Harry- Taylor Kitsch or Joel Mchale

I have major problems with both of these: One is too pretty and the other is Jeff Winger.

Kitsch looks like he'd make a great Thomas.

He'd also make a good Marcone in my opinion. Then again, those two look similar in my head for some reason...

Nook. Don't actually own one, but I know a few people who are e-book pioneers. They recommend it over the others.

I'm somewhat in the same boat. I'm currently using three of my friends as "Beta-Readers" for my current work. One the one hand, I'm paranoid about keeping my story safe, so I wanted to use people I knew I could trust. On the other hand, I'm worried they will praise my work no matter how good or bad it is. I made sure to tell them by accepting the responsibility you have to be honest with your critiques.

I did try that, but they still inevitably throw me softballs. When it comes down to it, there are only two or three people I know who really have the knowledge to give me some good pointers, and all of them are much more worried about offending me or hurting my feelings. No amount of explanation will convince them that I can take it, apparently.

As for your work and looking for people to critique you, I'd be more than happy to help, but I have little experience in the literary world. The book I'm working on now is my first. Still, if you need someone to help you out, click on my user name and throw me an e-mail, I'll read what you have and be as honest as I can be.

Okay, thank you. If I don't find a reasonable alternative in the near-ish future, I think I will take you up on this.   

Honestly, I'd find people you can talk to in person on the subject, people you know and trust.  When they say it's good for someone your age say, Thanks, now what can I do better so it's amazing for someone my age.  Continue the questions until you know what they mean by your age.  I'm going to assume you're in high school somewhere, maybe even middle school.  To most adults that means generically that you are hopelessly naive and that anything you write won't have the kind of depth needed to be good.  They're sort of right, and very very wrong at the same time.  Just get to the bottom of what they mean and work from there.

Just now starting college, actually. I decided that I wanted to be an author at some point in sixth grade, though, and I've been writing ever since then. But the first thing I ever seriously tried, back about five years ago, was objectively terrible. It was some sword-and-board fantasy bit made entirely out of cliches and clumsiness. And vampires, because I thought vampires were totally the shiznit.

I realized that taking things to people I know wasn't going to work at about this time - I took the beginning ten chapters to maybe the one person I trusted the most with it. A teacher of mine, who helped me through some personal problems and such. He gave it all back to me with nothing but praise on everything I was doing right. Not a single thing on what I was doing wrong. It was depressing.

I tried a couple others, but I live in a small town. There's really not very many people around here who read, much less know how to critique a novice-level manuscript.

When someone gives you the "for your age" comment.  Ask that they explain exactly what they mean by that.
Is it your use of words, your vocabulary, your plot, your characterization - WTF do they mean.

Generally, I'm fairly sure it means, "I'm just surprised an eighteen-year-old kid is doing more with his computer than looking up porn."

As others have said - find someone you trust whether online like here on the Butcher Forum or in person and ask for an honest, no holds barred opinion.  And, most importantly, be open to what they might say.  It doesn't make all of their comments right but you've got to be willing to listen.  I've known people who the second you started to criticize or just comment on their work - completely turned off.

I think I can handle it. I take criticism very well, considering I more or less do everything wrong anyway.

While I don't know about other Forums - most of the people here that you might ask privately about looking at your stuff seem to be pretty trustworthy.  I'd get to know people a bit before I'd ask someone though.

Yeah, I think you're on to something there. I think I'm going to try getting someone I physically know for beta-reading one more time before resorting to the forums, after the advice I got here. If they try to go easy with me, I'll smack them with my diploma, or throw cigarettes that I bought at them until they don't. If they still try, then I'll get to know a couple people a little better on here and send them some stuff.

And... just found an answer to my own question. Dammit.

Well, according to Harry, 
Eternal Silence was Demonreach's proxy. Not Uriel's.

LML

One would have to wonder, however, why Eternal Silence's mind-voice was apparently more powerful than Demonreach's mind-voice.