Anthology VII: To Overcome
A Review by Teague "Fig" Chrystie

I have to admit, this took me two listens to understand. It may be my fault, but the first time, I thouroughly didn't get it. The "Voice" in the beginning is particularly difficult to understand, among the war sounds. The war sounds are amzingly well-edited, though . . . and draw the picture in your mind, whether you get it or not. I love the woman's scream as the warhead hits; it's perfect for the scene.

The idea here is as follows. I do this for my benefit and yours.

"You" start hearing a "Voice."

The Voice narrates "your" life in, apparently, reverse.

"You" are a reluctant soldier, doing what "you" can to get out of the army.

Before that, "you" were recruited.

Before that, "you" got the letter of recruitment.

Then we go back foward in time to the point where the Star Destroyer fires a bomb to the Rebel base "you' were fighting from. An officer tells it to be fired.

Then we go back to "you," who are now officially dying, along with the "Voice," and being pulled towards a light.

This officially gets the 'most confusing' award for me. Not to say it wasn't an awesome production. The acting was all spot-on (save for "you" as a teenager; that voice got to me). The editing was top-notch. The sound effects were amazing. Among the best, they. The idea is even very good. I identify with the character, which is good . . . right down to the "killing an insect" thing. There is little specifically about this edition of Anthology that I don't like. I just had trouble keeping up with it in the first place.

Perhaps it could have been bettered by maybe a separate narrator saying what time we were in . . . say, for when we flash back to the line of recruits and "you" being a smartass, had a man (or Nathan, heh heh) say "Three months ago." I don't know if that's when it took place, but, as a "for-instance."

The sound effects, which I keep coming back to, were spectacular, especially for those who utilize surround speakers or headphones. The effect for when he's actually dying at the end, with the alternating whoosh sounds on either side, was very convincing, almost trance-inducing. I'm getting stoned just thinking about it. The war sounds were the highlight of sound effects in the piece for me. My favorite word in existence comes into play here, so listen up. Synesthesia.* The interpereting of one kind of sensory data as another. The sounds in this montage put you on the front lines.

All around, this piece is nothing Earth-shattering in the way of fan audio dramas, at least in my humble opinion. But it was definietly good, and definitely original. And that's what keeps me coming back to fan works, here, at Fanworks.

*Synesthesia. Duuuuude. Just say that out loud, rolls right of the tongue. Sin-is-thee-seeuh. That's why it's my favorite word. Another example, to help get the concept going..is perhaps smelling cigarette smoke and being reminded of your grandma.