And They Called Her The Spider

Written by @Mcoorlim

A review by @MS_Chavez

And They Called Her The Spider is one of those enjoyable little gems hidden in the depths of Wattpad. 

I'm going to be honest about my reading and critiquing style. Unless a story piques my interest right off, I'm not going to bother. I hate being one of those readers because I hope that people would give my works more of a chance than I often give to the works I read. I know, hypocritical, but with my attention span, that's the only way I get any reading done.

Anyway, that being said, of the list of steampunk works I was given to skim through and review, this is the only one I read straight through. The others were probably plenty good, but this one hooked me. And I admit I started running low on time to get this review in, so I had to go with the one story I read all the way through.

My interest had nothing to do with the cover, which is very stylish and professional for a standalone story, because I didn't even look at it at first. And it wasn't because it is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes. I'm not a big Sherlock Holmes fan, but I know enough to catch the similarities. It wasn't even because it was based in London or was a particular sort of steampunk, because my interest in the genre is the same as my interest in any genre. If I like it, if it hooks me, if it makes me think, I'll read it.

What hooked me about this story was the characters. Bartleby hooked me straight off, and then James was a nice contrast, while quirky in his own way.

I'm a sucker for colorful, well developed characters that don't quite fit in the norm. Stories that go into how their characters think or focus on their eccentricities are always fun for me. So on that basis alone, I read to learn more about these characters.

The story starts off with the narrator, James, listening to Bartleby describe The Spider, whom he is infatuated with. The initial description of the Spider is reason enough to read on, just to learn about her. The way Bartleby obsesses is reason enough to take an interest in him and his story. James and his some what amused observations of his companion make him endearing as well.

Then the mystery builds as we learn the scandal about this Spider, who is an acrobatic and mysterious assassin. Bartleby and James, each using their unique abilities to hunt her down in very Sherlock Holmes sort of way. A few elements are a tad predictable, but just enough so that I felt clever enough to guess at what was going to happen while still being surprised by a few interesting twists.

The world building was spot on as far as I could tell, and felt very much Victorian London, though some one more of an expert on the time period and genre would be a better judge.

If it hadn't been for my interest in the characters, I don't know if I would have read as much as I had before becoming entirely hooked. It had the initial feeling of being dropped into a larger world, into the lives of characters I was expected to know a little better than I did.

It just so happens that this is a part of a series, which I discovered after contacting the author and being directed to his Amazon page.

And They Called Her The Spider is part of a series of short stories or novellas about Bartleby and James. Unfortunately, they're only available through Amazon. Fabulous advertising tactic, getting a reader hooked on this one short and craving more, which I did at the end of the story. I'm not a die hard fan of steampunk or mysteries, but this left me wanting more.

I'm too cheap to go buy the others, though I did go and download the ebook version, which is available for free, for my Kindle. The ebook has a rather nice interior illustration. Michael Coorlim, it turns out is rather savvy about packaging his writing. The free download is available here: http://www.mcoorlim.com/free-fiction/

It's a shame he's not more well known or active on Wattpad for his advertising tactic to actually work more in his favor here. Though as a screenwriter with a website and several Amazon books under his belt, I have feeling he has a decent following outside of Wattpad. And since I read and voted for this piece,  it has made an appearance on the Science Fiction and Mystery lists.

After reading this initial story, I will definitely be interested in reading the other short Mr. Coorlim has available on his profile. And perhaps, when I have a little more cash in my paypal account, I might just have to purchase the Bartleby and James collection.