VOTE! November '08 Challenge

[TheLoneRedshirt]

It's time to vote on the November Challenge entries. The theme was survival. I leave it to you to judge who best presented the challenge theme in their short stories.

Vote for two entries only, please. Voting ends December 3 at midnight, GMT.

Thanks to everyone who entered this month!

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Ohh, man...I had a hard time with this month's choices!

The first slot I decided on right off: mirandafave's "A Question of Survival." This is an extremely raw story, quite disturbing to read, but I think it answers the topic very well on top of being very strong in its own right.

For the second slot, I was incredibly torn. Both Gibraltar and SLWatson's work made a strong case for why it should be the other winner in my book.

Gibraltar's exploration of Pava Lar'ragos, a character he has done so well at making me despise, was fantastic: not only was the writing good, but in some ways I had to agree that Pava did deserve to serve that period of penance. Part of me liked seeing the arrogance get knocked out of him by being a Hirogen plaything. But that his penance continued to bring suffering to others...what unimaginable guilt! And part of me (sick as this might sound) liked seeing that it tormented him even years later. Perhaps a memory like that has curbed him from doing even worse things in the service of Starfleet than he's already done.

SLWatson has a talent for exploring the everyday lives of the characters of the Trekiverse and reminding us that above all, they are still people with lives just like anybody else even if most of the time we read about them, they seem larger than life. Hers, perhaps because of how unlike any of the other entries it was, took a long time to sink in. It took me two or three re-readings before it really hit me just how good it was. Admittedly, too, this was a rather strange take on the survival topic. But as I believe (and went with in my entry as well), survival is more than that of the body. Survival is also an act of the spirit. I've experienced dark times in my own life and I can really identify on a personal level.

In the end, it was that ability to identify personally with SLWatson's depiction of McCoy that won me over, and by that I mean no disservice to Gibraltar: considering both stories were (in my book) equally merit-worthy, this was really the only criterion I had left with which to make a decision.

 

[SLWalker]

Dammit, I keep forgetting to vote for two! So, I only picked one, though I loved a whole lot of the entries, and that was 'Sacrifice'. While I loved Gibralter's, and mirandafave's, and... well, almost all of them, honestly, I stuck with Sacrifice. If I would have been smart enough to pick a second one, I think it may have been Mistral's 'Days of Future Past' for the imagery it invoked of San Fran. Sorry, Mistral. Remind me to remember to vote for two next time.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Maybe TLR will be kind enough to consider your statement a vote for Mistral? Is that what you would have intended?

 

[captcalhoun]

i voted for Mistral

 

[Mistral]

i voted for Mistral

And I plan to kiss you for it.

While I think I wrote to the theme-I also wrote what was, to me, an "obvious" story. I thought Gibraltar and Nerys nailed the theme to the floor, particularly Nerys-that story was freaky cool -(Calhoun-I agonized between you and the Big G)-Calhoun would get my 3rd if I had one(and I actually checked 3 before catching myself).

The rest of the stories were quite interesting-but I felt they weren't as close to the theme. Miss Watson's was a close echo of something I read in a ST novel-so it was harder to pick hers because (intended or not) it rang as a re-hash in my hollow head. Sorry. See y'all next contest!

ed.,- I feel like an ass. Just read Mirandafave's story, which I missed. Sorry, Big G, -I liked that better than yours. But you already have my vote. *grumble, blush, and cough* Well, what can I do, ya'know?

 

[captcalhoun]

unless you're a hot brunette or redhead girl, i'd rather you didn't.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Gibraltar and Mistral, with Nerys only just missing out.

 

[Mistral]

unless you're a hot brunette or redhead girl, i'd rather you didn't.

 

[SLWalker]

unless you're a hot brunette or redhead girl, i'd rather you didn't.

Define 'girl' (versus woman), I might fit.

 

[captcalhoun]

any female human between 18 and 35.

 

[SLWalker]

any female human between 18 and 35.

Okay, I fit.

...what was this about again?

 

[mirandafave]

My first vote went to Mistral - I liked the fact his protagonist's survival was as much a mental ordeal as a physical ordeal. The fact this Robinson Crusoe ordeal lasted over such a long period of time and his ultimate is not exactly spelled out either makes it an intriguing read and a worthy winner in my book.

My second vote was a toss up between Gibraltar and Xeris. Whilst I really liked Pava's tale and how his story worked on the theme of survival on a number of levels I opted for Xersis because I liked the story telling device employed in the story and felt it helped to add to the effect of survival.

 

[Admiral2]

calhoun and G

 

[BrotherBenny]

Thanks to all who voted for me. It's nice to get some votes this time round.

 

[Goliath]

Damn. This was a very difficult vote.

Those of you who read my comments know that I liked most of your stories. Though I generally found something to criticize, I thought most of them were equally good, and equally deserving of victory. This month's entries were an embarrassment of riches.

I finally voted for Mistral and mirandafave, though I almost--almost--voted for SLWatson and Nerys Ghemor.

 

[RevdKathy]

Aren't you guys glad I didn't get time, so you were spared having to read my 'I'm a starship captain, get me out of here!' entry...

 

[USS Fardell]

I voted for SLWatson's First and Nerys Ghemor's Sacrifice. Those were the most touching and interesting stories in this challenge for me.

 

[trampledamage]

Aren't you guys glad I didn't get time, so you were spared having to read my 'I'm a starship captain, get me out of here!' entry...

Tease...


Anyway, I'm not going to be able to vote this month - I've only read two or three of the stories so far, and I'm not going to get the rest read by tomorrow (although I'll try ). Life should be quieter in a week so I do hope to get all the stories read before the next contest ramps up, but I won't be able to cast a vote.

Good luck to everyone!

 

[captcalhoun]

vote for me and done with it :P