DECEMBER 2025 SCIENCE FICTION MICROSTORY CONTEST (Comments and Critiques) > Likes and Comments

Theme: Sustenance
Elements: A gathering; poison

Great story Tom! Really drew me in! One small correction: died vs. dyed - I believe you mean the second. I liked the A.I. aspect and how you described the herbivores. Really tight plotting. Very nice!

Thank you very much, Justin for your compliments and observations. And, for your detailed review. The spelling error has been corrected.

Beautifully paced story, Tom.

Thank you, Paula.

Extremely interesting concept, J.F. The humor was engaging, the expository build-up was well paced and interwoven with the story flow. The ending was perfect. (Not doing much for my appetite, but so much the better, I guess.)

Thanks, Tom! I was actually reluctant to post it but I wanted to at least get back in the game this month. It's metaphorical, BTW, if you hadn't guessed. And disturbingly feasible, I think.

J.F., what a deliciously disturbing story! Wow, really original. I think I've lost my appetite for a little while...

Marvelously funny, Greg. Good alien imagery, witty banter and a great punch line.

Thanks, Justin! Curiously, I just started watching an episode of the series "Elsbeth" where supermodels are promoting a carbon-negative vodka made from garbage, endorsed by David Attenborough.

Mine's up. Tried to do a traditional gathering story, but it wasn't working out, so I went in a totally different direction altogether.

Mine's up. Totally didn't know what story to write, but was able to throw something together. Happy Festivus!

Chris wrote: "Mine's up. Tried to do a traditional gathering story, but it wasn't working out, so I went in a totally different direction altogether."

Extremely beautiful and moving imagery and sensory, Chris. I felt it, the hot suns and sand, the struggle for survival. I was reminded of Hunger Games, but there was a fresh new feel to it as well.

I would have liked a bit more description on the alien anatomy, but the setting was well-realized. My compliments.

Jot wrote: "Mine's up. Totally didn't know what story to write, but was able to throw something together. Happy Festivus!"

Excellent world-building, Jot. Marvelous cosmic imagery and alien detail. The expository was inter-woven effectively with engaging, humorous dialogue. (How little the passage of eons relieves the pain of in-laws.)

Very intriguing and well thought-out concept, Jack. The slowly materializing imagery was great for the opening shot. The sensory was great and moving in the beginning.

The action imagery was striking.

I would have liked more of an emotional reaction from the POV character as the story reached its climax.

Overall, I liked it a lot.

Technical question:

Is anyone else experiencing extreme, uncontrollable scrolling, up and down? It's extremely annoying and makes it hard to read or post. I don't know if it happens when ads come in, but it's getting pretty bad.

Tom wrote: "Chris wrote: "Mine's up. Tried to do a traditional gathering story, but it wasn't working out, so I went in a totally different direction altogether."

Extremely beautiful and moving imagery and se..."

Thanks, Tom! Sadly, I finished with around a thousand words and had to edit out 250 of them. Description Agothar, outside of a general reference to him not being human, unfortunately ended up on the chopping block. I was hoping my story would still be effective even without that level of detail. That pesky word limit again! lol

It worked Chris, very vivid in my mind. Great work!

Excellent, Justin. Great suspense building up to a perfect finish. Delivered like a surprise low blow. Very effective.

I wrote a story but when I was done, I realized the scene was only half as good as it could have been. So I rewrote it and it is now part of a project I was working on. But the stories were great and I wish you all, happy holidays.

P.S. If you were looking for me on Facebook, my account was shut down with no warning and no explanation. You can find me on Bluesky and the Substack these days.

My wife got a kidney but we are still challenged by its care and feeding. Take care all.

Thanks for writing in Thaddeus, and providing an update. Many well wishes for your wife.

Tom, I haven't noticed any scrolling issues. Could be your browser or pc needs a restart.

Given the new messaging restrictions on Goodreads, please feel free to email me your vote to author.jotrussell@gmail.com

Thanks

Thaddeus wrote: "I wrote a story but when I was done, I realized the scene was only half as good as it could have been. So I rewrote it and it is now part of a project I was working on. But the stories were great a..."

Thaddeus, best wishes for the family for the holidays.

Tom wrote: "Very intriguing and well thought-out concept, Jack. The slowly materializing imagery was great for the opening shot. The sensory was great and moving in the beginning.

The action imagery was strik..."

Thanks, Tom, much appreciated.

Justin, I felt like I was reading a script from a 1950s B movie, which was awesome.

Happy holidays, everyone! Jot, thanks for all the good work, much appreciated.

Jot wrote: "Given the new messaging restrictions on Goodreads, please feel free to email me your vote to author.jotrussell@gmail.com

Thanks"

Oh good, thank you. I was wondering how we were going to do that.

Tom wrote: "Excellent, Justin. Great suspense building up to a perfect finish. Delivered like a surprise low blow. Very effective."

Thank you Tom! Much appreciated!!!

Jack wrote: "Justin, I felt like I was reading a script from a 1950s B movie, which was awesome."

Thank you Jack! I was going for that 1950's/Twilight Zone/Outer Limits feel. Much appreciated!

Wow everyone, what a great crop of stories to finish out 2025! Voting was very hard since each one was so unique.

Well friends, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! I feel extremely lucky to be your writing company!

We are expected to have another wind storm here in the Puget Sound region, with gusts between 40 to 60 m.p.h. I still have branches up against my house from the storm just a few days ago and the tree that fell from my neighbor's property onto mine, just missing the house by mere inches. It is a terrifying thing to hear the wind roar in an increasing crescendo, with more and more branches hitting the roof, waiting for the crack and thump of a massive tree to fall you know not where with the lights flickering and finally going out. I'll be setting up my generator today and putting a few things under cover, which is all I can do. I really need some house shields!

Anyway, reading all of your stories each month is a joy to me. Thank you all!

Best wishes for everyone in 2026!

Justin

I got the twilight zone vibe as well. Great story!

Justin wrote: "Wow everyone, what a great crop of stories to finish out 2025! Voting was very hard since each one was so unique.

Well friends, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy N..."

Best wishes on weathering the storm, Justin. We're very lucky to have you in the group. And, Happy Holidays to all.

Thaddeus wrote: "I wrote a story but when I was done, I realized the scene was only half as good as it could have been. So I rewrote it and it is now part of a project I was working on. But the stories were great a..."

Best wishes to you and your wife. Good health and good fortune in the new year.

Jot wrote: "Tom, I haven't noticed any scrolling issues. Could be your browser or pc needs a restart."

Glad it wasn't widespread. Whatever it was, it's gone for the time being. Glitch, maybe.

Thaddeus, so very glad your wife has got a new kidney. Wishing you both the best. I hope you all are able to get whatever support help/services you may need at this time. That can be so hard here.

Justin, yes, expecting a wind storm, probably the same one, here in the Portland metro area too. Wise of you to get and set up a generator. I hope the trees/branches stay away from your home.

Jack, when you write into conceptual complexities, your works pull one in and fascinate the reader. Threading some intense emotionally or physically felt/sensed elements of plot or character or scene throughout the stories could deepen them further (imao), even.

Thanks, Paula

Wishing all of you who celebrate (and all who don't) a very good Christmas holiday.
And, Jot, thank you for having started this group and for keeping it going already for so long.

Thank you Paula. Hoping the holiday season has brought you peace and joy. Certainly the world could use more of that.

Merry Christmas to all and always remember treat others as you would yourself and those you love. May these words from Confucius and Christ help to tear down the walls that divide our nations to have us eventually see that we are one people of one world.

Very well put, Jot. Words to live by, indeed.

Congrats Jack! You are now a 10-time champion.

Jot wrote: "Congrats Jack! You are now a 10-time champion."

Awesome! Happy New Year all.

Congratulations, Jack!

Congratulations, Jack - well done.

Thanks, guys! Happy New Year

Congratulations, Jack!

Thanks, Chris!

Greg wrote: "I got the twilight zone vibe as well. Great story!"

Thanks Greg!