“UNKNOWN MENACE” COMMENTS
I’ve received several replies from people who read the novel and here are some of the best that I have received on my email box so far. I’ve not included their names or emails for obvious reasons but to everyone that was kind enough to drop me a couple of lines, I can only say thank you :) Fri, 8 Jun 2001
“Hi there, I read your X-COM - The Unknown menace stories on Tactical command. I like
them very muchand I only have two questions?
When the hell is the next chapter coming? :o) Would you like me... or anyone else for that matter to proof read thestories. I noticed quite a few spelling and grammar errors.
Regards,” August 1st, 2001 “hi, i read your story and it is very well written and i enjoyed it tremendously. By the way,how long have you been playing xcom? I am
sending
this message just to ask you about when you are coming up with a new
chapter
of the story. hope that you will reply to me as soon as possible as i
really
am desperate for your next chapter. Thank you for giving me some of
your
time.”
March 21st, 2002 “Hey I' a reader of your story on x-com.co.uk and i used up all of my credits in school(for every page printed 1 credit used).I read what has
been
written of your cool story and am just wonderin how
1) Do u know how much more u r goin to write?2) When will your next chapter be written?” May 23rd, 2002 “I read on the reveiews that you had an Epilogue for your story thatwould tie in to TFTD.
I'm wondering if it covers Molecular Control. Or the Great Alien.Given the time from the T'leth crash to earth. I would think it would
be
one of the pre-elerium colony ships that are in your fic. That were
sent
out prier to them being taken over by the mesterious creature on that
other planet. (eterial? Or Alien Brain?)
-(censored)
ps Great Job on your fic. I think of it as the true timeline of the
war.”
August 7th, 2002
“I've been reading your fanfiction
" X-Com - The
Unknown Menace"and
have been very impressed.
You have a real talent and you should be using it to
make a living or as a side job. I really think
you should go to a publishing company once you are done
with this story. Just the opinions of a
happy reader.”
April 21st, 2003
“You wrote a very compelling story with Enemy Unknown. I just have one question: why wasn't lieutenant-colonel Harris kicked out of X-Com for
his
actions (shooting down an enemy craft when he was ordered to pull out)?
And why was Markovitch defending a man whose actions were utterly and
irrevocably and beyond completely in the wrong?”
(This email lead to a long conversation regarding Markovitch – it was one of the best reviews I have received
so far, although I still disagree with the author on a number of things
concerning her)
October
30th, 2003
“Hello, and consider this to be something you can stop reading if you're already too crowded by fanmail. It's more of the same!
I read everything related to "UFO: Enemy Unknown" you wrote some two weeks ago and made a mental note to tell you how much I liked it all.
Repeatedly. I know how much a little supportive "I _really_ liked this" can do,
even if one is after more than that - specifically, honest criticism -, but
unfortunately that is all I have. So instead I'll just start listing my
praise.
Whoa, but you write good. The dialogue, the way everybody is just as sneaky and potentially dangerous politically... it was simply a blast.
The dialogue was more than believable and the "pulling rank" bravado in particular was nasty and dead on. Humour here and there, and a lot of
suspense - every now and then it looked like there was an unavoidable
obstacle being thrown straight into the characters' faces. It felt as
if they really weren't going to make it and save Earth, even if I knew
that there were still many chapters to go.
Character development was just brilliant to say the least. Markovitch in particular, heh. But the thing that rattled me most was the way you
weren't afraid to give things an extra twist and pull in factors that never
showed up in the game itself - the way laser technology was discovered had me
blinking. It was sheer genious. The scientist-soldier schisms made
things lovelier - hey, egos do clash every now and then, and the book-worms
can get a bit nasty! Hybrids and the psi-abilities... I can't begin to tell
you how good an idea that was. (…)