Story Review: The Kra’daar by Chris Winder, From For a Few Credits More Anthology

Spoiler Free Summary: The Kra’daar by Chris Winder s the 12th story in the Four Horsemen anthology, For a Few Credits More.  Nik’Thil is a Kra’daar who’s looking to determine the source of a series of fires that have started to haunt his home. Will he be able to learn what, or who, is causing them before on breaks out of control?

Character:  I recalled this story a bit more quickly than others. It’s not at the top of my list, but I remember liking the back and forth between Nik’Thil and the creature he’s chasing. This story had a nice sense of tension, and I think the character is the main reason why.

Exposition: As a whole, this anthology was solid in this regard. If I don’t remember much, it means I at least didn’t feel dragged down in a story, and that’s almost always the fault of too much exposition. This story had a good pace with a nice sense of progression.  I read it pretty quickly. This whole anthology (of which this story is an example) is custom made for an airplane or long layover. You don’t get bogged down with too much depth. You get entertainment and quick resolutions.

World building:  This is the main reason I remember this story.  The setting and conflict of this story were memorable. The details were interesting, and I enjoyed an alien perspective in a story featuring an alien character.

Image taken from Mr. Winder’s Amazon page for review purposes under Fair Use Doctrine.

Dialogue: This probably wasn’t as strong. I can’t remember a single line. I can’t remember a single situation in which the dialogue added to the plot or drama. It wasn’t bad or thinly hidden exposition; it was just conversation.

Description: This holds true from my last review. Any time I don’t think back in frustration about how many buttons that guy wore or what color the chips in the paint were, I feel like I was happy with the description. This element was a bit stronger than previous stories. I say this because I immediately remembered the overall plot and the world building, which only sticks if a scene or two stick in a reader’s head.

Overall: If you want Sci-Fi that isn’t overcrowded with human perspective, you should give this story a try. I like fantasy that expands beyond the human perspective, and this story does that. Is it an example of everything I want to read ever? No, but it is interesting, and it does have a fairly compelling main character.

Thanks for reading,

Matt