R4 (Reactions, Reviews, Reference, Redirection) #0019 · 7:12pm Nov 12th, 2014
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Here are five slightly edited old reviews:
The Rate Is Too Darn High! by Alaborn
I'm Afraid of Changeling (and other short stories) by Cold in Gardez
A Royal Canterlot Wedding: Deleted Scenes by Raugos
Maiden Flight by Cold in Gardez
Look Right Through Me by Zakkyhooves
The Rate Is Too Darn High! by Alaborn
[story link] [my original review]
Another fun look at mixing modern concepts with a silly cartoon show fantasy land. Namely, how the adventures of the mane six would have major effects on the insurance rates in Ponyville.
I'm Afraid of Changeling (and other short stories) by Cold in Gardez
[story link] [my original review]
Each of these are around a thousand words and wall of them are wonderful. This author is a highly skilled writer and this is really the best demonstration of it. An immense range of stories are present here. Comedy, horror, slice of life, sad, sweet, everything between. It is marked incomplete and I hope that is because he has more of these he wants to do and not just because he is leaving it open for more inspiration later.
Here is another bit when another story got added. [my original review]
Not a new story, but a collection of very short stories that just got a new one. Normally wouldn’t comment on it, but given that it was a Friendship Is Optimal story (yeah, I guess that one is popping up everywhere) figured I would at least weight in on it. Especially after the collection of short stories it is based on that I’m going to read next. I would say that this story falls into the trap of mistaking what Celestia AI is doing. Drug addiction, even mental addiction instead of biological, wouldn’t really be satisfying values. Celestia AI doesn’t care about happiness except as a component of the larger picture. So this is very well written, as is most of Mr. Gardez’s work, but I would call it a poor Friendship Is Optimal story. I suspect the collection of FiO short stories I’m planning on reading next will probably have similar troubles.
A Royal Canterlot Wedding: Deleted Scenes by Raugos
[story link] [my original review]
Eh, not bad, not great. Felt like a whole lot of padding honestly. Just plain dull for the most part. No stand out characters, no interesting worldbuilding ideas, no real depictions of events from the show. It felt like this was a collection of deleted scenes from the wedding finale that were deleted for a reason. I was really hoping for something a bit more impressive, something involving the two guards from Night Guards and a real reason Luna wasn’t present during the invasion.
Maiden Flight by Cold in Gardez
[story link] [my original review]
Sweet story. Well written, as is everything this author puts up. This is one of the fanfic authors that should be making a living with their writing talents. This one is just a slice of life that lets us see Rainbow Dash being a mentor to someone. Nice seeing Rainbow Dash being a expert in her field of skill without being aloof or overly arrogant.
Look Right Through Me by Zakkyhooves
[story link] [my original review]
This was a incredibly sweet romantic story. Will have to look for more Ditzy fanfics now that this one has gotten me interested in the character. A little heavy handed emotionally in places, but done in a way that works because it seemed that it was deliberately heavy-handed because that is what the character is experiencing. Panic attacks aren’t exactly subtle after all. Really wish this one was longer. It is a perfect example of a slice of life that I’d like to see continue. Not because I want to see what happens next, or have a plot advanced, but simply because I’d like to spend more time with these characters as they go through everyday events.
As always, The Big Master Review List is here: { THE MASTER LIST }
If you know of a text-format reviewer I'm not keeping track of, please let me know and I'll see if they meet the criteria to be assimilated into the list.
If you are an author who wants a more detailed review of a story I've covered feel free to message me. My reviews tend to be fairly light, mostly just reactions to a story right after reading it. I am happy to give a more careful read and reply to anyone who wants more precision and/or feedback.
"Shorts" is now called "I'm Afraid of Changeling," after I realized most authors used the title of one of their short stories for the whole anthology. Also, it probably has some new stuff in it since you last read!
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Given that it's one I pounce on whenever you add something to it, I'm totally caught up. But thanks for the title grab. I've been trying to update that sort of thing for these posts.