Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels/Peer review/The Last of the Masters

The Last of the Masters
I've been giving this article a lot of attention over the past year, but recently ratcheted up my efforts to drive this to GA status. At this stage, I'd like some input from members of this project, as this is the first article for a short story I've put serious effort into, and I'm very unfamiliar with the unique type of attention this type of article needs. --Cast (talk) 06:46, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Update: This article has successfully passed a GA nomination since my initial request for a peer review. However, I would still like a review so as to improve it further for a potential FA nomination.--Cast (talk) 06:02, 10 August 2009 (UTC)


 * One suggestion, based on the (admittedly outdated) WikiProject Novels/ArticleTemplate, is to move the publication history to the end of the body of the article. The technical details about publishers and so on might lose readers early on, whereas a synopsis provides a more immersive, interesting point to start from. Skomorokh  03:19, 11 May 2009 (UTC)


 * I really like the pull quotes in the plot summary. FAC might force you to remove them all, but you should fight to keep at least two. Those are pretty interesting :-) The pull quotes in the analysis section could be integrated into the prose, though.
 * Is there a picture of the cover anywhere? (was it ever published in book form?)
 * Spaced emdashes are outlawed per MOS:DASH. Either spaced endashes or unspaced emdashes.
 * In the bibliography: lulu.com?
 * Be sure to take a look through The Sword of Shannara's FAC's for advice and possible objections you may recieve. Otherwise, great article! — Ed   (Talk  •  Contribs)  21:57, 18 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Thank you for all of your notes. I've already acted on several. I've replaced the mdash template, which was auto-inserting spaces, with standard emdashes. I've also replaced "Lulu.com" with the company catch all term, "Lulu." Unfortunately, a book cover is not available, as this novelette was never published as a standalone publication. It has only ever been collected with other stories, and these stories were always on the cover. Cover pages are available, as the original 1954 anthology, Orbit Science Fiction, uses a designed cover and blurb for the story. However, it would simply be an decorative piece, and hardly illustrative or descriptive. It does not feature any of the characters, nor does it present an actual representational illustration. As I said, it is a simple collage of geometrics. I would like to keep the quote blocks in the Themes section, on the basis that the template was created for situations in which there is a shortage of images or figures. While "looking pretty" isn't the most important goal of an article, the visual aesthetics of the article lend interest for readers. The particular quotes I've pulled related to the general theme of the chapter or essay from a critic being quoted, and stand well on their own. However, they do not relate the "The Last of the Masters" in a very specific sense, and so integrating them into prose would require stretching their interpretation, in a way I do not feel would be appropriate. In the original context of the books, the quotes obviously refer to several stories, of which "The Last of the Masters" is one; however, in an article about a specific story, I would prefer to stick to very specific references. If this is unacceptable, I can replace or delete them entirely. On the other hand, I'm very glad you approve of my use of pull quotes in the synopsis section. Although images of the work are unavailable, even if they were, I feel prose quotes would be far more appropriate, given that this is a work of prose. They provide a greater understanding of the author's writing style at the time. Again, thank you for your time and if you can recognise any other matters of importance, please bring them up.--Cast (talk) 18:05, 19 September 2009 (UTC)