THE SAPPHIRE AWARDS 2023 [CLOSED]

HORROR WINNERS

Winners!
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CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!

Winner or not you will get your review as promised. It will be directly messageed to you from our community account Sapphire_Community in the course of this week.

If you do not get your reviews by this Wednesday the 22nd, reach out to us.

THIRD PLACE🥉

Total Score:80/100

A Ballad of Inferno and Ruin By AdrielleReina

Judge:TierneyDanae

• Title: 7/10

I see the connections between the title and the plot, however the title makes me think more 'fantasy fiction horror' than 'modern-day wartime/survival/zombie horror.' I like the flow and sound of the title, and it is unique and intriguing, but made me expect a different style. Perhaps the title comes into play later on in the book a tad more.

• Cover: 3/5

I like the color scheme and interest of the cover, but again, it made me think more of fantasy or a hunger games style and didn't really portray 'survival/zombie horror'. I really like the style of both the title and the cover - if it was for a different genre. The font reminds me a bit of "Supernatural" which maybe also lent itself to me associating it with fantasy/lore more than horror.

• Blurb: 9/10

The blurb is well written and gives hints of what will happen and the background/setting. I like that you let readers know it has similar qualities to The Last of Us, as that lets people know this isn't a traditional horror but a more modern take on the genre - the 'survival horror' and lets them know that there will more than likely be zombies or a disease, etc. It's hard to fit everything into a blurb but I think this did a good job of intriguing readers to continue.

• Setting: 8/10

I really enjoyed your setting and descriptions of the Appalachian area, I can tell you have experience. I like being able to feel like I can picture scenes and settings - sometimes that's what makes a horror truly creepy is the writer's ability to give detail to a gruesome scene so the reader can picture it. I saw lots of details in the natural settings that I enjoyed, though going deeper into some of the murder/death details (even in hunting scenes in the first few chapters) to bring a bit more dark and set the tone for the story could help it play with reader's emotions more.

• Character and emotions : 7/10

I feel like I understand the main character the most, and though she is in the midst of multiple traumatic events, sometimes I felt like her responses were thinner than expected (or maybe not thinner, but it would happen quickly and be described shortly and then move on). Like in the chapter where Caleb and she return to find everyone murdered, more details about her response and having it be more drawn out (longer chapters) would connect her more deeply and give her more emotions that the reader can understand/see - like using different senses/descriptions. (IE instead of 'she threw up to the side of his body' talk about her feeling the bile burning her throat and nose as her stomach rose, or her chest tightening and fists shaking, nails digging into her palms until the scent of new blood mingled with her family's stale ones as she coldly explains that she will hunt the killers down - to show that though she is controlled on the outside, she is an inferno inside). When you write first person, it gives you the opportunity to let the readers into the characters head and see/feel what they do, even if they don't say it to any other character out loud.