling that the "ordered" and "civilized" cities are far from either.
The main characters are themselves diverse opposites, and contain within them opposites. There's the innocent little girl, the stereotypical embodiment of innocence, and the monster.
The girl herself contains innocence "...didn't wake up because of the knife in his back" as well as a deep understanding of the world and life and death.
The monster has the power to be the ultimate evil and has used that power. But now he is reformed, and sees something akin to love in the little girl.
These elements play off each other very nicely, and thus the story has all the ingredients necessary for a great story.
But it wasn't.
Creature reminded me too much of Dr. Frankenstein's monster.
The girl reminded me too much of every single child hero in most movies, games and books I can recall.
The story itself has a faded feeling to it, like it's been fingered far too many times.
Movies like ET and The Iron Giant, books like Frankenstein's Monster and The Big Friendly Giant. Games like Resident Evil. All of them have elements in this story.
That's why it was too predictable and why I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have.
I know that literature has been around for a long time, and good ideas will be constantly reused, but when reusing an old idea, try to put your own personal touch on it. I saw none such individual touches here. It was just a cast of stereotypes playing out a well-rehearsed act on an overused stage.
Had I been reading this story I would probably have speed-read through the last two-thirds of it, if not skipped them all together.
BUT, Norm's reading saved it for me.
He injected an element of sadness into the whole thing that I'm not convinced the author intended.
Creature came off as a world-weary traveler who has witnessed and caused far too much sadness and pain and is now trying to atone for some of it, rather than as an O' Henry type villain who turns out not to be.
And that is the reason why I kept listening, and why I liked this story.
Norm gave it the personal touch it was missing.
