rate_review Reviews

This is a very interesting and warm story

I finally got around to reading this story and I really liked it. You told of the deep love between Paa and Quiet so beautifully. I finished this one with tears in my eyes. Like Quiet said, "Perfect,"

I’ll be completely honest... Quiet feels like she could be the very first autistic person, or first person with high functioning Asperger’s Syndrome... err... bearer? Whatever the proper term is. The reason I say this? I have Asperger’s myself, and a lot of these little bits she does feel like something I do. Now, I’m not the greatest artist, but I’m also so high functioning most people can’t even tell until they’re told that I have it, but they do notice some things.

Anyways, even if I didn’t do much wanking to this, this was still nice to read. However, I don’t want you to think you have to answer this, because I’m unlikely to read the answer to this review. You can still answer it if you want, I can’t stop you in any way, but as I said, I’m probably not going to read the answer. Too much of a hassle for me to navigate the Forums trying to sign in, then read the answer... bleh, what a drag, just thinking about it... If you can’t tell, I can be quite lazy.

This was very well written.. I like it a lot :)

This is a pretty impressive piece, not least of all for an immersive view into a very different kind of society. I liked the world building element a lot and found Paa's story pretty cool on its own, plus his language was articulate enough that it could be descriptive and not become condescending or annoying. (It's not like he described most of the tribe as having light-"chocolate" skin, and there's no reason why they wouldn't understand the concept of "seed" even if they haven't quite doped out how to do basic farming.) The mysterious nature of Quiet was pretty intriguing as well, and I had to wonder if there's a deeper mystery behind her birth that Ko wouldn't want to get out. The only thing I felt was missing were a few words to contrast how the regular tribe members looked when discussing Quiet's unique features, but it's not hard to assume what exactly. Her clearly superior intelligence was pretty cool, and I have to wonder if her reluctance to speak was because she didn't want to stand out further and worry about the others' reactions. The "mating practice" gone awry and the sexy set-up for Quiet to move in after that were a lot of fun, and it was cool how open and light-hearted the adults were about sex in general. Though as the tensions rose over Paa and Quiet doing it too much I started to get worried too, in a good way; also, I really liked the cautionary tale about a certain "boar hunt." Quiet finally choosing a name was both heartwarming and funny, because Paa did his best to make her feel comfortable in a situation he knew she didn't like and then she turned it around by pretty much naming herself after a "finishing noise." :) Great job on the battle scene as well, especially with the great training to set it up; then the other even-worse battle with See was sad but in the well-played way. Ko's wisdom didn't go unnoticed either, and it's clear that at least some of Quiet's exceptional thinking skills come from her mother too. I liked the more-intimate Moon-Blood ceremony, and it was a relief that the other tribe members at this point were fine with letting Paa and Quiet become mates. (Hey, that was good enough for many relatively-advanced ancient civilizations too, so why not?) :) So thanks for an interesting and fun, plus even a bit more real, kind of tale.

Interesting story, though Paa must be the most articulate and loquacious cave-man to ever live.

While this story is not what I'd have thought of as my cup of tea, I have to admit, I was very much taken by this story. Your skill as a writer is truly showcased here. Paa, the narrator, is honest, direct, and something of a Paleolithic gentleman, really. He's caring and careful, and I found myself truly coming to like him, and hope for the best in his quest to be with Quiet. His defense of Quiet, and her fierce devotion to Paa as evidenced in her saving his life even after he'd broken with her, these seemed almost inevitably right, as did his return to Quiet in the end. Thank you, for a remarkable story, told by an extraordinary writer.

An enjoyable tale indeed. You did a very good job displaying the complexities of society and people, even when changed into something very simple to us modern folks, that really kept me in the story.