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kingakim100 - Drugs

Title: Drugs
Chapters read: 7
Score: 6/10

INTRODUCTION:
Drugs are a wild ride, alternating between action and softer, more personal chapters. It follows Domenic, a man who takes a pill that takes him to a different reality and that if he ever survives, his present plight would change. A story where the plot twists sporadically and unpredictably, Drugs is sure to keep you entertained and hooked. Despite the positive outlook, Drugs also deserves criticism for it's bland portrayal of it's characters, a poorly-built fictional world, and the plot's rather rough flow.

What I LIKED about your book:
The start was very intriguing. You began with an action-packed prologue and moved to a softer and more emotional premise. A very great tactic I might say. Your use of this prologue—a very enigmatic, brutal, and confusing type of prose—really draws the readers in. Perhaps because of their curiosity to dissect what the hell actually happened in the prologue and trust me, they weren't disappointed to read further.

After the bloody prologue, it transitions and focuses its attention not on building the plot but on introducing the characters. The premise was resourcefully used as it doesn't only detail an outlook on your characters' lives and misery, it also delves deep into their thoughts and into their pasts, and explores the problems that bother them vividly, making me a bit sympathetic and also relating to the main character. Frankly, I was surprised that you've introduced your characters fully in a small span of chapters, though I hope that if I ever read further, the characters of Andrew and Mallory would further be explored.

The story's plot itself is very unique. It's set in a dystopian world if I am not mistaken and that the country they are set in is in an economic crisis. I've heard of favors from the devil but I've never heard of a swallow-a-pill-and-survive-a-world-full-of-demons type of compromise and this completely helps your story stands out. Hell, I've judged the book by its title and my thought it would be a crime type of novel about drug-dealing but eh.

Details-wise, I find your narration to be very descriptive, though I have to criticize your characters' display of movements and emotions, the way you described the scenery and atmosphere was beautiful, portraying it in a sense of authenticity with a touch of figurative creativeness. It was not only entertaining to read but it was also easy to visualize, given that you've invested your efforts in descriptions equally.

What I DIDN'T LIKE about your book:
Let's talk about your characters. I called your portrayal 'bland' because well, I find their interactions with their surroundings and their fellows to be lackluster. it's detailed pretty straightforward and colorless, probably because of the lack of further depth to characters' characteristics and rather appealing to their emotion. What I would deem the worse, though, is the dialogues. Brutally honest here, some of the dialogue seemed artificial or emotionless. It lacks in strength that it resonates with the readers. Conversations between characters were sometimes awkward and inconsistent, displaying conversations between strangers without fear of boundaries that it feels like these two people aren't strangers. Beautiful premise I should say but the further I go into the story, the more it drops in quality.

The fictional world of yours wasn't introduced properly too. I like that you detailed it well, but it should be introduced too along with your characters. I see that you had plenty of opportunities to drop subtle hints regarding your world but you didn't clearly use these opportunities. I have questions like, is this the United States or an entirely different country? What is the form of government, given that Domenic hinted that democracy 'is a dream' then I assume it's a totalitarian government? If the country is having a financial crisis, why do they have scheduled terminations monthly? I just find this bizarre given that there are protests. If they want the protests to subside, why continue with such tradition?

The flow of the story is very spontaneous. Though there are transitions when it comes to rapid changes in time, I don't find that they contribute into helping your flow get smoother.

CONCLUSION:
I think this i staying in my library.

Excellent writing. I don't know why I just find the characters a tad bit bland. I find your narration very beautiful though, smooth and imaginative, it appeals to my creative side and compels me to not only read further but also to visualize these scenes inside my head.

A very unique and gorgeous story indeed!