Book and story reviews are based on a 3 principle system; S.S.A.: Style, Substance, and Amusement. Each criteria is judged on a 5 point scale, and the sum of scores is a story's overall score. The scoring system has been weighted such that a score between 7 and 9 is perfectly respectable, with only exceptional stories scoring higher. The general numeric ranking is as follows:
- This aspect of the story is so poorly done that it detracts from the overall readability.
- This aspect of the story is generally poor but acceptable.
- This aspect of the story is average for what you would expect from a published author.
- This aspect of the story is very enjoyable.
- This aspect of the story is amazing and either wholly unique in some regard or the best possible rendition of an idea that other authors may have explored, but not nearly so well.
Style represents how much individualistic style a particular piece of writing has. Be it telling the story through a unique point of view, or doing an excellent job of making an action heavy story feel visceral.
Substance measures how much meat there is to the story. Does the story feel like a story, or like a scattered brain dump? Does the story come to some type of conclusion, even if that just means leaving some questions open, or does it just end abruptly with nothing accomplished?
Amusement asks, quite simply, was the story enjoyable to read? Did time fly by while reading it, or was it a slog through literary mud?
Story Review Guidelines and Requirements
All stories and books reviewed much be wholly and freely available for view on the web, preferably with no registration required.
Story Submission
To submit a story for review send an email to devlin.bentley@gmail.com with a descriptive subject line. If you use the above email link a subject line is already recommended for you, just fill in appropriately.
