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New e-fiction: Nothing Personal

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Backgammon

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« on: <08-11-14/1510:26> »
Latest Enhanced Fiction story is out, Nothing Personal.
This story clocks in at over 20k words, so it is roughly twice as long as Vladivostok Gauntlet. It is NOT a sequel to Vladivostom Gauntlet, it is a whole new story with new characters.

Mr. Johnson. You know the name. You probably know the face—smooth, implacable, professional. He’s got the nuyen and resources you want, and he knows it. He may not have your skills, but he doesn’t care. That’s what he has the nuyen for—so he can buy yours. He’s corporate through and through, and you can’t ever forget that, because if you do, that’s when he sells you out for the good of his corp. But he’ll stay professional, of course, right up until the moment he slides the knife smoothly into your back. He’s useful, that Mr. Johnson, but every time you meet him, every time you have to deal with his double-crosses, his condescending put-downs, his smug superiority, you wish that the day would come when the tables were turned, when he was forced out on the street with nothing but his wits and street skills—whatever those might be—to keep him alive.
Well, good news. Sometimes wishes come true, even in the Sixth World. Mr. Johnson is about to meet the street, and you’ve got a ringside seat.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shadowrun-Nothing-Personal-Olivier-Gagnon-ebook/dp/B00MLQXQ9I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407783945&sr=8-1&keywords=nothing+personal+shadowrun
Battleshop: http://www.battlecorps.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28_187_241&products_id=3354

Please let me know what you think :)
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AJCarrington

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« Reply #1 on: <08-11-14/1806:08> »
Nice to see this...looking forward to picking it up once back in the land of wifi :).

An aside, the next SR Missions scenario has also been released :)

Frankie the Fomori

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« Reply #2 on: <08-11-14/1955:07> »
Picked up the Kindle version and saw it did not have game stats then found a link on drive thru RPG and another link on main site and both did not load game stats. Does anyone have a better link to follow?
« Last Edit: <08-11-14/2000:11> by Frankie the Fomori »

DeathStrobe

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« Reply #3 on: <08-11-14/2010:32> »
Awesome. I'll start reading it after I finish Frost and Fire.

Backgammon

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« Reply #4 on: <08-11-14/2135:08> »
Frankie (and anyone else) - I'll sent the comment up the ladder. Hopefully this can get fixed before GenCon, otherwise it might got to next week. But don't worry - you'll get the stats for sure sooner or later.
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PiXeL01

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« Reply #5 on: <08-12-14/0610:34> »
I read through it today and found it a rather good read. The protagonist of the story is unusual but that just adds to the entirety of it all. I would recommend it to others to read.
I did however encounter a few little snags when reading it. Does that first page really did to be that descriptive? I know it adds to the character building, but still are all those details necessary?
Also the implants of two of the characters, Angel and Irish does not match when comparing the description within the story and their profiles.

Definitely four stars out of five.
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Backgammon

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« Reply #6 on: <08-12-14/0648:11> »
Thanks for the feedback!
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Kincaid

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« Reply #7 on: <08-12-14/0841:41> »
I enjoyed it, there were a number of touches--like how First Impression would work--that I thought you pulled off well.

A few quick thoughts.  I apologize for the format, but I'm at work so I'm going for speed.

1. It's not an error, but the switch in tense in the first paragraph ("What I got...." vs. "What I have..." is jarring to the reader since you're establishing the first-person present tense narrative.
2. I'm sure it's done to evoke stream of consciousness, but the number of "Anyway" on the first page alone is distracting.  It's repeated throughout, so I take it that you were establishing a personality quirk, but it makes the narration a little jumpy.  Jumpy narrators are fine, but the reader shouldn't feel distracted.
3. The narration of the chase lacks tension.  The writing could be choppier and more frenetic.  Having an aside about the narrator's workout schedule is great flavor in terms of world building, but it doesn't convey the stakes of the scene.
4. There's a certain sameness to your sentence construction.  Subject - Verb - DO.  This is an easy things to fall into while writing in the first person, but it can become flat for the reader after a few pages.
5. Although I disagree with Vonnegut when it comes to semi-colons, you seem to use them in clusters and it's not always clear exactly why.  Conversely, you separate certain clauses that work better together.  "I pass my hand though my hair.  I notice it has a slight tremble."  Neither of those really work as clauses independent of one another, so you should combine them.  "My hand trembles slightly as I pass it through my hair."  Or whatever.
6. This may be an issue of audience, but some things felt over-explained.  "...I make sure the teams I send to their death don't come back."  Brief aside: this is a good example of where not to use a semi-colon.  This sentence is much more sinister and powerful when it stands alone.  Whether or not you even need the sentence is debatable.  The reader should be able to infer that he's never had the problem precisely because all the teams he sends to die stay dead and letting that unspoken truth hang over things creates more dread than having the narrator lay it all out.
7. ZOMG that drone!

But I really did enjoy it.  I thought the downtime scenes between the narrator and the team were particularly good, giving the reader a good sense of not just personality, but also how personal dynamics work in the shadows.
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Backgammon

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« Reply #8 on: <08-12-14/0845:06> »
Thank you Kincaid for taking the time to write out in this level of detail, I greatly appreciate this feedback.
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martinchaen

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« Reply #9 on: <08-29-14/0830:20> »
I enjoyed the book, definitely worth buying.

I'm also very happy that the DriveThroughRPG version included both e-book formats and a PDF, so I could get my stats directly without having to go to a third-party site.


Backgammon

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« Reply #10 on: <08-29-14/0833:57> »
Thanks! A small favour to anyone that has read it and has a big 4 minutes on their hands - please write a little review where you go it from (Amazon, Drivethru, etc). Doesn't have to be a dissertation, just a few lines is enough. I'd appreciate it a lot, thanks!
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martinchaen

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« Reply #11 on: <08-29-14/0853:35> »
Done ;)

Tai-Pan

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« Reply #12 on: <09-03-14/0621:45> »
So any word on the game information document popping up soonish?
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Backgammon

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« Reply #13 on: <09-03-14/0716:20> »
I brought it up, but CGL was in a GenCon, then a post-GenCon haze. So.. I don't know :(
I'll see what I can do
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Tai-Pan

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« Reply #14 on: <10-03-14/2302:31> »
Any Updates here?
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