Reviewing Underappreciated Stories, #1 · 3:01pm Sep 11th, 2013
Hello, my few followers and subscribers. I love both of you.
Anyway, I want to promote stories which I know deserve much more love than they are currently getting. Besides, that gets me to blog.
My first recommendation is "All-American Girl", by Shinzakura. It's a reverse HiE fic, with a newborn pony foal that grew up among humans, then due to the violent circumstances under which she was (re)introduced to ponies, wants absolutely nothing to do with her kind.
I like several things about this story. The first one that comes to mind is the deliciously-advanced writing technique of the author: not only is the story told beginning from the middle (so the author both has to narrate forward and backward to bring the reader up to date), but he will sometimes drop bits of information several chapters before they become relevant, or after they were needed, to then leave the reader to fit together the pieces of the puzzle. It became apparent that the author expects the reader to have the strong memory and the mature mindset to connect the dots. The author also spent significant resources on creating an incredibly detailed backstory that he only reveals the correct way: through its significance to the current story, rather than on endless flashbacks and reminiscences. Additionally, the author does the impossible: he actually seems to know how to use and not abuse flashbacks! Finally, there are the optional sidestories, which come to plug inconspicuous holes in the main story, add detail to the backstory and give real lives to this or that background character.
To those who like my stories because of the cerebral content, this story should a delight compared to my own mediocre ramblings.
However, I wouldn't be writing this blog if this story was receiving the attention it deserves. Why?
(1) The writing style is too advanced for most readers. When chapter 18 was updated last week, I had to reread down to chapter 16 to fully comprehend it.
(2) The story updates at irregular intervals.
(3) While it is broadly justified inside the story, many people may not enjoy watching Rarity as an utterly unlovable sixtish harridan.
BTW, about my stories:
Both of them have at least one chapter that is almost ready for publishing.
Take care.
I'd say that it is way, way OVER-appreciated.
The writing is on par with a freaking Call of Duty game. When I tried reading it, I almost felt the AMERICA FUCK YEAH song ringing in my ears. And that seems to be the whole point and theme of the story.