Guest Blog! · 5:33pm Jun 22nd, 2012
Some of you may be following Chris's ambitious blog, One Man's Pony Ramblings. Long story short, he's set out to offer detailed reviews of every single Equestria Daily story that has received a 6-star rating.
That's a lot of stories! And his reviews aren't just "Hey, it was good." We're talking pages of literary analysis, looking at everything from the use of language to the story itself and characterization. It's easily the most comprehensive Fanfic review site on the net.
Chris is on vacation this week, and he asked a few authors to contribute blog posts. In his infinite kindness, he asked me to pen the first guest post. Here's his intro:
Stories About Ponies Are Stories About People
And now, it's time for a few guest columns. First up, we have the inimitable Cold in Gardez, author of too many great fanfics to list (though you can check them out for yourself on his fimfiction page), who has provided some insights into what makes for a story, pony or otherwise, work. Also, he's got a few fanfic recommendations, some insight into modern politics, a bit of self-inflated humor... look, he's pretty much produced the total package in terms of guest posts. Find it all, after the break. [Link to full post]
Oh, sweet! That blog is just ridiculously good. Kudos.
Dang, that sounds really intense. Props to him! Now to read............
Ah, I love that guy's blog! Now, all I need is a six star...
A very nice blog entry with a lot of truth to it.
Even made me think about trying to pick up FO:E again. Though I suspect that - as every time in the past that happened - I will put it down again after 1 or 2 chapters. But ah well, can't argue about taste.
I quickly went through the blog to find stories that I have read before. The ones I did find I disagreed with the rating he gave. It is possible that I am too quick to judge. I suppose I am more into the dark adventure-y types of fanfiction. He did not review the stories that I found to be really memorable like the Immortal Game, Upheaval, Night's Favored Child, Best Night Ever, Sunshine and Fire, Dusk and Dawn, Alicorn, Sharing the Night, On Wings of Change, Expectations, and others. I think that this reviewer would find better stories if he delved into other non 6 star stories or into darker stories.
tl;dr: I think that the best pony fanfics are not in the 6-star section of EqD.
I've also read every 6-star story out there, and I think the author is wrong at times. He doesn't take into account when things were written.
If you account for the phase of the fanbase, and the impact of the writing and stories, then something like The Light in the Darkness definitely deserves it's 6-stars. It's the canonical counter to Cupcakes. He believes it definitely doesn't.
Ambitious project. I was planning on doing this, and might still, but I'm less likely to now that it's already been done.
One of the fandom's best authors writing for one of the fandom's most insightful blogs. Certainly worth a few minutes of my time by any measure...