User blog comment:Brandon Rhea/THE CHOSEN ONE: Chapter 5 released!/@comment-1169345-20130301073136

SPOILERS FOR PEOPLE THAT HAVE NOT MANAGED TO READ IT YET....

Anyway, this chapter, like the last four, does one thing very clearly well. It hammers home description. Rhea did a very good job relaying the harsh details of the desert Michael was confronted with while trying to reach the crash. One couldn't help but notice the dire and horrifying position that Michael put himself in when he fought against the unforgiving desert conditions and the thick acrid fumes of the smoldering craft.

He also drove home the plight of the victims of the craft exceptionally well through Michael's latent Force sensitivity, or what seemed like his sensitivity to me.

Then there was the whole bit about Joshua. There was an interestingly dark part to it that makes one wonder how Michael could possibly become this shining hero of lore. He is still this fallible human that has petty bitterness and anger to him. Good touch to have that in this chapter. Even better to make him help Josh even despite the problems he had with the man. I could still root for him because of this, but also like him because he isn't a perfect character without flaw.

And then there was the final fight with the Tusken. It exemplified the tenacity of the creature and allowed us to actually feel a bit of fear for the fate of the main character as he was clearly outmatched and looked to have no way out. Only to have it morph into that classic ANH scene were a mysterious figure comes to the aid of the hero and chase off the Raider. It is a good homage to that scene (almost a parallel) but it isn't heinously derivative.

An excellent way to end the chapter that had a good ratio of description/traditional narration to action and it ended on Rhea's trademark cliffhangar. Very well done, worth the wait and I can't wait for the next one.

One last comment, I really liked that the reader got clear insight into the thought processes of Michael, made the chapter that much deeper and better.