Play It Straight

Information

Status

Completed

Year

2023

Author

Saiph

• Chapter 14 – Red In The Morning
  Jul 31, 2023
• Chapter 13 – One Last Yee Haw Before Sundown
  Jul 27, 2023
• Chapter 12 – For Whom The Bell Tolls
  Jul 25, 2023
• Chapter 11 – A Roll In The Hay
  Jul 17, 2023
• Chapter 10 – Dead Ringer For Love
  Jul 11, 2023
• Chapter 9 – The Good, The Bad, and The Beautiful
  Jul 10, 2023
• Chapter 8 – Once Bitten
  Jul 6, 2023
• Chapter 7 – A Matter of Faith
  Jul 3, 2023
• Chapter 6 – Reflective Powder Keg
  Jun 27, 2023
• Chapter 5 – The Quick and The Undead
  Jun 26, 2023
• Chapter 4 – Silver Bullets Have Curves
  Jun 20, 2023
• Chapter 3 – Lock, Stock, and Smoking Pork
  Jun 19, 2023
• Chapter 2 – The Wildcard
  Jun 12, 2023
• Chapter 1 – First Draw
  Jun 8, 2023

Reviews

Community Reviews(2)

• aivhorRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The Story conceit is interesting. The Greek gods are playing a tabletop game, and the inhabitants of Earth, in the Wild West frontier, are their game pieces - as well as the protagonists of the story. There is a zombie apocalypse in progress, and the locals in a small town in the middle of nowhere are fighting to survive.
  The Style includes a fair bit of humour, but there is a core of earnestness and a genuinely positive theme at the heart that sufficiently offset the jokes such that it's not quite outright comedy. The primary moral of the story is about the importance of a healthy self-image and the resulting self-acceptance and self-confidence.
  The Characters are mostly archetypes without too much depth, but they serve their narrative purpose very nicely, and they are well implemented. The protagonist and main viewpoint character gets the most development - this is really her journey of growth and self-actualisation. It includes a lesbian romance subplot, with a fade-to-black sex scene. Plus, quite a bit of shooting and punching of zombies in fun action sequences.
  There are no Grammar or spelling issues. The work comes across as properly proofread and edited.
  This gets bonus points for being a completed story. As of writing this review, there is possibly a sequel coming up, but it hasn't been released yet, and what is here stands entirely on its own. There is no cliffhanger or blatant sequel bait. This works as a finished story with a satisfying conclusion. Not having it drawn out to infinity in the usual way of web series is a distinct selling point.
• PelgraineRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  Overall
  Recommended to anyone who is a fan of an action-packed western-style zombie apocalypse. The action scenes and characterisation are a particular strength of the work and both are skullfully done.
  Style:
  The action is fantastic. It’s an edge-of-your-seat adventure as you read to find out what happens next, and better than a lot of the zombie apocalypse films and TV shows I’ve seen. The biggest challenge I found - which is more of a personal preference and may relate to different reading/writing styles - is the switch of perspective change to that of the gods above playing dice with the lives and fortunes of mortals occurs right in the middle of tense moments for the main character, which I found a bit jarring and which I think detracts from the author’s obvious skill otherwise with the action scenes.
  Story:
  The story is intriguing so far, especially with the fantastic Western-style setting and how the characters adapt to their environment. Though again I have to admit I was struggling a bit with the swaps between the experience(s) of the main character and the discussions between the gods. The somewhat abrupt change in perspective interrupts the pacing in a way that gjves more of an impression of two different stories occurring at once than as two plot-lines of the same story.
  Grammar:
  Nothing stood out to me for grammar, other than it is excellent.
  Character:
  The character in this story is one of it’s major strengths. The way the main character has been portrayed and the various interactions she has with others is beautifully done. You’re left with a distinct and lasting impression of who she is and why she is the way she is; it’s both incredibly realistic and incredibly well-depicted.