To Destroy a Symbol (complete novella)

[Acid Varrakin]

Here's a novella I wrote, about the squeamish, womanizing DI Tril Henderson, in a steampunk ninteenth-century London. He is inadvertantly embroiled in a game of political football between Her Majesty's government, and a group of teenage terrorist-anarchists known as Punks.

It's the only reasonably-sized story I've ever actually finished. I'm aware of its incredible, gaping flaws (I'm actually furious that it reads so "rushed"; I spend months on the damn thing!), but I still quite like it. I may even be in a little bit of man-love with my protagonist; you know how you develop this sort of bond when you've been with someone for so long, even if he IS fictional...

... Okay, so maybe you don't.

Anyway, here's a link. It's only sixteen-thousand words; if you can find the time, give it a read and comment with your thoughts.

To Destroy a Symbol (PDF)

Enjoy.

[Gunneh]

It took me a little while, but I've got to say that I was hooked from the beginning. It did feel a little rushed in some places, but the piece is an overall A+ on the Gunneh rating scale

There were some similarities to V for Vendetta, but you can't really write a work concerning such a brand of revolution as this without it feeling a little like Alan Moore's amazing graphic novel. That aside, you took it and made it your bitch, so to speak, and it worked very well.

Damn good read, if I do say so myself.

[Acid Varrakin]

I have to say, I agree; I've never read the graphic novel, but I watched V for Vendetta (which is a brilliant movie, btw) just after I wrote the second draft, and was... well, a little shocked. Perhaps just that afraid that this piece that I had worked so hard on would be dismissed as a kind of intellectual plagiarism. I assure you, it wasn't my intention; I just didn't realize until it was too late.

Thanks for the praise, anyway. It's good to know that the V thing doesn't detract too much.

[Gunneh]

If you liked the movie, I'd definitely recommend the graphic novel to you. It's so much better than the movie, and seeing as how the movie was brilliant, you can only imagine how the graphic novel would be

And don't worry about having small elements of other works incorporated into your own, man. The thing about it is that previous works sometimes inspire some amazing ideas. Plus, the fact that you wrote it at first without seeing the movie or reading the graphic novel insures that it was your own thoughts that comprised the piece itself. Besides, the only thing that could really be seen as an allusion to V is this: For society to change, people must die and things must burn. It's been present all throughout history.

[Acid Varrakin]

Alright, it’s a deal; I’ll head to Amazon straight away and order V for Vendetta – with my dad’s credit card, naturally.

And yeah; if there’s something I’ve learned from my three-year-long (and painfully unrewarding) musical career, it’s that it’s literally IMPOSSIBLE to do something completely original – unless you want to try making money from a heap of crazy cat-scratching-a-blackboard synth effects, and I’m pretty sure even that’s been done before… But, like you said, it can be a good thing; in music, it’s how styles evolve. I’m sure it applies to writing too.

That said, I know there are differences – genre, for one; V is more of an Orwellian-rebellion tale, while TDAS is largely a detective thriller – plus the fact that I wrote my story pre-V (so to speak), but there are parts which still unsettle me. The “symbols are invincible” theme, for one (although, admittedly, that line was inspired by Batman Begins >.>).

I will also admit that the "people must die, things must burn" theme hardly even crossed my mind until you said it - and I'm glad you did say it. I was thinking of writing a sequel (a darker story - this one was a little gilded, because it was written for the purposes of a high-school competition) and... hell, if you don't mind, I might just quote you verbatim in my (heroic) antagonist.

Actualy, thankyou! I think you've just broken my crippling writer's block - which also spread to music, leaving me without a single creative outlet! Freedom is sweet!

Ahem... I'll go now...

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