Latest Reading · 12:30pm Jan 7th, 2013
I like to read in large spurts. Recently, I've decided that every once in a while, I would select a few large stories to read back to back. It gives me the motivation to read as much as I can, especially if I save the ones I'd expect to be the best. Blah blah blah, I'm no good at words.
This time the stories I've read are:
The Wind Thief, by Cold in Gardez
It Takes A Village, by determamfidd
Austraeoh and Eljunbyro, both by Imploding Colon
Murky Number Seven by Fuzzy
I've heard plenty of good things for all of these stories. I can't disagree with those sentiments.
The Wind Thief is a Skyrim crossover. However, like stories such as FoE, no knowledge of the game is required to understand the story. It follows an adventure of the Dragonborn, a mischievous mare appropriately named Sly, as well as a slightly unwilling pony by the name of Twilight Sparkle. Cold in Gardez successfully weaves hilarious, witty dialogue with absorbing battle scenes and world building that makes the story seem far larger than the 68000 that it contains. The story even manages to slip in quite a bit of tragedy. In addition, it's not a simple 'A to B, fight a boss, move on, fight a stronger boss', repeat format. The character development is smooth, with the relationship between Sly and Twilight drifting from unwilling accomplices to fast friends seeming as natural as, um, nature. I definitely enjoyed the story. It is completely worth the time investment if adventure is a preferred genre.
...I also hear that there's a sequel coming out, it'll be exciting, that's for sure.
It Takes A Village is one of the cornerstone fics of the fandom. Even with its reputation, I'll admit that my first impression of it did not suggest a story that I would enjoy. Generally, the only slice of life I can enjoy deeply involves shipping. So it was to my delight that this story quickly took to far a darker setting than what the description may have implied. The best part is that it is capable of creating such a setting while still easily showcasing the themes and ideals of the show. In other words, every bit of praise towards the story is deserved.
Austraeoh contains some awesomely beautiful imagery. In the beginning, that's the hook for the story, which frankly doesn't appear to exist until far later in the story, as well as the sequel. The character development is huge in this story: its 200 000 words about Rainbow Dash and her (somewhat vague) quest, where along the way she meets all kinds of creatures, societies, etc. It's a true Fellowship of the Ring style adventure fic. The chapters are extremely short, leading to very fast pacing.I found I wasn't very absorbed in the beginning of the story, but the plot line for this story doesn't have a hill for rising action, it has a cliff. At some point the amount of action skyrockets, which had me hooked right until the end.
Thankfully, there's a sequel and, if the length is going to be anywhere similar, it's already past the half way point...
I don't have much to say for Eljunbyro. I simply can't describe it in a way that would show just how crazy awesome this story is. It's got all the wonderful things in Austraeoh, as well as greatly expanding the bits and pieces of a huge plot seen in Austraeoh. (Shut up.) Blah blah blah: It's Austraeoh with an invigorating storyline. I read 100 000 words of this story in one night and I think I've done that on only one other occasion.
Last, but certainly not least is Murky Number Seven. It's yet another Fallout Equestria side story, and I love it. I wouldn't be able to compare it to the original, nor Project Horizons. It's emotionally draining-the story throws despair, terror, every other negative emotion you can think of at you. The main character, Murky, is like Batman, except he rises only to fall, so I suppose he's the opposite of Batman. Of course, there are happy, chilling moments throughout the story that makes wading through the darkest depths of the story completely worth it. In addition, there's the dark humor that you can always find in an FoE story. I don't think I can do more than put it on par with the original, so I'll leave it at that. Be forewarned, however, that the chapters are absurdly long, so a decent amount of time should be allowed to read it.
Well, I suppose that's it. Thanks to anyone who bothers to read this, I'll try and say something more than just blind praise in the future.
My dear Sypher, I am aiming for my story to be more than 100,000 words! (A fool's dream, I know) I will achieve it, I say!
I am very happy you just bumped into my story in it's infancy. Alexstraza posted my story (Which I submitted at 6:00 PM?) at MIDNIGHT...
You saved me a lot of potential viewers who would have seen the defects of my story. I do wish that more people would start to read your blog, it is rather nice, so keep'em up!
(I hope I am not creepy for posting on an old blog
It is just that you haven't posted a new one yet.)
809038
There are people far better, more interesting, and educational at reviewing and suggesting fics. Chris' One Man's Pony Ramblings or DPV111's Recommendations of the Week are much more worth people's times.
810019 That, in no way, means that you should stop writing blogs. Everypony needs to be heard, especially the nice ones.
No one is meant to not be unheard, so spread your wings, Little Sparrow, and fly. So says The Timemaster!
Interesting re. Austraeoh. I tried it, got maybe 10 chapters in. Liked the writing, imagery, atmosphere, but got bored and quit. Maybe I'll try it again. I dunno; I've never had a great experience with skirts. He has bits that shine, like chapter 1 of Background Pony, but I've never seen him put a whole story together like it was planned.
4054196
I don't believe Austraeoh is a story (or series, for that matter) for everyone. The story itself starts fairly slowly and I honestly wasn't totally engrossed in the story until the final arc. Series-wise, the story steadily develops more of those idiosyncrasies you find in skirts' fluffier stories, which I believe would be very distracting for someone who isn't used to/doesn't like that sort of thing.
As far as skirts goes, I've always been a bigger fan of his short stories. At least, his 2012-2013 ones. He used to almost be an instant favorite, but I haven't very enthusiastic about his more recent works. It's a style thing that he's developed, I'd wager.
To be frank, I don't think Austraeoh is going to be one of those stories that impresses you specifically. The planning is sort of there, but as one would expect from a story that started out as a daily writing exercise, it's not always cohesive. At its heart it's simply an extremely ambitious adventure story, not something that really screams "Serious Story".