Of course I did not win anything :P
To be honest, after the first twenty stories or so I actually thought I have a realistic chance, but the more entries came, the more better ones appeared. There were quite a few I would have chosen above my own, hands down.
Considering the list of winners I have mixed feelings.
There were several among them that I also liked a lot. In the pure fictional category, almost all the winners were among the stories I would have chosen from. Especially the first-prize winner Attrition Initiative made quite an impression on me for being a gut-wrenching and dark story. I like those. Personally I would have placed For Absent Friends higher. It nicely showed what crews endure as a consequence of the reckless callousness of capsuleers. At the end I almost cried.
In the in-game-character related contest bracket I was a bit more surprised by the choices. I was happy to see that Sugar Kyle was among the winners. I liked her little vignettes a lot. I was a bit disappointed that one of my favorite bloggers, Penny Ibramovich did not make it with her entry.
Now if it comes to stories who didn't win and which I would really have chosen as contenders, I want to name them here to give them extra kudos and more exposure because I feel that they deserve it.
- Hek: A Pirate's Story by Voodoo Williams - For being a well written in-character monologue that had me smile and laugh a lot and for the great funny twist at the end.
- Corruption by Da'iel Zehn - For offering a chilling re-interpretation of the EVE Wormhole collapse and how it happened. In-game lore says it was a natural disaster, but that happened so long ago ... who knows whether it wasn't like he wrote it. Well, he got an honorary mention at least.
- For the Children by Rhavas - For using a daring style by constructing a narrative from a number of excerpts and short episodes spanning decades and fitting them together into a story about how even the best intentions can be twisted to fit evil purposes.
- Vandalism by Drackarn - For taking a cue from the submission regulations themselves to come up with a creative and funny story that takes a look at faction warfare from a street-level perspective, literally. It was gripping and I really laughed at the end.
- Clouded Judgement by Seismic Stan - For turning a boring clickfest into a gripping story that had me riveted from the beginning even though there is no action as such. Also - as usual for Stan - the writing quality is excellent.
- When Brothers go to War by John Frek - For taking a very human look at the same pivotal event in the Gallente - Caldari war that the second prize winner Immortality Beckons uses as basis. I liked this version better, especially how it really made Admiral Tovil-Toba a character who felt very real. It took a few liberties with the lore canon, maybe that's why it didn't win anything.
All that being said, there were many stories with many good ideas, nicely crafted atmospheres and narratives. Among those 101 stories there were only a handful that really didn't do much for me at all (weirdly enough two of those won a prize. I guess that shows how different people appreciate different things for their reading pleasure).
In the end, I can only thank Telegram Sam and the CCP jury for their work and all the sponsors for donating prizes.
Until next time!
That's an excellent list! Every one of the stories you mentioned was very distinct and very memorable. I also wish they'd gotten prizes or placed higher... but then again, my list for that is pretty long. I also highly recommned that you read these stories, writers and readers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout-out on "For the Children". I think it took longer to research than to write! I really wanted to tell a story of the "good" Gallente model slowly deteriorating into tyranny in a time of perpetual war.
ReplyDelete... and you did a great job.
DeleteI have to say the way how you demonstrate the degradation of a protective measure into an instrument for oppression felt very much in connection with the events of the last decade in our own world, and that is one of the things Science Fiction literature has often done: Make one reflect about the present while reading about a possible future.
Yeah ... that was intentional. Originally I was going to write a story about a Gallente election but there wasn't enough canon to write that up without making a bunch of stuff that would have been rejected (I wrote it before the big infodump with Retribution). This seemed like the next best message.
DeleteI go back to a lot of those old pre-1980 writers like Heinlein, Asimov, even back to Van Vogt and Sturgeon, for inspiration in that sort of writing mood. :)