Reviewed:
If anyone is a fan of L.E. Modesitt, you will recognize the main character in this story, not because Modesitt wrote about him in particular, but because this character shows the development of what Modesitt termed a "black mage", a person who is devoted to order and excellence in their craft.
The MC starts off life on the wrong side of the law after his mother is one of the victims of the oxycontin epidemic that left many people addicted to drugs. I won't say more about that to avoid giving away key factors in the plot, but his experiences result in a mindset different from the average person's. Even though his experiences damage him to an extent, he finds purpose in life and makes his way towards that goal he sets.
For plot, this gets an exceptional 10. You will cry in parts as you experience the anguish of some of the characters, but that is part of what makes this great.
For technical score, an A+ (9). There were areas where words were missing or out of order, a couple of other times where they were repeated. None of the instances took away from the story.
For appeal, a solid A+ (9) again. What would I have changed? To me, the ending seemed almost hurried. I would have liked to have seen another chapter, maybe even two more, showing how they got there.
Reviewed:
Nicholas is an outsider: orphaned as a teen and failed by the system, he spends three years in juvenile detention, half of it in solitary confinement. He survives this torture (and make no mistake, solitary is torture) through the chance discovery of ancient stoic philosophy. Once he gets out, he soon realizes that what got him through is not enough to make him a whole, healthy adult. The bridge that gets him there is the art of writing and the craft of carpentry.
The author has, as of this review, posted three stories with very consistent structures and themes. Based on the internal evidence, I believe he wrote Nicholas’s Story third. I could be wrong, but I’m reviewing his stories in this presumed order.
For one thing, everything that wasn’t quite right about the first two stories, here the author has applied the lessons learned. The prose is just as excellent, the overall arc of this character study is as well, and more to the point, the transitions between stops along the way are handled very well indeed. There is a touch too much explanation about the limitations of stoicism, but otherwise the balance between showing and telling is just about perfect.
If you only read one of these three stories, make it this one. But I’m betting that you’ll want more, afterwards. Recommended. (Please, though, ignore the story non-description and jump right in.)
Reviewed:
This story has not reached its end at the time of this review, but it follows its other brethren in terms of quality and appeal.
Writer 406 has written three great stories so far - 'Jacob's Story', 'Matthew's Story', and now 'Nicholas's Story'. All are different from each other in content, but have some similarities in style.
'Nicholas's Story' relates the life of a young man who as a teenager spent time in an adolescent reform prison, with 18 months in solitary confinement because of his insolence. During that 18 months, his only friends were cockroaches.
With much time on his hands, he started keeping notebooks of his thoughts about the meaning of life, and finally gained access to philosophy and psychology books, where he learned how to read better and, over time, assimilate knowledge at much higher and more sophisticated levels. In the end, you could say that he developed both maturity and wisdom.
That led to his realizing that life can have meaning if one does their best to achieve perfection, even as "just a handyman". His new behavior brings him into meaningful interactions and relationships with others, and some of these interactions will touch your heart.
I don't wish to expose more details of the story, but I highly recommend you give it a read. Same with his earlier stories. You'll be happy you did. They are very worth your time.