FimFiction Link - Short ID: 423306/not-a-word
Published: Oct '18
Not a word is a 20k thriller. And a very thrilling one at that. A burglar breaks into a house, and stumbles upon more than she bargained for.
Have you heard of the movie "The Collector"? In it, a guy down on his luck decides to rob a rich family, and accidentally stumbles upon a slasher movie. That's not exactly what happens in this story, but the principle is the same. Warded Lock breaks into a house and is about to leave with a nice haul when she hears someone being kept captive.
What follows is a really tense and engaging escape as Lock and the prisoner make their way out of the house while trying to avoid those who are looking for them.
If that's enough for you, go ahead and read it. It's pretty good. There's another thing I want to talk about, but it's a bit spoilery.
It makes sense, but I still think it was a daring move to not explain anything about what the cult was doing. You can infer a few things from the little details thrown here and there, and some bits of dialogue at the very end. The story is solely about the tense escape and Lock's inner turmoil at how everything went to hell the moment she tried to help somepony. Those are very well done, and carry the story.
I liked this story quite a bit, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
7.8/10.
A thief breaks into a mansion in the middle of a dark magic sacrifice horror oneshot. I was a little skeptical of the word count, given how bad fast-paced fics can be, but was pleasantly surprised to see the pacing very well done. There's quite a bit left on the table, particularly the lore regarding the dark magic and even most of the protag's backstory, but i feel the tightness of the plot that adds is actually a positive, even if questions remained at the end. Overall, a very nice, tense story that eventually shifts to action at the end.