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REAPER'S DESTINY PART 2
The classroom scenes have a lively, nicely mischievous energy. I especially enjoyed the contrast between Crippler’s jealousy and Hamie’s smug popularity, with the rat prank turning an ordinary archery lesson into a genuinely uncomfortable moment for him. Stella’s assessment gives the chapter a warmer emotional centre, especially when her memories of her grandmother and absent parents shape the transformation. Trixie’s “Have fun failing” is a fun bit of mean-spirited teasing, too. I’m curious to see what the principal makes of Stella’s unusual talent.
Marcus Reed
Games Of Kronk
The opening immediately commits to a wonderfully gruesome horror atmosphere, and the abandoned arcade has a strong nightmare quality. The image of the disco ball replacing Brody’s brain is especially grotesque and memorable, while Kronk’s cheerful, game-show-like attitude gives the violence an unsettling theatricality. I also liked the idea of the arcade becoming a shifting torture-game world, and the “museum of the dead” is an intriguing hook. The main weakness for me is that the story moves so quickly through introductions, character descriptions, deaths, and revelations that the characters don’t have much room to develop before the horror begins. The prose could also use another editing pass for tense, punctuation, and repeated descriptions. Still, there’s clear imagination here, and the atmosphere becomes increasingly surreal as Maria enters Kronk’s world.
Sophie Bennett
All you can eat
The cannibalism reveal creates a grim final turn, but the shift from disaster shelter to organized class-based disappearance happens so quickly that it felt more asserted than earned. I wanted more time with Edmund’s moral conflict before the smile at the end, since “I KNOW WHAT TO DO” leaves the central choice feeling abrupt rather than devastating.
Eleanor Hart
The great escape
Finch was the character who kept my attention, especially because his cheerful, teasing manner sits so awkwardly beside the order to execute Silas. I liked that he notices Silas’s fear and questions whether the punishment is too harsh, but he still follows the king’s command—at least until his curiosity starts turning into something more personal. His banter, like calling Silas “feisty,” makes him feel impulsive and flirtatious, while the moment he catches Silas protectively during the airship attack shows a more caring side beneath the swagger. I also enjoyed Silas refusing to be intimidated, answering Finch’s question with “because it’s fun” and then escaping with a smug “See ya!” Their dynamic made the cliffhanger especially entertaining, and I’m curious whether Finch will treat Silas as a criminal, a traitor, or someone he wants to understand.
Marcus Reed