The Glass Cage by James Lecky

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Megawatts
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Joined: December 31, 1969, 08:00:00 PM
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The Glass Cage by James Lecky

Post by Megawatts »

Nice intro, captivating; it worked for me, held my attention and quickly drew me into the story. Good description and one that also contributed to the mood for the remainder of the story. However, I would not want to live in PameValdas since life insurance premiums must be quite high!

The writing good, and the characters sprang to life for me. The mixture of show and tell especially used in the same sentence worked. And the dialogue was crafted better than average.

Sword and Sorcery offers a broad stage for creative writing, and this story demonstrates some bits and pieces that are core to that genre. Science, Witchcraft, Magic, Folklore, Urban legends, Time Travel, other Dimensions----all can be mixed in with ‘Sword and Sorcery’ to produce a pure imaginative tell that takes us to worlds that can even be peopled by space aliens!

Ulphia wants to remain beautiful for eternity, and she will let nothing bar her from fulfilling that desire. And Barcaradin had the power to give Ulphia her deepest wish. She left Flavian for the darker world in which her beauty might find an eternal youth.

It might seem cruel to some that she gave up her unborn child for eternal beauty, but this technique demonstrated how Ulphia would do anything, anything within the canopy of heaven to reach her mortal desire.

Flavian broke the glass and released Ulphia from the glass cage, which reminded me of the old Phantom Zone from Superman! Flavian got stabbed with a piece of glass and died in Ulphia’s sinister embrace. The story suggests that Ulphia transformed from the Harlot that she was known for to a demon like creature with no concerns for her former lovers.

The story ended with Ulphia in time’s arms again, and she decided to end her life rather than grow old. And it is interesting how Ulphia could mesmerize Vedreem into killing her just with the power of her beauty.

I had some minor issues and I think a little better proof reading would have cleaned them up.

Some words were questionable: ‘poring’, ’ civilisation‘, and ‘colourful’ seemed wrong; I’m not an English Major so I can’t be sure about the difference between America and Ireland with language use.

Good story in accordance with what we expect from ‘Sword and Sorcery.’ The characters Ulphia, Vedreem, Flavian, and Barcaradin all came alive in this short story, and the story was entertaining form beginning to end.



Good story, Okay character development, interesting plot and entertaining to the end!

Better than average!!
Tesla Lives!!!
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