Fic recs, March 9th! · 9:22pm Mar 9th, 2018
I figured out if I do six audiobooks in three days, that means I can do two six-fic blogs per week, plus an edition on Tuesdays (because that's just how things have lain). The bad news is I only have four audiobooks left until I'm done here, but it was a nice thought. :B Back to longfics after that!
There will still be more editions though, oh lord. c.c
H: 1 R: 4 C: 2 V: 0 N: 0
I Will Go Down With This Ship! by Magpiepony
Reading by TheLostNarrator, et. al.
Genre: Ponies Shipping Ponies
Princess Cadence is called to the celestial realm to help settle an old argument.
This story is basically "Fandom shipping arguments, the fanfic". Literally everything Celestia, Luna and even Cadence say is something you've no doubt heard other people, myself included, say on their own, given the right prompt. And yet? And yet. It is funny as shit hearing the princesses say it. XD My god, I don't know if everyone is going to get the same thing out of this I did, but it's just such a hilarious comedy, I can't give it anything but my highest recommendation.
Highly Recommended
The Wishing Pool by Titanium Dragon
Reading by Winged T. Spears
Genre: Comedy
Rarity visits the fabled, and dangerous, Wishing Pool, knowing exactly what she wants.
This is a cute piece with a lot of really good atmosphere. I especially like how the 'dangerous' part of the pool's legend is shown to us rather than told. (Well, outside of the description.) And this would have been just a fine, light read with an amusing ending, if not for the fact that it passes the Zecora Test without even having any zebras. :V Dem rhymes!
Recommended
Hoofprints by OnionPie
Reading by Scribbler, et. al.
Reading by Crafty Arts
Swing and a hit! He reads quite well. My only complaint is there's a lot of whitespace between sentences, and even dialogue and phrases, that added probably upwards of five minutes to the reading. But otherwise, he's good.
Genre: Horror
What could kill a timberwolf?
I don't have a lot to say about this, honestly, other than it's pretty darned creepy and good. You've got three very strong characters looking for somepony in the forest, and things just get darker and more foreboding until shit hits the fan. I like where this went. A must for horror fans.
Recommended
Luna Saves Equestria in Her Sleep. by Adorkable Moonlight
Reading by Winged T. Spears
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Comedy
She's just that good.
The writing needs a little work, but this was amusing. You can probably figure out how things go down, but again, I got a laugh out of it, and that's about all I ask for.
Recommended for Laughs
The Trouble With Unicorns IV by Admiral Biscuit
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Sequel to The Trouble With Unicorns
Genre: PoE Comedy
It's Rarity vs. Earth's diamond market, and there can be only one winner.
No, you're not reading that wrong: there is no Trouble With Unicorns 2 or 3, it just goes right to four for some reason. >.> Anyway, this is a much more understated comedy than its predecessor, but I still had fun with it. I'd like to see more stories about ponies taking advantage of cultural — or, more precisely, geological — differences like this.
Recommended
Fluttergamer by Daemon McRae
Reading by Winged T. Spears
Reading by Lotus Moon
Genre: Random Comedy
Fluttershy's new hobby was supposed to make her more social, not less.
The main joke here is "Fluttershy swearing", which is funniest if you're hearing this rather than reading it. The secondary joke is Twilight being naive and optimistic to a fault, which I always appreciate. The actual punchline was the title of the video game she's playing, which I was really hoping wouldn't have been the case. Still, I got a few laughs out of this. Whether or not you care about ponies having video games for no reason will guide your decision to read this.
Recommended for Laughs
The Train Ride by Snuffy
Proofread by Me
Genre: HiE/Slice of Life
When the only human in Equestria tries to publish his memoirs, some of his claims about ponykind cause a stir.
I'm not quite sure how to sum up this story. For sure, it's very different than most HiE's. Herman Anderson is in his late sixties, for starters, entirely unlike any of your self-insert characters written by younger authors. The really weird thing is that, for all that the mystery of how Herman got to Equestria, what the ponies are so upset about, and the threat of changelings lurking in the background, this is one of those stories I'd call "painfully slice of life". The title is really the focus: it's all about the trip from Rosewood to Canterlot and the ponies Herman meets along the way. In fact, the culmination of the memoirs, in an encounter with Shining Armor, is quite nearly anticlimactic. I say this so you know what you're getting into. My only actual complaint about the story (I tried unsuccessfully to get the author to tone this down, but alas, I am but a humble proofreader) was the conversations. They tend to stretch on and on, in great detail, with the ponies constantly nagging Herman, and always addressing him by name every time they talk to him. It was just kind of strange, is all. Still, by the end of the story, I was well invested in the characters, and that's really all you need to have something worth reading. This is far better than your average HiE, and the kind of story I would suggest to anyone who wants to be in the know with fandom tropes but doesn't want to risk their time on something meant solely for wish-fulfilling.
Recommended
Oh boy. Hoofprints is quite literally the first story I've ever written. Ah, my humble beginnings. Thanks for the recommendation.
You going to review this year’s Scribbler fest entries? https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/800119/scribblefest-closing-and-submission-list I know how much you love to review contest fics :D
4813336
Really, your first? That was an auspicious start! :D
4813396
Ah fuck, dude, I'm maybe a quarter of the way into Sunset Shipping, and there's at least one other contest I need to catch up with after that. D: There's too many goddamn stories. I haven't done Scribblefest in years, anyway.
4813408
I hope you're going to be reviewing stories from Aragon's comedy contest though? Or at least ones that made the feature box and are probably already on your read later list hint hint :B
4813445
That one's on the list, yes. But the list is rather long...