Stories about teenagers and/or small children are not really my cup of tea. I had formed the opinion, from the story blurb, that The Seekers was not to my personal taste either.  There is a high possibility that I would not have paid the tale much attention at all had it not been for the reviews of Gavin Williams and Robert Rodgers and the author’s comments in the forum.  Just goes to prove something which I had always previously contested – there is no such thing as what an author considers to be a “bad” review!

So, on to the story. I like it.

The Seekers borders more on my personal liking for Steampunk than airships and Victorian England transported to another world ever does.  The tale is set in our world or rather on the edge of it.  The edge where dark shadows dwell, mechanical objects have emotions and small doors can lead to places which should not really exist, according to the rules of Mr Norm that is.

I enjoyed the distinct narrative voice and the way the reader is given just a glimpse in places. I like that glimpse. It allows my imagination to fill in the gaps and explore what else could possibly be there before the author gives us more detail. Admittedly, should the author fail to give us more detail or take too long to do so, there could be disappointment ahead.  I prefer not to anticipate that though and enjoy the bite-size teasers for what they are.

I can picture The Seekers as an animation along the lines of Coraline and in places it reminded me (though I am at a loss to explain why) of other web fiction stories such as a Change in the Weather and The Edict of Instinct.

What I did not like about the story was the Prologue. That is not to say there is anything wrong with it, there is not. In my opinion though, that particular scene does not belong at the beginning of this tale and I felt that it set completely the wrong tone for what came next.

For me, the story started (and should start) with Part One and the soft, calm encouragement to step inside the world of a young Billy Speers and his friends.  A world the reader knows from the onset is going to turn nasty, the only questions being when and how bad it can possibly be when it eventually does.

Something else I was not keen on was the flitting between “the little boy” and Billy, “the little girl” and Alex, “the old man” and Davey etc. I would have preferred it to have been one or the other.

The Seekers is a work in progress and offers one of the things I enjoy most about web fiction, the opportunity to comment as the story progresses and gain insight into the author’s world. I recommend that you skip the prologue and give the rest of it a whirl, it just might be your cup of tea.

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