SophieJackson21

Gripping Sci-Fi Epic in the Making

Science fiction stories have to grab me early on to appeal to me. I am looking for a good story, intriguing and complex characters, and a universe I can believe in. All these things I have found in The Ursaverse Volume I. I have just begun reading this story and I am already hooked.

The writing is intelligent and not simply generic sci-fi or filled with the usual clichés. Though the story moves between timelines, this does not break its flow and it builds into the drama. The two brothers at the centre of things are initially shown to us in the midst of their struggles, torn apart by their pasts and now rivals rather than siblings. Even in the prelude, we see a glimpse of who they were, who they are and get a sense of the tension between them. It will be interesting to see how these characters develop further in the story.

I also enjoyed the initial introduction and the asides by the Fatescribe. I know, it sounds strange to rave about an introduction, but I loved this little touch and how it subtly introduced us to the following adventure.

I look forward to reading more from the Ursaverse and discovering its many stories!

A spooky tale with lots of promise

It’s nice to come across a classic style of horror that is not dependent on guts and gore to convey a sense of dread and unease.

The author has clearly spend time trying to set the piece correctly in its time frame and to get the right feel for the story.

There is a lot left unanswered as the story unfolds, which is always good in a horror. It leaves you wondering just what was really occurring, and how it all began in the first place.

I did feel this story could have been expanded into a full novel, and it was slightly limited by the short story format, it would benefit from a longer word count to give it a chance to really fly and develop all the elements.

One of the short falls of short stories is the need to keep everything very tight, each nugget of information has to be relevant to the story. There were some elements in this tale that could be considered background information and could probably be removed to tighten up the story. However, if the story was expanded, those elements could be explored further and bring more depth to the overall plot.

On a purely practical note, the last chapter would benefit from some further proof reading. Due to this I did have to drop a star for the grammar/punctuation. But it is an easy fix.

I consider this a confident, bold and intriguing work, that shows great potential in the writer. I hope to see further stories, as it will be exciting to see how they develop and I am sure there are a lot of good things to come.

Bringing the past to life

I enjoy historical novels, especially those set in the war years and this story hits the right tone at once. It is obvious Sofia has spent time researching the period and the little details within the story help to take you back to another era.

I like that one of the characters is Austrian, bringing a new dimension to the plot and added tension. The friendship between Sarah and Max is nicely introduced and I look forward to seeing how it develops.

I look forward to following the journey of Max and Sarah as evacuees, I am already wondering what twists lie await for them!