Spotlight Sunday: Detenu
I’m back from my Christmas break and more than ready to provide you with loads of new underappreciated stories to enjoy. For this Spotlight Sunday, I am featuring a well-thought-out and deliciously concise Thriller that will make you want to read it again and again! As always, please feel free to contribute by making suggestions in the polls (I’ll provide a link at the bottom as usual) and telling me what you think about the reviews! I hope you enjoy this next one as much as I did!
Name: Deteny
Author: J.Miley
Style: Ink Cinematic
Genre: Thriller; Adventure; Dystopian
CC: No; Choice of male or female MC
Chapters: 3
Status: Fully Released!
Summary
The main character (either Novalie or Tavish) lives in an underground world where the smallest crime can get you sent to prison. There, you’re forced to await the end of your life. You’re on the waiting list to be turned into fuel for the city’s survival! What could be worse? Probably
My Verdict
I never expected to see a story like this on Episode. I’m glad I was recommended this one, though! J. Miley definitely knows how to create a story that you want to read over and over again. I have to be honest with you: I wasn’t expecting to like this story as much as I did. This is a rare find. Most stories on Episode struggle to deal with serious issues. They often fall into the trap of sending out terrible messages about the topic! I don’t think that’s the fault of community writers, though. Episode Featured Stories suck at tackling important issues. That’s where most of our writers learn their trade from! If the professionals can’t do it, how are we supposed to? Especially since Episode likes to shove bad boys and gang leaders down our throats.
There is a point to my rant. You need to read this story if you want to learn how to write about complex issues properly. All of the characters make sense. Their actions seem realistic. The settings draw you in from the very beginning. However, that’s not to say that it’s hard to read! No! Reading Detenu was an absolute pleasure. It is short and sweet, so it doesn’t overwhelm you. But in that short amount of time, J. Miley has packed in enough character development to make you care about what happens.
Characterisation
The beauty of this story is how relatable the main character is. Most of us can say that we have someone we care about. It doesn’t matter if they’re a brother, a parent or a best friend. All that matters is we understand what it’s like to have someone we’d do anything for. So, it is an excellent idea to start the story with an act of selflessness. The line “What would you do to save a life” is definitely going to stick with me for a long time. Great! I love her from the first scene! Plus, this humanises people in prison.
Before Netflix released Orange is the New Black, it was very rare to see prisoners being treated like people in the media. Although it’s better now, it’s not perfect. In fact, a lot of Episode writers have fallen into the trap of making gang leaders seem sexy instead. Bad idea! Introducing a person who chose to break the law for a good reason, though? Well, it shows us that the law isn’t as black and white as you might think.
What about the other characters? They’re just as good. Sure, there are some people I like more than others. That’s perfect! We’re supposed to relate to certain people more, but that shouldn’t stop us from understanding the others. After all, we all love a villain who makes sense. Why do we like villains like Thanos and Killmonger? Because we can understand them. We get where they’re coming from even though we don’t want them to win. I won’t mention names because I don’t want to spoil anything, but there is a character in the story who I understand. It makes it even worse that they chose to do what they did. That’s some powerful writing right there.
Diversity
It is so difficult to not spoil too much in this story. There’s so much that I want to say, but I do also want you to experience this story for yourself. It’s a lot better than me just telling you what makes it special. Despite that, I can say that the story is set in India. That’s a good choice because most Episode stories take place in the US, even when their writers come from other places in the world. I think people assume only US stories will sell. That’s silly, if you ask me.
All of the characters act like people, too. They’re so unique that you can see how differently they talk! Diversity of personality is something I will always fight for. It’s lacking in so many stories! Being able to create something so varied is a fantastic skill.
Then, of course, there’s the matter of other diversity. Yes, there are other races, but I’m going to avoid speaking about them. I don’t want to throw too many spoilers at you! It does involve interracial relationships, though. I’ll say no more.
I would like to see the LGBTQ community represented a little more. Since you get to choose between a male and a female MC, it would be nice to be able to do the same with the LI. That’s just me, though. There’s nothing wrong with the way things are at the moment. You don’t need to add every group in your story.
Overall Impression
The story is fantastic.
If you’re looking for a unique story, this is for you. It has romance, intrigue and plenty of action, and there’s plenty that you can enjoy about it. Do yourself a favour and read this story!
Happy reading!
Let your nerdy side free by giving this story a read. You know you want to!
And don’t forget to vote for the next Spotlight Sunday!
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