Fic recs, September 16th · 4:33pm Sep 16th, 2013
Hold on to your butts, because I'm releasing a vs. post about the Conversion Bureau right after posting this. This will forever be known as the Day of Bad Fanfiction. I mean, just look at these scores:
H: 0 R: 2 C: 0 V: 0 N: 3
The Chariot Took Her Home by All of the Above
Genre: End of life
As part of my 300th watcherpalooza, I offered Canterlot Guardian the option to have one of his stories, or any story at all, read and reviewed in this blog. He was total bro and set up a journal of his own to give someone with less exposure a chance, and this is the story he picked… And now I’m in a slight pickle because it’s not that great and I feel like I should say something nice about it. :/ Well, what went wrong? This could use an editor, for one. The characters feel ever so slightly off, as does the situation. (I find a lot of authors could stand to research hospital procedures, and you can generally tell when they haven’t.) I did like the idea of Granny knowing that the titular chariot would be coming for her; it lent a lot of gravitas and mystique to the scene surrounding her impending death, a death she could look to with dignity and without regret. Unfortunately, the payoff sort of ruins that, taking a tone that doesn't sound believable in context and throwing in fandom references without much thought. (Why is the scroll’s text its own chapter?) A good message from beyond could have saved this, but instead it came off as the most awkward part of the story. In the end, this an end-of-life scenario for the Apple family with an interesting central conceit but poor execution, and unfortunately I can’t recommend it for general reading.
Not Recommended and I feel kind of bad :/
The Moon Rises by Canterlot Guardian
Reading by DasPony
Genre: Introspection
Since Canterlot Guardian was a total bro and all, I figured I’d check out a few of his stories anyway, and this one in particular since it had a reading. Princess Luna juggles the sun and moon, self-doubts, loneliness and other sundries in a world without her sister, or anypony at all really. That last part should catch your attention, because every time this story reminded me that Luna was absolutely, entirely alone in Equestria, I just had to go, “What? But how?” The explanation given for what happened ultimately leaves more questions than it answers, but it did keep my attention through the entire story. And interestingly enough, the passage that really caught me emotionally — a remembrance of something Rarity had once told her — came prior to the revelation that anyone but Celestia was gone. This is a very quiet story in which Luna, for once in this fandom’s life, actually has something to be sad about.
Recommended
Rainbow Typhoon by Nonsanity
Genre: Natural Disaster Flick
"Flick" because this reads like an action movie, which is not a bad thing. The pacing is manipulated near perfectly to keep the action scenes tense and the respite scenes calm. What bothers me about that, though, is that there’s a lot of back and forth between the two. Something happens and then there’s a pause before the next thing happens, usually in the form of Rainbow Dash getting knocked out and waking up later, which confuses the story's timeline. Furthermore, I have to ask the question of where exactly a hurricane, or any such weather, would come from. The setting is mostly Manehattan, so the “wild weather from the Everfree Forest” explanation isn’t possible. It’s not the only story that I’ve read wherein wild weather was an issue, and in this case, there’s really no explanation given for why it’s there at all. In a world where weather is controllable, it makes one wonder. But, with that said, this story is actually about Rainbow Dash struggling with her own fears and self-doubts, and in that regard, it’s pretty good. Not to mention we get to see her working as a Wonderbolt, however temporarily, and she fucking deserves that, so way to go.
Recommended
I’ll Fly Higher by FanNotANerd
Reading by Scribbler
Genre: Monologue
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes all you really need is the picture. Unless you’re really invested in knowing how Rainbow Dash dies (or having AppleDash in literally everything you read), there’s quite honestly no reason to read this after you’ve seen the cover image. It tells you everything you need to know and the story is just your standard “Scootaloo talking to Rainbow’s grave” scenario, with some mixing in of her remembering Dash’s last stunt. It’s not poorly written, it just doesn’t add anything to the idea.
Not Recommended
Spike Steel: Ace Detective by Brookwood Bronco
Genre: Noir Parody
This story is really confusing. First, it shifts back and forth between what’s really happening and Spike’s detective fantasy. Then, in the italicized fantasy, it switches back and forth from hard-boiled detective narration, in quotation marks, to regular old narration. The fact is, the “pretend noir” concept is generally fun, and Spike’s a good character to utilize it with. But I’ve seen it done better, not to mention the actual plot really doesn’t warrant using that trope in the first place. That the author cites Calvin and Hobbes as an influence almost makes it worse.
Not Recommended
Youch. Between this and tackling TCB, living dangerously today PP.
1354220
Ever since Kkat revealed she'd been reading my FoE journals, I no longer give a damn about how my reviews are taken. :V Fuck several po-lice.
1354255
Excellent! I like these for honesty.
1354641
I still sometimes hold back, feeling I should say something nice on a story here and there. :B I'm a softie.
1355112
HOW WILL YOU MAINTAIN YOUR STATUS AS ONE OF THE ELIET IF YOU HAVE THE TEMERITY TO LIKE A FIC?
just as an aside, PP, in your review for The Moon Rises, you say that the revelation "came prior to the revelation that anyone but Celestia was gone". it should actually say "came prior to the revelation that anyone but Luna was gone". the story is about Luna after all, not Celestia.
1357856
No, I meant at first it sounded like it was just Celestia who was gone. Like, she died somehow and Luna was left to rule. Then it goes "everypony goned" and I was like "OH SHIT NO WHAT". :B