Dreams on the Wind by Steele Tyler Filipek

Tell us what you thought of the February 2010 issue.
Post Reply
User avatar
Lester Curtis
Long Fiction Editor
Posts: 2736
Joined: January 11, 2010, 12:03:56 AM
Location: by the time you read this, I'll be somewhere else

Post by Lester Curtis »

I liked this one, too. The life-or-(near) death action was great. I thought the tough-guy/coward thing was a little bit overplayed, but it wasn't too bad.

I wondered about all the repeated drills and no real emergencies. Is this part of their punishment?
Megawatts
Master Critic
Posts: 951
Joined: December 31, 1969, 08:00:00 PM
Location: Johnstown, Pa.

Post by Megawatts »

The old memories popped up with me one after another in this story! You see, I worked in a coal-fired generating station, and I know what it’s like when alarms and buzzers go off, and control room operators spring from their chairs and frantically look over the computer screens to examine the problem. And the big problems always happened on midnight shift when everyone was half-asleep. ( A chair can very comfortable at 3 am )

An action filled story. Liked it from beginning to end, and often felt the stress Corey was under as he responded to the emergency.

I would really like to see a windmill that big! It must have reached the Jet Stream. I wonder how many megawatts it could produce under full-load?

The intro worked. It might not have ‘grabbed’ one’s attention, but it did get it.

I wonder why the author used a feminine voice as an announcer?

The action begins and almost never lets up. That can be a good point, but for many reader they need longer breathers than the ones in this story. For me, it’s Okay---at least for a couple of chapters in a novel. For a short story under ten thousand words, total action usually works for me.

The sub-plot of Corey accidentally killing his girl friend, and the thought that she was unfaithful the him, was introduced, I fell, at the right time in the story,

The grammar and writing Okay, for the story wasn’t too hard to follow, and it did progress in a rather logical sequence. No big, unconnected jumps in time or place. Some better word choices might have helped, but I can live with the way it was written. Also better attention to dialogue is needed, but like word choices it wasn't terrible.

Corey’s remembrance of Megan in the story were not sharps jumps that would distract the reader. And the reference to Jackson’s embezzling also was short and in line with their criminal sentencing--the reason they were on this ‘Mega Windmill.’

The emergence was simulated and didn’t happen in real time. A good futuristic story about our electrical net, and how generation might be.

Another element of this story reminded me of Viet-Nam.

When in Nam, I served with guys that had the option of going to prison or serving in the army, usually six years from what some told me. Their crimes, at least the ones I know, were stealing cars and taking them for joy rides. Remember, most of us were in our late teens.

Just an added thought about how some stories can bring forth memories from the reader.

Good action story, but room for improvement.
Tesla Lives!!!
Post Reply

Return to “February 2010”