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* "When the Angel Smiles" by Hawk Richards (nostalgic sex)
10, 10, 10
* "When the Angel Smiles" by Hawk Richards (heminway@epix.net). When this author originally posted this story, I gave it ratings of 7-6-8 and said that it contained numerous distracting errors that could easily be eliminated. The author has done a masterful job of revising this story. Not only are the errors gone, but the plot has been substantially revised to clean up the logic and emotions. Charlie is a decrepit old man who seems to be on his way home to die. He meets a young woman who gives him a hand-job on the plane, and then she stays overnight at his hotel and makes tender love to him. The second half of the story consists mostly of flashbacks to Charlie's earlier love life as he prepares to meet his maker. The angel in the title refers to young girls who have appeared to be angelic at various times like these in Charlie's life. This is a difficult story to rate - but only because I can't give anything higher than straight 10's. It deserves very high ratings, because it is among the best stories I have read recently. On the other hand, there is still slight room for improvement. The remaining problem is that too much is left to the reader's imagination at the end of the story. I don't think the author wants to write a morality tale, and so he wants the ending to be deliberately vague. I respect a certain level of ambiguity; but on the other hand, as I read the last lines, I found myself saying, "What the hell happened here?" When I looked back, I still wasn't sure. Maybe I'm wrong. I've been known to say the same things about James Joyce. If you read the story (and I think you'll enjoy doing so), maybe you should drop the author a line and tell him what YOU think. Ratings for "When the Angel Smiles" Athena (technical quality): 10 Venus (plot & character): 10 Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10 |