‘A sansanosmilus,’ said the man. ‘Obviously.’
I appreciate any time that a story, regardless of the scope or detail of its world, is willing to dispense with weighty exposition and trusts its reader enough to drop into scene immediately. "Sally Carter," named for its narrator, manages to do this in the wake of a quick, journalistic blurb which drops enough hints about the greater universe to intrigue a curious reader. There’s clearly a lot more to say about what, exactly, is going on here, but the author wisely sticks to the bits of most interest and relevance to the story being told.
The story is interspersed with pictures, which are so far used sparingly enough to be useful in establishing mood and setting. I particularly liked the business card at the end of the first part: the image has an attention to detail and aesthetic which gives it tremendous credibility in setting up what’s to come.
I’m hoping the story itself can hold up to that standard of detail and quality. The rest of the series so far is built on quick, lightweight prose. I tend to prefer more muscle in descriptive prose; there’s too much of a tendency here to paint in broad strokes and allow the dialogue to sit unassisted by context or behavior, which occasionally hurts the depth of characterization and makes it harder to visualize the space in which events are meant to take place.
The website has some additional information for those curious, including Detective Hood’s case files. I’m always wary of structural gimmicks overtaking prose in online fiction, but if it’s used well as a supplementary source of texture and nuance, it has the potential to be a great addendum to the story proper.
That being said, the promise of the opening bit and the intrigue of what follows adds up to a charming and crisp beginning to this story. I look forward to future reading.
2 of 2 members found this review helpful.
Help us improve!
Register or
log in to rate this review.
