Fanfic Reviews - The First is Always the Hardest · 2:08am Dec 27th, 2013
In an effort to document my adventures in fanfiction, and also to motivate myself to finish writing what I start, I will start posting some reviews in this space. I will talk mostly about those I read recently, but occasionally some I have read a while back but that I have things to talk about. Ratings are in a 0~10 scale, with 3 representing a mediocre, absolutely average fic. Anyway...
archonix - Guiding Light - Historic fic(?)
Guiding light deals with the idea of Derpy becoming the sole Princess of Equestria by pure happenstance, after the Royal Family is raptured in strange circumstances. However, despite the absolutely ridiculous concept, it is a fairly serious story, and surprisingly deep, dealing well with the themes of motherhood and grief, and showing a sobering view of how one would react to being suddenly thrust in a position of power. The imagery is also great, and works wonders in favor of the story. Still, some of the characters that form the emotional core are hard to sympathize with, and it is at times unnecessarily obtuse. There is also a sequel that I have yet to check, but it stands well enough on its own.
Why it should be read: For the great execution of a strange concept, if nothing else.
7,5/10
hahatimeforponies - FoE: Duck and Cover - Fallout Equestria (Mature)
I love FoE. I like its characters, its universe, the concept, the whole subfandom around it... It hits a lot of right notes for me, despite its more obvious flaws. Duck and Cover is an affectionate parody of FoE, picturing a Stable Dweller as played by your typical gamer - genre savvy, noticing the flaws in the world’s mechanics, and more preoccupied with wrecking shit up than saving the world. However, it also works as a straight FoE novel, while never losing focus of the parody and the critique of the tropes common to this sub-genre.
Yes, it is completely ridiculous, and eschews drama for comedy – even when the protagonist is moping – but there is always the feeling that these thing could happen in the Wasteland during any other FoE fic. I think that is because the setting, for all its ridiculousness, is pretty solid. The overly pompous Scolts, the irrationally villainous Enclave, the hooligan Raiders, everything feels like it would belong to a FoE story – only in this case it is presented with a different perspective. There is quite a lot of fourth wall breaking, but given how meta this is, it works, and is also pretty subdued. Still, there are some issues, such as repetitive fighting scenes, some inconsistent characterization, and how from time to time it plays its tropes too straight – the Steel Factory scene was particularly hard to get through – but the final product is worthy a read.
Why it should be read: For the well made satire of FoE, that hits even if you didn't like the original.
9/10
Greenback - The Monster Below - Tragedy
The monster below is, essentially, a tragedy in the classical sense, full of character flaws, unfortunate circumstances, strife, and fall from grace. It deals with the journey of Silverspeak, an earth pony that grew in a city of unicorns, and wishes to turn into an Alicorn someday. His way is paved with good fortune and bad choices, both portrayed realistically and in an interesting way. The characters are great, and the plot is very tight, with almost no loose ends to speak of, or even much in the way of happenstance, and his path to alicornhood is interesting and believable. It is also noteworthy that it features almost no characters from the show, takes place a fair time in the future, but still feels like something that could almost take place in canon Equestria, with, again, great original Characters, including a, wonder of wonders, non-rhyming Zebra. The only significative problem is the terribly cartoonishly main villain (in a story that doesn’t even need one) whose motivation and characterization are handled very, very poorly. However, it is a testament to the story’s quality that even this great flaw doesn’t affect the story too much, and we are left with a great tale of loss, redemption, and acceptance, that never devolves into melodrama or shies away from exploring the flaws of the protagonist to its ultimate consequences.
Why it should be read: For the well built tragedy and great OCs.
9.5/10
Golden Vision - The Stars and Sky Above - Character Study
Here is a short story about Celestia and Luna discussing their parents, and how they fill the role of such figures. It is an interesting concept, considering how their parents might or might not even exist in the first place, and how they consider that their subjects act as the moral compass that their parents should have been, but It spends too much time in unwarranted long introspective moments that don’t add much more than padding to the story. The characterization of the two sisters may have been well done, but in the end it is a pretty half-baked story.
Why it should be read: The concept itself is worth exploring.
6/10
ABagofVicodin - Therapist Visit - Character Study / Sad
Luna needs a therapist in order to deal with some issues. This is the story of her sessions, told exclusively from the viewpoint of the therapist, without any dialogue marks, descriptions, or even dialogue from the protagonist. The style is pretty unique, and is easily the best thing of the story, despite it becoming kinda gimmicky later on, when the “sessions” start dealing with more characters. Besides that, the emotions are genuine, there are some great insights into Luna’s personality, and despite his complete lack of interaction with the reader besides being a pair of ears, the character of the therapist was surprisingly well built, in a Gordon Freeman kind of way.
There are also two sequels, one involving Twilight asking for the therapist’s help in dealing with her alicornification, her new roles in equestria, and touching on her blame complex in general. There is also an incomplete one about Queen Chrysalis that sounds promising, but it is hard to form an opinion without more chapters. Both are good in a “If you liked the original” kind of way, but are nice stories in their own right
Why it should be read: For the style, and the well built character study.
8/10
TheSlorg - Princess Luna and the Cotton Candy Sugar Rush - Comedy
Luna discovers Cotton Candy, and goes in a sugar rush, until she stops. It is a nice little piece of fluff, not “laugh out loud” funny, but enough to give you a smile. Characterization of Celestia was nice, writing was nice, pacing was ok, but again, this is fluff, and there isn’t much to put it ahead of the pack. Also, I felt some disconnect from the lack of references to the connection between the cotton candy and Discord, since it is kind of his thing, and while I still feel that as a missed opportunity, Slorg’s comments about how for Luna they would only be pink clouds, and how she was disconnected from Equestria long enough for her not to identify them as such. Quite frankly, it is quite ingenious when you think about it that way, and that knocked the fic up a notch for me.
Why it should be read: A good depiction of Celestia, or if you like Luna being silly.
5/10
Chaotic Harmony - Red, if at all possible - Dark
Octavia is a vampire. She seduces ponies to kill them and drink their blood, fears silver… you know the drill. It isn’t particularly badly written, but isn’t great either, the pacing was ok, but the scenes were disjointed, Octavia is well characterized, but the other characters weren’t. The biggest problem is that, while it has a nice atmosphere, it isn’t particularly interested in investigating the outcomes of her actions, what her being a vampire implies about Equestrian society, or anything but the bare minimum. It skims the surface of being a great fic, but fails not by having some terrible flaw, but for not doing anything particularly noteworthy.
Why it should be read: You wanna read about Octavia being a vampire in the Dracula tradition.
3/10
Obsolescence - The Bubble Bursts - Comedy
Derpy has had enough of being bullied, is offered the power of the Nightmare, and turns into Nightmerpy to get revenge. One of those fics that shines on a sentence, rather than story level, since it is fairly unsubstantial on that front. However, when it is good, it is excellent, with some of the best written Derpy and Rainbow Dash interaction, amazing turns of phrase, and a very unique voice for Derpy. The nightmare itself is as far from canon as you can get, and it feels like it belongs in the Contraptionology continuity. All in all, it is a joy to read, very well written, and the paper-thin plot is completely overshadowed by the writing.
Why it should be read: For the great writing, well written comedy, and great characterizations.
9/10
Eight stories seems like a nice place to stop, and since I had fun writing this, I should be doing more. Hopefully I can also upload a delayed Christmas story before year’s end, unless real life has other plans.
Soge doing reviews? Glad I was watching you, or I would have missed this.
I very much do appreciate your review on Therapist Visit. I'm glad that I got an 8/10. I hope my other stories get to a 10 someday!
Welp, it was fun reading your reviews while they lasted. Can't wait for more, though I wish I knew how to quit
youadding fics to my to-read pile.