[NetBehaviour] Bad Shibe

[Edward Picot]

I'm a bit late responding to this, but I just wanted to say I liked it. 
It's a bit of a stretch calling it a novella, when it's only about 5,000 
words long, and its weakness is that in story terms nothing much really 
happens, apart from the lead character realising that people are 
'tipping' each other to artificially boost their online ratings. Having 
said this, what really works is the idiomatic/slang language, 
reminiscent in a way of Anthony Burgess' book A Clockwork Orange; and 
through that language a really strong sense of a particular mindset and 
environment. I also like the fact that a lot of stuff in the background 
is just suggested, not fully explained - working in the orchard, eating 
lots of apples, going to school at night because it's so hot during the 
day, etc. You don't have to know about where the terms 'doge' and 
'shibe' come from to enjoy the story, but if you do take the time to do 
a bit of background exploring (assuming you don't know all that stuff 
already, which I didn't), it certainly contributes a sense of extra 
depth. Also, the central character is very likeable, a sweet kid who 
wants to get a book of old Green Shield stamps to please his mum, which 
is rather nice to find in a dystopian story like this.

Edward