Summer Bay High (by Skykat) - comments

[kennisld]

"Yet for him there is no God. There is no hope."

that's extreme.

and amazingly powerful.

I love your writing style

and your ability to fully encompass all that these characters are going through.

so props to you.

and stars.

like 5 of them.

[Bareenfan]

Yet again ILM you have written something which cuts through to the heart of the characters and lays them bare. Your ability to move between the generations is uncanny, and is very effective. I love Will's cockiness and awkwardness, and you capture that so well combined with his protective streak. Hayley aged 5, expecting to find the answers when she is 6, is a sad little girl, and this explains so much about the older Hayley. Children think in different ways from adults and you have again captured and understood that extremely well. Then there was Barry thinking there was no hope for him and shutting out the world. The imagery in this section was extremely powerful, and I felt his pain and loneliness as I read it. Irene taking him into the warm room and stealing his heart, again fantastic imagery, created a very vivid image of tenderness between them, and of a strong and deep bond, and you know how much I love them. Thank you.

[chatter box]

You write so maturely, and this was deeply, deeply moving. I like to think that had Bevan been writing at the time before Barry left that actually Barry would have told Irene the truth about Kerry , I do not think DB had the maturity or inclination to deal with doing so. It would have made such a difference if he had. You have written it so well, and as with all of the characters that you write about you give them such depth and meaning. I also like the way that you have understood how children think and that you have understood the psychology of your characters, as well as their emotions. Your imagery is extremely effective. I was seeing Will being defiant and cocky and unsure all at the same time, feeling Hayley's pain and seeing the five year olds confusion and loneliness, as well as feeling Barry's pain and despair and the love and tenderness between Irene and Barry. Excellent writing. Like the previous but one poster said, five stars to you.

[I love music]

Thanks for your nice comments especially about Barry. Out of this whole fic I find him THE most difficult character to write as I have to get inside his head and try to imagine what it's like to have killed someone, buried the body and kept the dark secret for years and it's really tough putting myself in that place as...um...I never killed anybody. I like writing about kids tho, they're easier and sometimes I've been there!

[*Maggie*]

I think you must have a lot of natural empathy, as this must play a big part in understanding the characters. Don't give up on him though, you have captured the loneliness and the despair, the desperation, perfectly I would say. The children and teenagers as well. I really liked sad little Hayley and Freddie Teddy. The other reviewers have said it all so I won't repeat it all again, but this really is excellent and I have very much enjoyed it.

[I love music]

I think you must have a lot of natural empathy, as this must play a big part in understanding the characters. Don't give up on him though, you have captured the loneliness and the despair, the desperation, perfectly I would say. The children and teenagers as well. I really liked sad little Hayley and Freddie Teddy. The other reviewers have said it all so I won't repeat it all again, but this really is excellent and I have very much enjoyed it.

I can't give up on him because Irene hasn't and I find Irene much, much easier to write. Don't know about the empathy, I do find it difficult to understand how someone could cover up the crime like that but I guess if I keep seeing it from Irene's viewpoint we should be okay.

Anyway, I'll stop commenting in my own thread now and not post in here until next time I update.

[thelonius]

Hi I Love Music, I just started reading your fic and its fantastic! Your character descriptions are just so real. I'm not all the way through because it's fairly long but I just wanted to say that I'm loving it so far!

[Taz]

That was another good chapter, its funny how many of Martha's relatives resemble Prisoner character, her Grandad looks just like Geoff Butler too I am enjoying the Kane and Martha pairing, its a good call for those two, and also Irene's flashbacks to her childhood were effective.

[*Maggie*]

I very much liked the turn around of Barry being the one doing the supporting, I always felt it was important to him to be able to support her when he could. The flash back was very effective and I can well imagine Irene as quite a fiesty kid who gave the straight laced teachers a hard time. The real teachers will have loved her.

I remember Dani being very shallow and a bit of a princess, the precursor to the character of Nicole in many respects only more childish than Nicole is today. You have captured that self obsessed silliness that I remember very well without it being a negative, its just Dani.

I too like the Martha and Kane pairing, its a strong combination, and Martha's attitude combined with his, and his vulnerability, makes for interesting reading. Kane's childhood memories are painful, in fact many of the childhood memories are, but you write them so vividly its very moving.

Thank you, that was another great read.

[I love music]

That was another good chapter, its funny how many of Martha's relatives resemble Prisoner character, her Grandad looks just like Geoff Butler too I am enjoying the Kane and Martha pairing, its a good call for those two, and also Irene's flashbacks to her childhood were effective.

I'd forgotten about Geoff Butler! (The evil prison governer when Rita got transferred, right? ) I'll have to see if I can slip in a reference to that look-alike too somehow, it's fun!

I very much liked the turn around of Barry being the one doing the supporting, I always felt it was important to him to be able to support her when he could. The flash back was very effective and I can well imagine Irene as quite a fiesty kid who gave the straight laced teachers a hard time. The real teachers will have loved her.

I remember Dani being very shallow and a bit of a princess, the precursor to the character of Nicole in many respects only more childish than Nicole is today. You have captured that self obsessed silliness that I remember very well without it being a negative, its just Dani.

I too like the Martha and Kane pairing, its a strong combination, and Martha's attitude combined with his, and his vulnerability, makes for interesting reading. Kane's childhood memories are painful, in fact many of the childhood memories are, but you write them so vividly its very moving.

Thank you, that was another great read.

Thanks for your comments. The Martha/Kane pairing was Kat's idea...we'll have to wait and see what happens there...