Re: Incomplete Cathedral by Daniel Nathan Horn
Posted: November 13, 2013, 09:33:08 PM
I liked the story quite a bit, but I didn't have the same reactions to it.
For one thing, I didn't find much of a message of faith in it. Somehow Verj comes across to me as more of an obsessed crazy than someone who found religion. Or maybe it's that the religion he found had more to do with Larsen than anything else.
The random deaths didn't bother me; that seems to just be fitting with the overall setup, and it worked well for that. Johansen died of equipment failure, as they all would have if they'd stayed with the ship -- unless they got found and killed by their 'friends' first.
One detail I really appreciated was how it took some effort for Stagg's man to do damage with the rifle. A refreshing change from the usual zap-dead sort of thing.
I also liked how the MC found that he enjoyed working with his hands. To me, that seemed a stronger message and motivation than anything about faith, since it was physically direct and personal to him, rather than abstract.
The part I didn't care for was the wealth of esoteric names for the parts of the architecture; I hardly recognized any of them. Then again, I've never studied cathedrals, either, but that brings up the question of where a self-confessed smuggler learned all those terms.
I also had a problem with the building apparently having no power to any part of it except its airlock.
For one thing, I didn't find much of a message of faith in it. Somehow Verj comes across to me as more of an obsessed crazy than someone who found religion. Or maybe it's that the religion he found had more to do with Larsen than anything else.
The random deaths didn't bother me; that seems to just be fitting with the overall setup, and it worked well for that. Johansen died of equipment failure, as they all would have if they'd stayed with the ship -- unless they got found and killed by their 'friends' first.
One detail I really appreciated was how it took some effort for Stagg's man to do damage with the rifle. A refreshing change from the usual zap-dead sort of thing.
I also liked how the MC found that he enjoyed working with his hands. To me, that seemed a stronger message and motivation than anything about faith, since it was physically direct and personal to him, rather than abstract.
The part I didn't care for was the wealth of esoteric names for the parts of the architecture; I hardly recognized any of them. Then again, I've never studied cathedrals, either, but that brings up the question of where a self-confessed smuggler learned all those terms.
I also had a problem with the building apparently having no power to any part of it except its airlock.