Name: Oregonian (Signed) · Date: 27 Jan 2021 09:28 PM · For: One of Those Days

Hi, Kate.

 

I'm here to read and review your new story, One of Those Days, for the Winter in Fairyland review event.  

 

This story is complicated and action-filled.  I had to read it twice because it was hard to follow in the first few pages, though the string of little mishaps that dogged Virgil all day were quite easy to follow.  Partway through the story I began to get a much better handle on who these people were, the environment they were in, and what their roles were.  It was a case of "I wish I could go back and [do such-and-such] over again, knowing what I know now."  Luckily it is very fast and easy to read a story over again.

 

I'm still not sure about the environment.  People can teleport themselves; that's unusual.  And the living quarters, the art studio, the swimming pool, and the helicopter hangars all seem to be located withn the same complex.  I'm not sure when these people are based, but their organization is called International Rescue, and they seem to be able to travel rapidly to sites all over the globe (such as Taiwan).

 

I'm also not sure about the men's roles.  Virgil is an artist, but he also does repairs in the cockpit of one of the helcopters and accompanies his brother on a search-and-rescue mission in an earthquake-damaged highrise in Taiwan, although he's not in the military.

His younger brother, Gordon, is identified as an aquanaut and he swims laps in the swimming pool, he also does search-and rescue in the highrise, and he is a member of the military.

Scott, the oldest brother, is described as a mother hen .  He seems to be in the military also, as he has an administrative role during the earthquake response but also flies a rescue helicopter.

 

I hope I got all this straight.

 

Your writing style is pure storytelling, very straightforward, yet we readers can draw good conclusions about what the characters are feeling just by the description of what is happening and how they are dealing with it

It's fast-paced, with a good amount of gentle humor sprinkled all through it, and a tense moment when the building is about to collapse while Gordon and Virgil are still standing on the roof, fifteen stories up, and then when Virgil is clinging to the ladder for dear life with only one fully functional hand.

 

I would like to read more of your stories.  I am curious to see if this one is typical of your writing style.

 

Nice job.  I enjoyed it!

 

Vicki

 

For the Winter in Fairyland review event.

 

Author's Response:

Hi Vicki!

 

I was not expecting this at all so thank you very much for taking the time to read and review - especially for a fandom you are not familiar with! This was a story very much written for those who know the characters, but I am so impressed with how much you managed to take from it. The premise is five brothers and their billionaire father run a worldwide rescue organisation from their tropical island base (and home) in the South Pacific, saving lives from disasters using advantaged technology in the form of machines called the Thunderbirds - a supersonic rocket, a huge rescue equipment carrier, an underwater submersible, a space rocket, and a communications satellite out in space.

 

Hahaha, I promise you the characters cannot teleport, it was more a figure of speech to show how Virgil is so out of it he doesn't register Scott's appearance until he's literally there beside him.

 

Thank you so much for reading, especially as you didn't have to, so I really appreciate that!

 

Kate