I’m not sure where to begin, so how about what everyone else is gushing about… Yes, Soundbooth Theater is amazing. Ryan Reid, Dorrie Sacks, and (especially) Jeff Hays carry this novel. It was the only thing that got me to finish it. I can let the other reviewers gush over that piece, but what about the rest?
Let’s move to the ugly… the writing Mimic & Me is atrocious. I’m not just talking about plot or story; I’m talking about basic fundamental writing such as consistency and continuity. It’s not just one or two instances, it’s constant…. It’s things like, I’m traveling to the market square with the Mimic, my sister (Named), my female elf friend (Named), and this Nobel Lady (Named); and the next sentence, we are in the market with 2 beautiful women (RIP one of the women I guess)… Another is: I’m going to skip town because (paraphrase) bad things went down, and I’m not even going to write my father figure a goodbye note -> several pages later -> I finish packing my belongings and leave a note for my father figure -> several paragraphs later -> I decide to write a note to my father figure. It’s so immersion-breaking.
The bad… the characters and story are just bad. Characters with their subsequent plot points, traits, and flaws are introduced randomly. The actual connections are not established in any form other than basic tropes and attraction… No, seriously, it’s that shallow. My favorite is the merchant that sells a random item to the MC, then is introduced as a completely different person (berserker?), and was in disguise because they are a Master spy. At no point is this built on or explained other than later, there is a random sentence where the character demonstrates a flaw that they start talking to themself. The MC describes this as something he notices constantly, but this is the FIRST TIME it’s been brought up, and it never happens again. The only good characterization is the Mimic, where it appears a person might have actually written the dialogue. These interactions are fleeting.
The weird… the author’s use of time and space. Battles/fights are written like they are turn-based but also in real-time. Characters take actions almost in a bubble with no reaction from other characters, whether ally or foe. Movement between locations doesn’t have any sense of travel scale or time committed. People are everywhere without connection to the world they occupy (where did these fishermen come from?). It’s very bizarre…
The boring… the MC’s inner-prattle. It’s a constant word vomit of thought in an attempt to describe the world around him and the events unfolding. However, it’s written in the most basic of prose, which is little more than repetitive drivel. So much could be shown or left to the audience to interpret.
Final comments: Don’t buy this.