Reviews of My Best Friend Is Dead 13

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  Review: My Best Friend is Dead
  A review of My Best Friend Is Dead
  by writermorris on 05/01/2013
  I actually reviewed the 2nd draft of this story a couple of months ago, and the comments I made then still more or less stand. This story just peters out and doesn't really go anywhere, however there is certainly a writer in you. You tackle a hard issue with feeling and thought. And I still think it needs more tension in this tale, perhaps you should make one of them a girl... I actually reviewed the 2nd draft of this story a couple of months ago, and the comments I made then still more or less stand. This story just peters out and doesn't really go anywhere, however there is certainly a writer in you. You tackle a hard issue with feeling and thought. And I still think it needs more tension in this tale, perhaps you should make one of them a girl and then you could create some unfilled sexual element into the story. Keep writing. read
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  Review: My Best Friend is Dead
  A review of My Best Friend Is Dead
  by Pili Nathaniel on 03/12/2013
  "My Best Friend is Dead." Wow. Just those words are hard to type. This story, imaginative and enlightening, must have come from a deep, heartfelt place. This is about a boy who loses a friend, slowly. Concept. Excellent. Really inventive, simple and creative. A boy's best friend comes back to life in a reality program. Characters: This wasn't a character driven story. I don't... "My Best Friend is Dead." Wow. Just those words are hard to type. This story, imaginative and enlightening, must have come from a deep, heartfelt place. This is about a boy who loses a friend, slowly.
  
  Concept. Excellent. Really inventive, simple and creative. A boy's best friend comes back to life in a reality program.
  
  Characters: This wasn't a character driven story. I don't know much about either character except that the boy who committed suicide wrote programs with his friend. Did he write himself into the program? Did the living boy write him into the program? Was he just a figment of the living boy's imagination to help workout the difficulties of life. I don't think it matters who these kids were. The story is about loss, life and living.
  
  Dialogue: Mostly a narrative. What little actual dialogue there was really drove the story forward. "I'm dead. Dead people don't get indulgences." "This wasn't the point. I'm supposed to be dead." And my favorite, "One soul trapped in a billion bodies." That last bit of dialogue got me thinking about the 'big picture' of life. So many short stories are ridiculously verbose. I appreciated the fact that the minimal dialogue was used well.
  
  Story: Heartbreakingly real in an imagined reality. The author taps into deep concepts such as suicide, death and reality and writes in an almost dry and "to the point" manner. As if the author is the boy wanting to talk to his friend those many years ago.
  
  Structure: No problems here.
  
  Overall: I hit "Add to Favorites" immediately. This was a well-written story. Very professional. read
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  Good Idea
  A review of My Best Friend Is Dead
  by billgrams on 01/04/2013
  I found this short story interesting and it made me read on because of the nature of the idea. It seemed to explore several ideas and ended on a general comment about the purpose that the dead person may have had in remaining after he went so to speak. It was all idea and there was no hint at what the author or the dead person was like physically. This didn't detract from... I found this short story interesting and it made me read on because of the nature of the idea. It seemed to explore several ideas and ended on a general comment about the purpose that the dead person may have had in remaining after he went so to speak.
  
  It was all idea and there was no hint at what the author or the dead person was like physically. This didn't detract from the idea and didn't stop me reading the piece. It may be interesting to try another draft with a minimal amount of physical description, I don't know.
  read
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  Surreal
  A review of My Best Friend Is Dead
  by cactuscomet on 12/21/2012
  I wasn't sure what was going on, but that's a good thing. I really enjoy the form of the short, short story. So this story works well in that format. The fact that the main character is talking to his friend after he is dead leads me to question whether or not the friend was real in the first place. I've read it a couple times now, looking for clues or specifics of what really... I wasn't sure what was going on, but that's a good thing. I really enjoy the form of the short, short story. So this story works well in that format. The fact that the main character is talking to his friend after he is dead leads me to question whether or not the friend was real in the first place. I've read it a couple times now, looking for clues or specifics of what really happened. How did he kill himself? How do they really communicate. But I think that's the whole point of the story. The virtual reality slant. The reader fills in the holes and it's more about the relationship and the growing apart as the main character gets older and his friend seems to become meditative and surreal. You should sometimes leave your reader wanting more. I wanted to learn more. That's a sign of hooking someone and gaining their interest. Give us some more stories. read
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  A death two friends
  A review of My Best Friend Is Dead
  by ALEX THE GREAT on 05/10/2012
  I've appriciated the story and how is articulate.A story without time,in the sense the author gives informations about time, but time losts importance and what stays is just their frindship. There are no names, the importance is the fact that he chosed to die, their freindship and the that a person miss another one. language: monotonous language, which doesent' mean boring... I've appriciated the story and how is articulate.A story without time,in the sense the author gives informations about time, but time losts importance and what stays is just their frindship. There are no names, the importance is the fact that he chosed to die, their freindship and the that a person miss another one. language: monotonous language, which doesent' mean boring but just without "emotionaljumps" to reflect sadness. I'vwe found the use of this "timbre" to underline what you read to the end: the lost of a friend read
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  Some confusion here.
  A review of My Best Friend Is Dead
  by Thomassharkey on 04/28/2012
  I’m not sure if the character is a fruit cake, or his pal is a ghost or some sort of virtual reality character. I was curious as to how this would develop after it set off from the starting blocks, but it didn’t seem to be going anywhere. There were a few confusing scenes where I couldn’t picture anything after which it sort of fizzled out. However, it was well-written, but... I’m not sure if the character is a fruit cake, or his pal is a ghost or some sort of virtual reality character. I was curious as to how this would develop after it set off from the starting blocks, but it didn’t seem to be going anywhere. There were a few confusing scenes where I couldn’t picture anything after which it sort of fizzled out.
  However, it was well-written, but the story didn’t match up to the quality of writing. read
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  The best friend might be dead, but this story's kicking!
  A review of My Best Friend Is Dead
  by nick74 on 04/27/2012
  First two sentences: I’m hooked. My impression is that I’m in for a creatively written piece of work --- something with some evocative and subtle thinking that drives it. First paragraph: I’m hooked even more. Already you’ve alluded to some deep metaphysical and metaphorical elements about life, friendship and madness. This is very cool. The problem is that you’ve created... First two sentences: I’m hooked. My impression is that I’m in for a creatively written piece of work --- something with some evocative and subtle thinking that drives it.
  
  First paragraph: I’m hooked even more. Already you’ve alluded to some deep metaphysical and metaphorical elements about life, friendship and madness. This is very cool. The problem is that you’ve created some enormous shoes to fill for yourself, but what else are you supposed to do? This is a perfect beginning. My question at this point is will the rest of the story move forward and then end with this same quality?
  
  Yeesh! Talking to a dead friend and not even knowing it. This is masterfully creepy!
  
  “He made me promise not to tell anyone. He did it for a reason, he didn’t want his family
  trying to come visit him.” --- this sentence is wrought with character insight and objectives. But, in context with the rest of the story it’s unclear. WHAT did he do for a reason? Commit suicide, or make the narrator not tell anyone about it? I’m not qualified to rewrite another author’s work (I wouldn’t do that anyway) but in this instance, it might be more clear if it simply read, “He made me promise not to tell anyone because he didn’t want his family trying to come visit him.” This is a very important sentence, so make sure it’s crystal clear.
  
  There’s something hysterical about a suicide victim unsatisfied with the level of peace he’s achieved. I never even considered that possibility. Most people probably haven’t. Your brain is totally bent, my friend. And then there’s this:
  
  “Maybe cause I was afraid it would make sense.” --- What an honest sentence. We’ve all wondered about suicide. I’m not saying we’ve all CONTEMPLATED it, but definitely wondered what it would be like. This line throws that honest truthfulness into a reader’s face. That’s what you want! You want readers to read your stuff, and think about themselves. Brilliant. And I’ll bet you achieved this with just being honest with yourself as a writer and creator of character. Good stuff, dude.
  
  Okay, I’m going to stop highlighting sentences that shotgun fresh ideas into a reader’s brain --- sentences like “Did he finally actually die? I hope so.” And “He says he realizes that he was never himself, but that he was all selves, tricked into thinking he was one self.”
  
  Truly excellent story. One of my new favorites. You have a very simple voice that’s straight forward and honest. It never assumes an audience. It only talks from its own subjective vantage point, and it’s very conversational to boot, which to my mind is what pulls a reader in and makes them forget they’re reading. There’s no “over writing” here. Everything’s clear without being TOO simplistic. Nice, nice job.
  
  If I had to criticize I would say this (and this is only the opinion coming from a writer who is stylistically different than you): You wrap up what could be completely engrossing pages of character dialog and conversation inside of one-sentence story generalities. All those fantastic ideas I highlighted earlier --- turn those into conversations. Take, for instance, the line “He says he realizes that he was never himself, but that he was all selves, tricked into thinking he was one self.” and make that the point to a whole conversation. I can see these two friend --- one dead, the other a digital representation of himself --- sitting under that oak tree and discussing these ultimately nutso ideas for three pages. Of course, like I said, that’s just me. As it is, I don’t see this as a rough draft at all. It’s got all the necessary elements. Strong character. A great situation. The expression of strong ideas. I know it’s ranked very high. It deserves it. You might consider submitting it to sci-fi periodicals and fiction magazines. Aim high, too. Send it to American Fiction, and Asimov’s Science Fiction or Analog Magazine. They pay for stuff like this and… you never know. Good luck with it. read
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  A lovely short read
  A review of My Best Friend Is Dead
  by TeaSeaInc on 04/25/2012
  I really enjoyed this story. It was simple, humorous and heartfelt. I assumed the time frame was in the future, and that people participate in these virtual realities, am I right? I did find myself wondering if his friend didn't program himself into his friend virtual world before his death. My only suggestion is to make a clarification about the programming and virtual... I really enjoyed this story. It was simple, humorous and heartfelt.
  
  I assumed the time frame was in the future, and that people participate in these virtual realities, am I right? I did find myself wondering if his friend didn't program himself into his friend virtual world before his death.
  
  My only suggestion is to make a clarification about the programming and virtual worlds. I would say this suggestion is almost petty, but since it ties into the question I had as a reader of his friend and the virtual reality, it may be worth addressing.
  
  Overall though, I liked the concept, and felt what the main character felt. Also, I loved the humor. read
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  EMOTIONAL & PAINFULLY MOVING
  A review of My Best Friend Is Dead
  by montana malone on 04/18/2012
  The one-two punch with your opening lines of your short grabbed me in the gut and invoked curiosity as to where this story was going. After reading, almost compulsively, your story over and over and over again, there is nothing to say besides it was fucking amazing and thought provoking. Every single word and thought penetrated my being and caused my brain to swell with input... The one-two punch with your opening lines of your short grabbed me in the gut and invoked curiosity as to where this story was going. After reading, almost compulsively, your story over and over and over again, there is nothing to say besides it was fucking amazing and thought provoking. Every single word and thought penetrated my being and caused my brain to swell with input from your words that moved me beyond belief. Speechless in the best way, Montana. read
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  Fascinating and subtly heartbreaking
  A review of My Best Friend Is Dead
  by Anonymmous on 04/17/2012
  I loved this story. It raises questions about where science can take us and what reality really is. At the same time it slowly builds up the characters and after the four or five pages of this story i really felt a connection to the protagonist. I often criticize authors for a lack of clarity in their stories but i thought the ambiguity of My Best Friend is Dead is very appropriate... I loved this story. It raises questions about where science can take us and what reality really is. At the same time it slowly builds up the characters and after the four or five pages of this story i really felt a connection to the protagonist. I often criticize authors for a lack of clarity in their stories but i thought the ambiguity of My Best Friend is Dead is very appropriate. It allows for the reader to contemplate the themes themselves. Perhaps the addition of a few more details about the deceased friend would be interesting. He is a fascinating character and more insight into his motivations and suicide would be welcome. Congratulations on an excellent story and i look forward to your next submission! read