Story Recommendation Post #2 · 6:40pm Jul 21st, 2014
I have a feeling that if I continue to do these posts, there are going to be a lot of people pointing out that everyone has read these stories besides me. That's probably true, so I'm sorry if this stuff is old news. Still, I think it's nice to celebrate stories that succeed, even if everyone else is already aware.
Onwards!
The latest story that I read and loved was The Never-Was and Wouldn't-Be by Obselescence
So this one had to grow on me. The beginning felt bland. Twilight was pensive and Discord was fairly mild-mannered. While neither were out of character or anything, they both just seemed like they’d been turned down a few notches.
For Twilight, this is completely logical. She’s about to embark on something that's going to change the fate of every pony in Equestria. She’s having second thoughts and doesn’t know what right is. I feel like her mood is fine for the moment, if not exactly gripping at the onset.
Discord is another matter, or that’s what I thought for three-quarters of the story. I kept telling myself that this isn’t my preferred Discord. This was one who was trying to make nice, and so he was on his best behavior. His dialogue is sharp and I loved his visual gags, but I kept feeling like he was really mellow. However, without giving things away, there is a very good reason for Discord’s behavior throughout the story. The conclusion was satisfying in a way that I don’t get from a lot of stories.
Now, I will say that I have a small problem with the central issue around which this story revolves. I’ve always said that I’ll buy pretty much anything happening in Equestria, so long as you give me a solidly logical reason for that oddball thing to be occurring. The more off-the-wall, the better that explanation had better be. In this story, Twilight is contemplating merging everyone’s consciousness into some sort of whole. And there’s no real good explanation as to how they would arrive at that kind of a decision. It’s just sort of offered up as a natural progression from friendship to universal harmony. We are given the barest of knowledge about what this is and why it should happen.
Lots of readers will not be bothered by this. I am, but not so much that I didn’t really enjoy this story. A lesser writer would have lost my interest because of it, but the other elements are so strong that they allowed me to just shrug it off. I’d still like to know what the deal is, but I count it as a strength that the author kept my attention while building his story around such a concept.
It could be argued that it doesn’t matter why this is going on, and I’m actually on board with that. This story obvious didn't need to include that to work. However, it affects my ability to sink into a story when I’m sitting in my chair wondering why the hell the ponies would willingly give up free will and merge into one giant consciousness. It has no effect on the logic within the story, but is affects my ability to emotionally connect with the events.
In the end, while I wasn’t as invested in the driving force of the plot as I’d like to be, the story itself really works well. Twilight and Discord have a discussion that feels organic, and they reach a conclusion that is logical and satisfying when viewed through the lens of their personalities. What started off as bland transformed into something powerful by utilizing that very mechanic, and I have to applaud that. It’s pretty rare that I find that a perceived fault in a story actually turns out to be a clever narrative device.
I'm picky when it comes to Discord, so it was great to read a story that I loved the guy in. If you haven't read this one, do it. It's great.
Keep doing these. Even if everyone has read them (not everyone has) it's great to see another persons insight. A different perspective on a work can put it in an entirely new light.
...not to mention some of us *haven't* read what you're commenting on. (darnit, more to add to my read later list) Keep it up!
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I like stories so infrequently that I may as well continue this. It won't be intrusive or overwhelming unless my tastes wildly change all of a sudden.
I do feel a pull to put up a review for each story that I read, but that would quickly turn this blog very negative, and I think there is enough of that. I've decided to just do a write up for that stuff that really does stand out to me. Hopefully it will get some of these stories a few more views, even if they don't really need the help. Some, like Chris's stories, are criminally underviewed.
I wasn't really bothered by the whole Harmony thing because, I think, at some point I internalized the (actually pretty questionable) idea that universes both fictional and non- generally trend to some sort of dramatic, narratively satisfying (and hopefully not apocalyptic) eschaton.
Thinking about this now, though, makes me realize that it's actually a pretty neat bit of characterization. Put Twilight in our world and replace every mention of "Harmony" with "singularity" (or associated terms) and, while the exact nature of the mega not-apocalypse is different in important ways, Twi's motivations and attitudes around it work just fine.
As I read her character, if Twilight were a human, she would absolutely be the kind of nerd to get interested in such a thing; she would absolutely initiate it, once she realized it was in her power, if she convinced herself it was ethical and to the general good; and she would quite plausibly fail to think through her own reservations until a little too late. The fact that Harmony is explicitly friendship-related is a nice bonus, though.
(Post-script the first: Could Harmony be considered something of a Neon Genesis Evangelion reference? I watched the series and the movie, but that doesn't mean I understood it; however, Harmony as it's described kind of reminds me of TvTropes' explanation of what the "Tang" is.)
(Post-script the second: As with any intersection of the singularity and PONY, Optimalverse comparisons are highly encouraged but, in this case, left as an exercise to the reader.)
Oh, and you should definitely keep doing these.
I think you may like the story "Glory" by Rune Soldier Dan. It's more than a story, it's an experience. I'm extremely curious as to what your thoughts on it might be.
Let me pick at your brain!