Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Noir/Mystery/Science-Fiction/Short
Story
Approximate word count: 6-7,000 words
Availability
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Author:
“T. Lucas
Earle is a writer and filmmaker. T. Lucas has a degree in Film Production from
Emerson College and currently works as a script reader in LA. His stories have
been published in Electric Spec and The Colored Lens. T. Lucas also writes two
blogs and reviews television pilots for Blogcritics. His dark comedy, Abduction, was premiered in the 2013 LA
Shorts Film Fest.”
Description:
“T. Lucas
blends classic noir and dystopian sci-fi, exposing the strange underbelly where
conformity, fashion, and religion collide.”
Appraisal:
The Thirteenth Prophet is just what the description says,
a strange combination of a dystopian world where people receive personality
implants and noir, with Mulligan Burke, the main character, as a hard-boiled
detective who is one of the few people who have never been implanted. It’s a
unique world and the mixing of genres was something I liked.
Despite
liking the premise, I had some issues that can be summarized as “it feels like
there’s more to the story.” We’ve all read full-length novels where it seemed
like the author threw in scenes or descriptions, not because they were needed
for the story, but because they had a minimum word count they had to reach. In
this story, at least in my opinion, the author set out to write a short story,
but built a world that deserved more. On the flip side, Burke’s solving of the
mystery felt like it came too easy. I felt like there was history and context
missing: How did these personality implants start and why? What problems did
they cause? How did Burke avoid having to get an implant? Although what was
here was good, in the end, I was left frustrated because this story idea
deserves more.
Format/Typo Issues:
No
significant issues.
Rating: *** Three stars
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