> Okay, I just read all of them except for "The Master's Hand" (I'll get to that one when there's more time).....

Well, now I've read "The Master's Hand," and liked it. The grittiness of the setting came across very well, and the dialogue was also handled well. I think that the story could (and possibly should) be lengthened into a novella, since it raises many questions that remain unanswered about the characters and the society in which they live. What is the whole licensing system for master artists, and why would such a system come to be? What are grunts like, and which people are made into grunts? Where did Jim get his (frustrated) appreciation for making music? And of course, what happens next? -- for a story titled "The Master's Hand," it seems to end abruptly just as said Hand begins to figure prominently in the plot.

Anyway, enough of my superficial response to the story; let me just say that it was good reading, and now I have to get back to work. :-)

Iss "the style of characters is phat, special effects are cool, this story is phat and cool" achar