Local Minima

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

[Entry for the June Royal Road Community Magazine Contest]

A prisoner named Gemmei is gifted a chance to put her life on a better track after being transferred to theHibiya Correctional Complex, a lower security prison allegedly intended for less violent offenders. However even though the walls keeping her in are no longer visible, plenty of barriers are in the way that prevent Gemmei from returning to the world she once took for granted. Chief among them is theHouzou Hakkyou,a special tattoo every prisoner in the system receives that alters how they can think and feel through forced sedation. The curse theHakkyouenforces ensures compliance and docility among the inmates, but as Gemmei finds out, cruelty is born from more than emotion alone.

Information

Status
Completed
Year
2022
Author
ringe

Royal Road Stats

Rating
5.0/ 5.0
Followers
10
Views
3,605

Chapters(10 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(1)

  • Evelyn AdelbergRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    This story has a very rough start, with confusing descriptions that do not conform to the chosen POV and misplaced commas that break the rhythm of the sentences. The narrator switches in between Jenna’s POV and an omniscient one, but these transitions are not smooth and hamper the flow of the text further.
    But, because there is always a ‘but’, none of these things are new on RR, and the author does a good job at writing spatially clear descriptions and paragraphs of varied length.
    The saving grace of this story is the brilliant characterization of the MC. It happens in the second half of the first chapter, and after that all the stylistic issues no longer matter.
    Style     4
    Story     5
    Grammar           5
    Character           5