Hi Ben ,
Thanks for the review request; while I must mention I am not usually one for horror stories, I thought to accept your invitation never the less.
Opening paragraph
You begin with a formal sort of tone that you carry throughout, so it makes me wonder if the Birmingham mentioned is the UK one, not American. I liked that you immediately described the building that your story is set within, while I did not know what was mean by the exterior walls having paintings of Blackthorn. That sounded like it would be an interior feature.
Characters
The primary characters here are Daniel the Servant and Andrew his employer. Danile is immediately revealed as being a frightened sort of man, jumpy at seeing a cat. I did wonder if you meant him to speak the word "Shudders!" however, as that is not how the word is usually used.
Andrew is cool calm and collected, and stylishly dressed. I was a bit confused over who was who when Andrew was the one to then drive away to get food - although I see that is a plot device to leave poor Daniel defenseless.
What I liked best
You have some really good descriptions in here, creating strong visuals of the scene. My favourite was
"Tenuous gleams of crimson red lamps lit the house in great vain"
Recommendations
I have two recommendations to make
1. There were a few times when I was confused about who was speaking. I think you need to adjust your line spacing to make that clearer. eg:
...concern."My time on this earth is over, sir," Daniel whispered, his voice weak."Wait a minute, I will go and get the first aid box from the car,"
Andrew offered, already moving towards the door."No, sir, I won’t survive anymore," Daniel admitted, his voice fading."Don’t say that, Daniel, everything will be alright," Andrew reassured him, though doubt lingered in his mind.
There is a line break after it says he'll get the first aid box, which makes it appear that it's still Daniel talking.
It would read clearer as:
...concern."My time on this earth is over, sir," Daniel whispered, his voice weak.
"Wait a minute, I will go and get the first aid box from the car," Andrew offered, already moving towards the door.
"No, sir, I won’t survive anymore," Daniel admitted, his voice fading.
"Don’t say that, Daniel, everything will be alright," Andrew reassured him, though doubt lingered in his mind.
Creating a new paragraph for each change of speaker will improve the readability of this conversation.
2. Near the end of the story, during the confrontation with Emily, it begins in his bedroom. Then ends outside when he gets his sword from his car. As the reader, that caught me by surprise; I was, 'But how?' It would be good if you could reveal during the fight that they had gone outside.
Overall
This is an ambitious story to tell within a limited Wordcount—I'd love to see it expanded upon and further developed. The Death of Daniel would be an entire chapter by itself, while the mystery of Andrew's occupation makes me curious, too. If you ever expand on the story, do please tag me in to read it!
Write On!
p.s.I have a trinket for you!
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