Some Recommendations · 4:44pm Jul 10th, 2014
So I don't read a lot of pony fiction. I find it irksome a lot of the time because my mind is yelling that I need to be writing, rather than reading. I get all caught up in being irritated the Character X isn't written how I think they should be written. The dialogue bothers me. The plot holes bother me. On and on. The point being that I'm hard to please, and a lot of that is me, not the authors.
Which isn't to say there isn't a lot of dreck on this site. I'm just admitting that I'm unreasonably harsh when it comes to what most people will like.
But I make an effort to read up on stuff from people that I admire here, or stories that sound like they have potential. I thought I'd throw some up here that I've liked in the fairly recent past. I'm going to try to talk about these without giving too much away, but what is below might get kind of spoiler-y.
An interesting look into Princess Luna in what seems to be the beginnings of her transformation into Nightmare Moon. This is not a sad-eyed, mopey Luna. This is a icy, seething bundle of rage enameled in protocol and duty. At three thousand words, this story isn't very long but it's just as long as it needs to be. I was left satisfied, but would love to know what came afterward. I think it's always a win if you want, but do not need, a sequel.
One small gripe was Luna's dialogue. It feels far more archaic than the Luna was had in Luna Eclipsed. Enough that I had to grit my teeth a bit at some of the dialogue, but that's pretty minor. Some of the prose got a little florid at times, as well, but that's a person preference. I don't care much for prose that looks like Art Nouveau in my mind. I prefer the clean lines of machine aged Art Deco.
This is all quite minor, though. The story is the thing here, and I think it really delivers. I find it very aggravating that it hasn't received more attention, but I think that's probably what comes with a Tragedy tag. I think this is more of a Slice of Life, but I guess a lot of people would probably disagree.
Every Mare Needs Her Stallion by InquisitorM
Like everything InquisitorM writes, you receive just enough information in this story for the moment at hand. You'll spend a good bit of time wondering if you're correct in your assumptions of where this is all going, and if you're perceptive, you'll get the message at the end of the story. InquisitorM does not like to hand hold you along. You're going to be expected to do some of the work by connecting the dots.
To me, this story is a great character piece. We get some strong Fluttershy and Rarity characterization while being allowed to see some hidden facets that the show hasn't presented. That's what fanfics are all about folks.
I've gone over this story with InquisitorM, and I have one or two tiny issues with some of the story threads, but nothing that detracts at all from my enjoyment of it. A solid read in my book. It's confusing at times, but never boring, and all of that confusion is worked out if you see it through to the end.
An interesting story on something that I've been very curious about: What happens to those ponies that makes them jump into musical numbers at the drop of a hat? We follow Bon Bon and Lyra as they struggle to deal with the issues that surround that loss of self to the music. I'm totally fascinated by that idea.
Now, I will say that I didn't get what I wanted from this story, but that doesn't mean I wasn't satisfied. This is a personal story about two ponies, with the larger problem being the framework for the relational friction between them. I'm much more interested in that larger problem. To me, this would be a great way to begin that exploration, in the way that The Hobbit serves as a great introduction to the larger issues facing Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings. It's an accessible entry.
I loved the mental in this story. The switch that occurred in thoughts when the music started. That is what I'm after. I'm going to hazard a guess that most other readers will probably prefer the Bon Bon/Lyra dynamic that is the central plot in the story, but to me, that's just icing to the mass hypnosis cake.
I will say that I have trouble with this story's foundation. We are presented with the idea that these musical numbers are dangerous. Or at least that Lyra thinks they are dangerous. She gives some examples at the beginning, so I rolled with it, but to me, it flies in the face of the obvious: If they were truly dangerous, there would be a lot more damage. The ponies sing and dance all the damn time, and it's not really an issue. It could be argued that it's off-screen or whatever, but I have trouble believing in an Equestria where the Powers That Be just let this go on when ponies are breaking legs and choking to death during this state.
But putting that aside, I liked this story a lot. Almost nothing is so airtight that you can't find some kind of plothole, so you just make yourself miserable if you can't sidestep a little one. After I shrugged and said "whatever", I was treated to some very interesting ideas. The end falls a little flat to me, but it's nothing major. I'd certainly seek this out if the concept holds any level of interest for you.
Wyrmlysan by Chris:
I agree with everything. Fantastic look at a Luna that really comes alive as both believable and assertive. I thought the dialogue was just as forced with the guards as it was Luna's stylisation, but small issues are irrelevant next to some really compelling characterisation.
Every Mare Needs Her Stallion by InquisitorM
Yeah, this dude rocks. You all should totally read his work.
But seriously, this is the most intentionally obtuse things that I've written. Not hand-holding is one thing, but this thing requires a functional level of empathy and insight that passes a lot of people by. It ain't friendly, and it ain't supposed to be.
Needs just a little reworking (none of it in the actual wording) and it'll be up on the Royal Guard post. I was honesty surprised they would accept it, given it's punishing reading level.
Fugue State by Horizon
Heard a lot about this one but never read it. I gotta be honest, your recommendation is the one that will probably push me over the edge into checking it out.
-M
I've been meaning to read a Chris Story and an InquisitorM story for a while now, so maybe I'll try these ones.
Fugue state is indeed a cool fun piece, and it inspired me to begin forming a darker similar idea but for a pony whose special talent is interpreting background music.
Can We use this post to give some recommendations to you too? Have you read anything by Estee? Her stuff is amazing.
2271940 The idea that the characters ARE aware they're singing and dancing is such a wonderful and underexplored concept, in my opinion. I'm not sure how much my opinion matters, but I for one liked it, and consider it a pretty accessible introduction to Horizon.
2271942 Suggest away. I read stories very rarely, though, so it might be a while until I get to it. Depends on how I feel. I've been curious about Estee for a while, though.
2271971 Read Estee's 500 Little Murders. Bask in the wonderful characterization.
2271977 I can second that. Superb character piece.
And my "Read Later" list gets ever closer to becoming unmanagably huge... oh well, I guess that's an occupational hazard in these parts. I've never read any of them, though Chris at least is a familiar name to me. Still, recommendations are always good!
I'll take this opportunity to recommend something: Height by PoweredByTea. It's a FlutterDash friendshipping adventure fic, but told in first person by (for once) a really interestingly written Rainbow. I felt one later scene was a little on the overlong side, but I loved everything else. Even the completely out-there short epilogue.
2273232 I'll take a look and see if it catches my fancy.
2271977
2271982 I really hope this gets better soon, guys. I'm about a quarter through Five Hundred Little Murders, and so far it's been pretty bad. I'm hoping it picks up once Fluttershy comes along. At this point, I'm really forcing myself not to skim.
2277816 huh. I Remember it being lots of excellent characterization of a very unlikable character.
2271977
2271982
I finished up Five Hundred Little Murders and I ended up feeling kind of neutral toward it. I thought the first half was ham-fisted to the point of caricature, but once Fluttershy arrived, things smoothed out a bit. The dialogue was mostly good, which is why it improved on the back half, and I had no real issue with the characterization of either character, excepting that Flitter is a black and white movie villain. Given that, she stuck to her motivations nicely.
However, it's not that she's an unlikeable character. She's warped to the point of ridiculousness. I could feel the author shoving my face against her character and saying "See?! See?! She's really unpleasant! Just to drive that home, let me write ten more paragraphs about all the ways that she's so unpleasant that she actually wouldn't work in a functioning society!" That character sledgehammering brought me right out of the story for the first half.
2278573 Ahh. I can see that.
Personally, I liked the opening characterisation because I had a sense of duality: the ham-fisted forcing of Flitter's behaviour cloaked a far more subtle explanation of her personal development. It is by far one of the most exquisitely carved character pieces in the fandom, and yet...
...I have no idea if it was intentional.
You see, most people see a story about Flitter's cat. I don't. I see a story about a pony who lives one step removed from an insane world who come into contact with another pony who has severe issues dealing with that world and yet still retains her compassion – something long since lost to Flitter herself. Carnie is just the modus operandi for examining this experience. The last shred of Flitter's compassion is saved for the cat who will not betray her integrity, and losing that companion is a soul-shredding experience. Fluttershy, on the other hand, has the same pent-up anger (as we have seen many times) but still maintains a social circle and a lifestyle that will support her open heart even in the face of losing a cherished friend.
Fluttershy isn't compassionate because she doesn't see the world as Flitter does; she is compassionate in spite of seeing the world as Flitter does. That is why Fluttershy is the strongest pony in the world.
The 'ten more paragraphs about all the ways that she's so unpleasant that she actually wouldn't work in a functioning society' was necessary to nuance Flitter in such a way as that was a natural conclusion. Whether I am the one person who can really see where Estee was coming from or whether it's a complete fluke is something I should probably ask someday. Suffice to say that his RCL interview made me think it was the former. I share a lot of his views and preferences there, so it makes sense that I can get a good look into his mind.
I guess one of the reasons that I like it is that it's as complex as Every Mare if you have the knowledge to look deeply enough.
2279727 Oh, I think you're correct on that. To me, it seemed like was more about Flitter and Fluttershy than it was about Carnie, and I think you have the analysis of it pretty much down. But as I said about Highball, I have a problem with repetition. I had Flitter's antisocial nature down long, long before Estee stopped reinforcing it. Honestly, the story could have started with Flitter bringing the cat to Fluttershy and it would have lost very little to me.
And the perhaps-trying-to-be-funny scene where Flitter takes Carnie to the vet was just flat out bad. The rest of the story has scenes that I think are overkill, but in and of themselves, they are fine. It's the accumulation of them that kills it for me. However, that vet scene felt like something another author had put in there to lighten the mood or something. It was a joke that didn't particularly work well in The Secret of My Excess and Estee turned it up to eleven for that scene. Didn't work for me at all.
I did really like almost everything with Fluttershy and her animals, though. Little touches like asking them to dig the grave for her were excellent.
2279834 Yeah, you're probably right. Given the lack of really dynamic characterisations around FimFic (by comparison to number of total fics, at least) I was willing to forgive a hell of a lot for that one, truly vibrant character. There's probably a little in the way of rose tinted glasses because of that, too.
2279844 The problem as I see it is one of excess. Did I really need to read about how Flitter specifically disliked each of the Mane Six? I don't really think I did. She could have just covered Fluttershy and it would have been fine. Or not covered them at all and demonstrated to me via dialogue and action that contempt. To me, it was that overkill that dragged down the beginning, but it did do a lot in the back half to win me back over. I was really irritated with the fic at the halfway point, but ended up okay with it at the end. That says a lot to me about the effectiveness of the back half.
2279846 Sounds like a fair critique to me. Maybe it's your turn to put something on trial :P
2279854 Gah! It would be horrible to behold. I hate everything. And people would probably quite correctly point out my own shortcomings in storytelling. Not that I think one needs to be able to do to critique. They are different skills. But I'd like to continue with my recommendation blog, and sometimes I might recommend that people not read a particular fic. I wouldn't do that with Estee's story. I think for most people, it's a plenty fine little tale. I find it's presentation irksome in some ways, but for most people it would be fine, so I can't really recommend it to be read or to be skipped.
The image of that is funny in my mind:
irritated Author: Dude what's with the harsh review?
Me: Well, your story had some significant flaws. The dialogue was wooden and you don't seem to have a firm grasp on Rainbow Dash's character at all.
Irritated Author - Um, didn't you write Checkmates and A Periodic Tale of Elements?
Me: Well, you see, about those...
2279854 Speaking of, when is the next On Trial? I love those things.
2279874 The only things that have come up recently are TMDC entries, and it doesn't feel right to poke at those. I have Height on my radar right now, which might be a good target, but I also have my eye on either Roll For Initiative (because I've a vindictive fucker) and A Faded Touch of Blue (because I heard a nasty rumour that I'd like to make sense of ).
I'm cat-sitting for a friend next week, so I'm either going to write a lot more while I'm away from home, or I'm going to descend into a screaming vortex of anxiety and do nothing.
Time will tell.