18 Comments
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Mr. Reese's avatar

Reading this gave me mild anxiety . . . and also made me laugh because of how true it is in it's depiction of the corporate world. 11/10, would read again.

By the way, have you read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by any chance? Your absurdist situations sort of remind me a lot about it.

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Luke Skelton's avatar

What a great comment. Thank you! '11/10, would read again' is perhaps the most positive comment I've received, and has come at a great time for me: right when I needed it :) Genuinely, you've made my day.

And yes, I've read all of Hitchhiker's Guide and it's safe to say I'm a fan. I take it you are as well? Adams' sensibility really resonates.

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Mr. Reese's avatar

Well, I meant it when I said 11/10. And I'm glad it made your day a little brighter.

Yeah, I've read it. Douglas Adams was one of the first few authors who made me realize just how much you can play with language. It's definitely not easy though, which is I gotta say I'm impressed at how you managed to carry that spirit within your own work here.

Anyway, keep writing man. You're pretty good and I can't wait to see where else you're gonna go.

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Mr. Reese's avatar

Sorry, ignore my question -- I just saw the footer talking about all your inspirations.

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Chris's avatar

Looking forward to taking some of your insights and observations into H1 2024. New Year’s resolution 4 has also been reprioritised to 2… receive an office with a closet large enough to fit two people.

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Jacques's avatar

I find the ambiguity of the story frustrating: should I love or hate Victor and to which metric should this feeling be attributed? /s

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Luke Skelton's avatar

Hahaha, I love that. In my mind he is a sympathetic character. Anyone who thinks they aren't a Victor is the most Victor.

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Louise Greenwood's avatar

This is fantastic and I really enjoyed reading it!

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Luke Skelton's avatar

Thank you so much, Louise. I appreciate you taking the time to read my work :)

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Sanja's avatar

Such an interesting and original story! I also couldn’t help admiring how clean and crisp your writing is. Thanks for the great read!

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Luke Skelton's avatar

Thank you, Sanja! That is too kind. An interesting and original story written in clean and crisp language is a win in my books! Hopefully see you again soon, and I look forward to reading some of your writing too.

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Georgia's avatar

Loved this Luke . It was both comedic and meaningful , both honest and far fetched . Bravo

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Luke Skelton's avatar

Thank you for reading! I’m happy with this one.

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Stephanie's avatar

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the nuance of annual performance reviews and their emotional roller-coaster, while on maternity leave at 4am. Although I feel the author captured the atmosphere well, I was disappointed to see no mention of either of the main characters' "soft infrastructure". I will, however, be eager to read more stories from this author in future.

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Luke Skelton's avatar

Haha, 'soft infrastructure' would have taken this piece from satirical to absurd. Surely no one ever uses the term 'soft infrastructure', surely... right? Thanks for reading, Steph. Hope you get some sleep soon.

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Bill's avatar

Great story, without spoiling for others - there is a great turn partway through. The story is two genres in my mind, that swaps at this point. However, the characters remain true to themselves throughout. When this story is funny, it's still partly emotional - and when it's emotional, it's still partly funny.

I liked the details too - there was one line that jumped out - where Victor, actively witnessing somebody committing a crime, corrects himself to say they are the 'alleged' criminals - that made me laugh.

And finally, as somebody who has survived annual performance reviews, this whole thing touched me close to home.

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Luke Skelton's avatar

I thought you would like that bit. Thanks for reading, Bill.

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User's avatar
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Dec 15, 2023
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Luke Skelton's avatar

Thank you for this wonderful comment. And, haha, you are quite right about the name. A person could have a lot of fun thinking of those types of names. Also, thanks for subscribing (it’s been a slow few months).

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