DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this review are my own. This review contains spoilers for the Chapter concerned. You have been warned.

I was initially going to play by ear and see if I could combine the reviews for 18 together with 19. After reading through 19 though, I decided 19 required its own review, which means 18 will be getting a review on its own.

When I finished reading Chapter 18, the word that immediately sprang to mind to describe the chapter was "anti-climax". After all the excitement of Chapter 17, the "dig in and wait" mentality of Chapter 18 seemed rather anti-climatic. Almost before that thought had finished, I realised that it was not so. It's not so much an anti-climax, but instead was more of "eye of the storm" sort of situation.

For those who are unfamiliar with Typhoons and Cyclones, there is an area of calm inside such a tropical depression called the "eye". It is usually right in the centre of the storm system. I'm not a weatherman, so you'll have to excuse me for not being able to give a better description. As the storm transverses over land, one first experiences the "front" part of it - with high winds, heavy rain and strong waves near the coast. After enduring hours of hellish weather in the tropical storm, when the "eye" passes overhear, the wind dies down and the sun may even appear for a while. However the false calm is soon shattered as the "other side" of the storm moves in.

Likewise Chapter 18 is the eye the storm, and the beginning of Chapter 19 continues this period although the winds pick up speed near the end of Chapter 19.

Writing wise, it was mediocre at best. There were significant improvements in the way Dan mentioned the descriptive parts - at the point were they were talking about the checkpoints and the roadblocks around Eureka, I can actually picture where they were setting everything up. Then again, I had the advantage of having a Yahoo map of the area handy.

Overall, the plot was good. I could feel the tension building up as the story progressed. The tense atmosphere was built up as the story progressed and climaxed (no pun intended) when we learnt about the torturing and killing of Davey's relatives.

One thing that seems out of place a little for this chapter though were the scenes that was written to make the reader laugh in the latter part of the Chapter. I know I have said that death has lost its drama value in Do Over, since after all, another Do Over can always be performed and everyone is alive again. However, Davey hss just been told that his grandparents - all 4 of them - as well as possibly a few other family members were dead. The geniality this causes the reader to experience destroys the sand and sombre mood that the deaths were suppose to convey. Personally, because of the hilarity factor of some of these statements, I could not emphatize with the fact that Davey had just lost some of the people that he loved.

I'm sure the average Danimal will lap up this Chapter and proclaim it good. Don't get me wrong. It probably is. But perhaps one thing Dan could learn from Dom (Luka, his co-Writer on Serviced) is how Dom builds up the atmosphere in his stories every chapter without fail, and then gets it to climax near or at the end, thus creating a very effective cliffhanger.

DOR 19



Hmm.... Yeah.... Ok.... Um.... Arrr...... Mmmmm.......

Um, how's Ray of Hope 4 progressing, Nov.

I really enjoy your writing in ROH

Flattery will get you everywhere

Get on with the program, PWS. This is the review for 18. I haven't done 19 yet.

And the idea of the reviews, well, one of them anyways, is to, more than anything else is to provide some feedback to Dan so that he can be a better writer. When I first started doing reviews, nobody did them. Now, I see reviews by everyone, which is IMO good.

Next: Write reviews for Myr's stories... Just kidding

Ohhhh... Okkkkkkaay....

*kicks himself in both shins at the same time*

Just getting ahead of myself again I see. Hmmm

Well I'm heading south in twelve hours to that blathering conference, with no internet access for a whole week. Urkkk

So I'll catch up with ya'll when I get back next weekend

Hold the fort for us will ya Nov, that's a good duke

And see if ya can't wrangle for two more DOR chapters to be posted by when I get back

Ta

Cya

PWS

Hey Nov ,

You were s'posed to see if ya couldn't wrangle for two more DOR chapters to be posted by now.

But we only got one, and that was the regular one promised by the Imperator Himself on the regular day.

So what ya bin up ta Nov?

An we ain't had none a them Reevoos from ya nieva.

You haven't been doing something useful and worthwhile, like researching ROH 4, have ya?

LOL

PWS

Novelty's DOR Reviews - Chapters 19 & 20

In the inexplicable absence of Monseigneur Novelty Le Duc d'Erewhon, a Nyet Novelty DOR Review - Chapter 20 has been posted as a separate review topic.

Although he did not purport to do so, Nov covered a fair bit about Chapter 19 in his review of Chapter 18. And since he seems to be inclined towards thinking Chapter 19 is just more of the same we had in Chapter 18, it could be unlikely that we will have the pleasure of a Nov Review of DOR 19.

Got all that?

Incidentally, we look forward to the return of the Real Novelty for the next review. Failing that another Nyet Novelty Review may appear.

*gasp, quelle horreur!*

PWS

I wonder who was it who wrote: