Fic recs, June 2nd · 7:17pm Jun 2nd, 2013
In the interests of clearing my mind prior to editing my writeoff entry, I read a few things!
Super Amazing Rocket Sled of Awesome by The Descendent
Genre: Comedy
I recall this story’s name being lauded highly in some rather notable spot, but for the life of me, I can’t remember when or where that was. Suffice to say, it deserves that forgotten honor. This story is three things: a look at Twilight acting motherly towards Spike, something we see precious little of; severely epic; extremely hilarious. It’s a story about Twilight trying to keep Spike’s dreams from being crushed, and that effort going tremendously, comedically wrong. Or maybe right. There’s a really amazing amount of cartoon physics in this, something you don’t really see written well. And just when I thought it was maybe getting a touch repetitive in the middle, everything came together. The jokes in this are executed masterfully. If you haven’t read this story yet, you really need to.
Highly Recommended
A Better Boulder by Compendium of Steve
Genre: Fucking Beautiful
I love a good story about a rock in love. If you also appreciate stories about rocks in love, this is one you should definitely read.
Recommended for Rock Shippers
The Purple Mare by The Descendant
Genre: Pirates
After the deaths of the Princesses and the ruin of Equestria, Twilight becomes a legendary pirate captain looking to reclaim her lost home. If that doesn’t sell this story to you, what will? Here again, we see Descendant’s headcanon in full swing, and though it can be overwhelming at times, it is in no way obstructive, as the story generally revolves around it. There’s a lot of good Twilight/Spike bonding, too. The ending was a bit of a letdown, but overall this story is a lot of fun. I mean, come on, pirates!
Recommended
Killing Mary Sue by Paleo Prints
Genre: Dark Comedic Metafiction
I’ll admit: I can’t get enough of stories like this. For someone who’s seen a lot of awful writing on the internet and done a good deal of snarking over it, stories with titles like this are like the proverbial flame to the proverbial moth. Except without all the burning off of body parts. The mary sue character in this is written just so spot-on (“My special talent is finding new talents!”) that I was nearly in tears. (I’ll usurp the author’s note here and mention that this was inspired by him reading the Editor’s Omnibus. I’m so proud!) My only criticisms would be that the pacing is a tad frenetic and the ending a bit cliche, if handled well. It also comes with an attached sequel, or at least the first part thereof, that is the deconstructive parody of A Canterlot Wedding I always wanted, and it makes good use of crazy Twilight from Lesson Zero. Unfortunately, it’s not finished, but I love it even more, not to mention the writing shows progress from the first story even!.
Recommended
Trick for a Trick by Compendium of Steve
Genre: Trixie Revenge Fic
Luna vs. Trixie, round one. I really don’t feel like this one has much going on for it. It’s your standard Trixie back for revenge story, and the only thing making it stand out is that it’s set right at the end of Luna Eclipsed. Probably the biggest issue I have with it is that the dialogue, Trixie’s aside, doesn’t sound like any of the characters, Luna especially. That, and it’s full of memes (though Rainbow Dash’s cameo at the end did admittedly make me laugh). So, YMMV and all, but...
Not Recommended
Hmm, I'm sure I would have gotten around to it at some point (I'm sure I'll read all T.D.'s work eventually), but I admit that I have avoided Rocket Sled based on the name. Perhaps I'll bump it up the priority list.
1120434
Judging a book by the cover, M?
Hey, Present, thanks for the "High Rec" and the "Rec". The ending of The Purple Mare was indeed the most controversial part, but with no willingness on my part to continue the arc, I did not feel like leaving the narrative "open". I know I say it constantly, the the relationship between Twilight and Spike is really the most important part of the show to me. I'm glad that you found those to have worked well in these works.
1120451 You know it.
-Scott
P.S. If I had my way, everyone else in the world would just call me M. That's badass :P
1120434
waht?
Seeing a writer like Desc create a fic with that title is entirely the reason I wanted to read it!