Review #118 - Magical Intelligence, I Wish I Had Met You Yesterday · 3:42am Oct 20th, 2017
I actually had a really hard time picking today's stories. Not because I couldn't find any I wanted to review, but quite the opposite; I had too many to pick from! I think I had about 9 I really wanted to review, then just narrowed it down based on the author. But even that was hard.
But now, now I got some stuff to review:
Magical Intelligence by Chinchillax
I Wish I Had Met You Yesterday by 8686
Magical Intelligence by Chinchallax
Character: Tantabus ++ Rating: E -- Sad, Slice of Life
Princess Luna created me in order to make sure she never would forget the pain she caused Equestria.
But this? This is not the way to accomplish my directive.
If only I could let her know...
Review
Ever wanted a world where spells are set up like computer programs? Or, perhaps, a story that explores the depths and thoughts of the Tantabus? Either way, this is the fic for you. I suppose, now that I have your attention, I should begin by saying there aren't enough quality stories with the Tantabus; at least, I haven't read many. Anyway, Luna is, I think, basically how we see her in the episode. While the Tantabus? Um, well, it loves and cares for Luna. It just... has to do dangerous things to help Luna. Anyway, I mostly enjoyed it... mostly.
The weakness, I guess, would be that it can be a struggle to read through sometimes. Also, if you don't like reading code, too bad for you, cause that's a lot of this story; I like it, but I'm sure others don't.
Recommendation: Needs Work. (That's right, taking Paul's system for this one. What I enjoyed most was the program-like magic. The rest of the story, while a quality character piece, was not quite my cup-o-tea.
I Wish I Had Met You Yesterday by 8686
Character: Original Character ++ Rating: E -- Sad
Hoofprint Publishing presents: Daring Do, coming to a town near you!
This month, Daring Do will be touring Equestria with the release of her most exciting adventure yet! She'll be on hand to answer questions about her latest adventure and sign copies of her new book. Come along and meet the intrepid explorer in person. It's an experience you'll never forget!
Tour dates: Manehatten - 16th; Ponyville - 17th; Las Pegasus - 18th; Trottingham - 19th...
Review
With 22k words, I didn't even know what to expect when I dived in. The only other thing I've read by him (or her, but will refer to 8686 in the masculine form unless told otherwise) is Daring Do and the Secret of the Sunken City (which I highly recommend, btw). I really, really like Sunken City, so I knew there had to be some quality to this one. Boy was there. I got put through such a drama piece, and it caused... emotions! I mean, Footlight, the OC, is just amazing! And Twilight is actually utilized in a way that only makes the feels worse. And... and... and... I can't even heap enough praise on this!
The only weakness I can find is how long the chapters are. First is 6.2k, which is reasonable but the second is 16k. And that's just a pain to get through, especially if you're like me and prefer to read whole chapters in one sitting.
Recommendation: Highly Recommended. (Like, seriously, I can't even tell you how good it is. It is easily in my top 10 favorite stories on this site).
