R4 (Reactions, Reviews, Reference, Redirection) #0028

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Here are five slightly edited old reviews:
Derpy’s Diary by Obselescence
Mortal by Benman
One Small Step by Benman
A Cause Worth Dying For by Signas
What Must Be Done by Vargras

Derpy’s Diary by Obselescence
[story link] [my original review]

Good story, but not great. This one had a Derpy that was a bit more on the dumb side. Still sweet and well-meaning, but a bit more on the not understanding things than I prefer. One of the cool things about reading so many fanfics all set in one fairly small universe (more or less) is getting to see so many different authors giving their version of the same characters. In this case I just prefer a more nuanced version of Ditzy Hooves is all.

Mortal by Benman
[story link] [my original review]

Another incredible story. I’m really glad that I still am running across absolutely wonderful fanfics even if I am wading through more mediocre ones. This one is about mortality and immortality and, at the heart of everything, the exact same conflict that is at the core of transhumanism. The struggle between death being a natural part of the world, and the idea that death is a horrible thing to have happen. That immortality might not be a easy thing, but it might not be the wrong thing either.

Another point in the story’s favor is that it surprised me. For the first half or so I thought I knew how the story would go, then it went in a different direction entirely. This is not from the perspective of plotting or pacing, exactly, though where the story goes was surprising. What was the real surprise is how my thoughts on the subjects at hand changed as I went through the story. I was agreeing with one side of the argument and expecting the story to unfold horrible consequences for the ‘wrong’ side, but when things changed I found myself agreeing with what actually happened. So on top of the thoughts about immortality and transhumanism I got a nice peek into letting assumptions and biases shape what I thought was logical thinking on a subject. Which is real impressive. Highly recommend this one. Though not sure I’d have someone read it as a early fanfic. Not sure I would have the same reactions to it without the anchoring of all the other really good fanfics I’ve read so far, but I think that might be me just reading too much into things since this one didn’t really connect with any of those other fanfics lurking in my head.

One Small Step by Benman
[story link] [my original review]

Very good story. Another one in the genre of ‘Luna adjusting to modern life after the exile’. This one is a very good example of how to do this type of story right. It has two major high points in my opinion. The first is that it does a good job at showing just how powerful alicorns are. Few, if any, of the stories I’ve read have done as good a job demonstrating the casual mystical strength that Luna (and one assumes Celestia) has at her command.

The other really good bit is that the author did a great job in showing how a thousand years of isolation might have affected Luna. Not in a emotional sense as lots of these types of stories aim for, but simply how she behaves. From having made up her own words for concepts she’s thought of during her time alone, to taking her time at things to such an extent that she spends a hour reading a single page of a book, or not caring for appointments or schedules much. All very believable from a immortal who has been completely alone for ten centuries with nothing but her own mind to keep her company.

A Cause Worth Dying For by Signas
[story link] [my original review]

Not a bad story, decent character study, but didn’t really grab me. Not sure why it felt flat to me. The writing was pretty good, the character being explored was more than a two dimensional cutout. Best guess is simple lack of common ground with the main character.

What Must Be Done by Vargras
[story link] [my original review]

Good, but not great. Average for a pony fanfic, which means that it is above-average in any other light. Cool history and origin of the bat-ponies though I’m not sure I like it enough to add it to my personal headcanon. The most interesting thing about this story is that there is another story hinted at. The title and last line are a glance into a whole other series of events that I would love to read about. Either as a sequel or prequel or whatever you would call the companion story.

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.