The Aeryn Awards 2021 [Complete]

Short Story 📖

Below are the results in the short story category, as given by judge ridhima2807 . If you submitted your book in this category, scroll to find the title and username associated with you work and the attached review. The books are listed in order of entry, as listed in the 'list of participants' chapter.

This judge did not finish reviewing all books in this genre, so my apologies to all unjudged authors. Please note also that his judge did not include scoring, so all placings for this genre are reliant on the other judge. 

'Diana: The Short Story Of A Roman Goddess'. Written by caitibuchanan

The cover of story is good, it relates to the theme. Diana or Artemis, the cover displays a lady shooting arrows in the air, she's wearing red, her hair is flowy and the backdrop is lit by moonlight. It clearly depicts both the sides of Diana & Artemis if you look carefully- the bow and moon, one prominent characteristic of each goddess in mythology.

The title is 'Diana' flat. That's it, there's no elaboration. The title should've included something more just the word Diana. The title does nothing to catch the reader's attention, there are many stories out there named Diana, what makes this any better? The title I think is important while crafting a story as that's what draws the reader, instills their curiosity. That could've been a bit different, nonetheless each to their own.

The summary of the plot is crisp, to the point. Not too much, not little, it's just about enough. The summary of Diana gives you a snippet of her mythic life. It gives you a base of Diana's persona, as well lays emphasis on her wow that she made & the consequences that followed when she accidentally came close to breaking it.

The story starts off by giving a 3rd view of Diana sitting in a shaded balcony of her golden temple, sitting & watching her pews. There are only 3 main characters in this short story- Diana, Orion & Apollo. Diana or Artemis is the romantic mythic goddess of moon, hunt and childbirth. Orion is her lover, son of Poseidon & Apollo is her brother, the light bringer.
The personality of Diana/Artemis comes across as protective, careful yet carefree. In the 1st chapter, on night of full moon she is on alert for anything off as full moons always have something strange going on, she has checked up on all her women and is now sitting in her balcony watching out for her any threat. She cares about her women & will fiercely protect them. As for her Orion, there's not a lot revealed about him. No backstory or 3rd perspective take on him, it tells very little about him. He's portrayed to be reckless & adventurous. Orion is the mystery man of the summary that has captivated Diana's heart, he pushes her beyond limits and together they hunt and have fun. In foreshadow, Orion gets killed indirectly by Diana a trap set by her brother Apollo who seems jealous of her love and punishes her for almost breaking her vow of 'never marrying'. Apollo is a enigmatic, secretive, rigid, he doesn't stay in touch yet watches Diana's every move. In a game, he indirectly makes Diana kill her lover, by prompting her to hit the black dot on horizon that turns out to be Orion. He masks it as a challenge, his motives aren't revealed until the end of story where he calls Diana out for coming close to breaking her promise, for falling in love. Disheartened, Diana turns Orion into a star so that he can always watch over her, hence the Orion Constellation.

The grammar, language, the way story is crafted is very good. It's written well devoid of any mistakes, yet it feels incomplete. The story gives a brief of Diana's wow but there's a lot missing. It's like reading from the middle of a novel, without reading the start that builds up to the plot. It's written well but you need to read it twice to understand as there's no backstory. No pointers to conclude the end, no pointers to gives readers a view into the mind of characters, it doesn't tell a lot.

Overall my take is that it's written very well for a short story but needs work on the craft. The backstory leading to ultimate is important and I feel it was missing. Crafting skills can be polished more, so that the Essence of the story is captured. It's a good read for people looking for mythic short stories, interesting perspective on Diana. Language & grammar is correct, it's refreshing.

Sorry by MichelleManisa

Sorry by Michelle Manisa is beautifully written. It blew me away from the 1st sentence itself. The story Is written by a daughter telling her mother's story & hers. It's a sorrowful story, full of intense emotions- suffering and pain being the main ones. It's written in the style of a let-it-go journal story. There are no names mentioned, the pov shifts from 3rd to 1st, it's narrated. The story lays emphasis on women. Women's suffering & how its brushed under the carpet. Half of story lays pressure on how women are blamed as problems for everything & how society treats women when they're in trouble/ struggles. It's painfully true, the situation of how factions treat women.

The 2nd half of story revolves around pain caused by family, health issues, suffering & loss. The reader starts the story by giving readers an idea of her life, of her mother's. Her mother is the protagonist of the story. Majority of it circles around the pain and betrayal faced by the author's mother after the demise of her husband, how cruelly her family turned against them. The widow status evoked harsh treatment and it worsened to the point where the mother's health deteriorated & she sold of her wedding ring to meet ends.

All this while, the author also chimes in between giving her own take on how she felt neglected by her mother & blamed her mother for not being enough, not understanding her situation, she starts to regret it later in life. In conclusion - the story is written in simple language yet its powerful. It is raw, you can feel the emotions dripping through the words. The regret is strongly felt. There's a lot of sombre sadness in the air, regret and pain are the main elements. The title itself showcases that the Author is writing it is a letter of sorry, apologizing to her mother & telling her story. I love it. I love how this story is weaved, Simple language, little to no mistakes, what I like best is how you can feel the emotions of the author, as if it's your own. You can relate to it, you can feel it. The essence is very well captured, you understand the entire point of why the story was written, in one go. It is a sad read but a powerful one.