Fanfic Reviews – Readings Edition · 4:35am Jan 12th, 2015
Everytime you people post things about how “it is too cold to go outside” or “it has snowed again”, I look outside my window at this hellish tropical Summer, and wonder what kind of person would prefer being slowly cooked alive over some snow. I can’t even open my window, since mosquitos would just eat me alive, so I have to stay here, with the heat sapping all my strength. Can’t wait to go back to working somewhere with proper air conditioning.
Incidentally or not, lately I am getting lots of fics through readings, rather than reading them myself. So have a handful of those, of all genres and themes. Below you will find:
Truth be Told
Abandoned Sanctuary
Mistletoe Kisses
Overture
Angels
The Night Sunset Shimmer Tried To Kill Santa Claus
Mother’s Day
Paper Tigers
Shipping Sickness
Infallible
As a reminder, fics are rated in a 0~10 scale, with 3 representing a mediocre fic, and 8 the point where I can say I like a story.
obabscribbler – Truth be Told – Reading by TheLostNarrator – Horror
From another dimension, reflections of what might have been pour in.
This is an interesting story, which manages to be pretty visceral at points. However, it is also very even in its presentation, careful not to put the more disgusting aspects too in the front, but simultaneously not afraid to use them for good effect. It is in fact good horror, in that it understands the necessity of proper pacing, careful set-up, and strong payoff, all of which work in favor of making this thick with atmosphere. However, it still moves a little too slow for my tastes, and it would have benefited immensely from being significantly leaner. I guess that is, in part, due to me reading it via the radio play, which tends to slow down things a bit, but I also think that the characters expose too long over certain subjects.
Another issue is that it is too predictable. That in itself isn’t bad, but the fic doesn’t seem all that aware of it, and treats the ending as a surprise (heh). It might be due to the meta nature of what happens, but still, it bothers me when this kind of thing gets treated as a significant revelation, rather than the foregone conclusion. As such, it makes the later parts fall flat, and makes me feel like the story wasn’t properly concluded. Still, in so far as atmosphere go, this fic is a resounding success, and there is plenty to like in it, even if it is kinda uneven.
Why it should be read: For an interesting take on the subject, and an interesting body transformation horror story.
Stand out moment: The scene of Pinkie in the hospital, her mind and body torn between two things, is pretty heartwrenching.
6/10
Titanium Dragon – Abandoned Sanctuary – Reading by TheLostNarrator – Dark
Something is wrong with the Bat Sanctuary...
The mystery in this one is well set-up and written, but the ending fails to delivery on anything of substance. It is one of those stories that is just too short to do anything particularly clever with its concept. The revelation that Applejack poisoned all the bats is almost perfunctory, and could be replaced with almost anything else of the same nature. Even worse, questions of why, how, and what comes next are left to the reader – and those are precisely the things that tend to be the most interesting in this kind of story. It is like you gave someone act 2 of a play, and told then to imagine everything else.
Why it should be read: For the well written set-up.
Stand out moment: Characterization, and writing in general, are very strong all through.
4/10
The New York Brony – Mistletoe Kisses – Reading by Goombasa – Shipping
During Christmas, Twilight and Sunset take a walk through a park.
On a somewhat recent blog, PresentPerfect mentioned something to the effect that readings tend to result in poorly rated fics. I gotta say that I have noticed pretty much the same thing, and I think this fic exemplifies why that is perfectly. Thing is, I would never grab this story to read, were it not for the audio version. It is a great collection of everything that I could possibly ever dislike in a fanfic, almost a cosmic joke in how perfectly everything irks me. It is generic shipping, cloying sweet, chock full of Alien Shipping Syndrome, and that ultimately leaves me completely devoid of enjoyment. It isn’t that bad for what it is (a cute Twilight Shimmer scenario), but it is also something I profoundly dislike.
Why it should be read: If you enjoy this kind of stuff, even if I believe you could do a lot better.
Stand out moment: I really have no idea.
0,5/10
SuperGiantRobot – Overture – Reading by Scribbler – Shipping
Vinyl Scratch goes to her first classical concert.
While I wouldn’t call this great shipping, this is a very nice OctaScratch fic – if only because it just establishes a basis for their relationship instead of showing them live through it. It does a great job not only of showing why Vinyl would be infatuated by someone so removed from his own world, but also of highlighting the potential issues in that relationship. However, nothing would be gained by continuing the story after this point, so I am glad that this ends where it does. Otherwise, this is a nicely paced fic, without any obvious flaws, but pretty run-of-the-mill otherwise.
Why it should be read: Vinyl-Tavia fans will get a lot out of this, but I believe it is still interesting even if you don’t care about the ship.
Stand out moment: The little details of how Vinyl would stand out in the concert-going crowd.
6.5/10
Zaphod – Angels – Reading by Scribbler – Sadfic
Angel isn’t well during Hearth’s Warming.
This fic is profoundly flawed in most aspects. Not only it is needlessly cloying, full of heavy-handed drama and lots of characters telling the audience about their emotions (while forgetting to act on them), but it also contains the single thing I hate the most in fanfiction: Incidental Shipping. And Incidental Shipping of the most bizarre kind, with Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy sharing a polyamorous relationship. That isn’t related to the narrative, isn’t explained, and really has no justification to be here. I don’t get why people do this, and it completely tanks a story I wouldn’t enjoy that much anyway.
Why it should be read: For a great example of things you shouldn’t do.
Stand out moment: I like the “lesson”, so to speak, even if it isn’t properly set-up by the rest of the story.
0.5/10
Majin Syeekoh – The Night Sunset Shimmer Tried To Kill Santa Claus – Reading by Scribbler – Comedy
The story of the night in which Sunset Shimmer tried to kill Santa Claus.
This is Mostly Harmless. I was seriously tempted to leave the review at that, because really, there isn’t much to this. She meets Santa Claus, exchange some banter with him, and that’s that. However, it should be praised for being loyal to the themes of the show, and the parallels it brings between Santa and Celestia. Still, it is too fluffy to leave any lasting impact, even if I like the general concepts in it.
Also, Sunset Shimmer living on a Homeless shelter bothers me. It is too big a thing to simply be a throwaway line.
Why it should be read: It is honest about it is, and delivers.
Stand out moment: Pinkie's excitement over Santa was adorable.
4/10
MajesticPoniesEverywhere – Mother’s Day – Reading by Dr. Wolf – Character Study
Spike reflects upon all mothers in his life.
While there isn’t anything terribly wrong with this story, there are enough issues to bring the whole thing down. Be it the predictability of the whole situation, or the way that emotions are told, but not show, there are just enough things here that make this story pretty unremarkable. Also, while I like the general themes, I have seen this done so much better already, enough for this story to suffer in comparison. Finally, there are significant issues with the characterization. While it starts off fine, it eventually devolves in such a way that it sounds more like the characters are forcing themselves to act according to certain archetypes than being themselves. At the end of the day this isn’t a terrible story by any measure, but it is way too run of the mill.
Why it should be read: If you crave some Twilight x Spike mother-son relationship.
Stand out moment: The letter from Spike is just awkward enough to work both as a character moment, and a plot point.
3/10
MidnightDancer – Paper Tigers – Reading by Scribbler – Character Study
Celestia discusses the realities of ruling.
This is another hard one to talk about. I superficially like its concept, and the themes of responsibility over the level of power disparity commonly associated with the show Alicorns, but I think that the story is too much of a author soap box, and the whole thing would simply be better suited for a blog post or the like. Also, the prose is too overwrought for what it is doing, and that only helps to give the whole thing a certain air of fakeness.
Otherwise, however, this story is actually remarkable, full of little interesting insights on what restrictions Celestia would have to impose to herself in this situation. This isn’t a headcanon I buy into, so I read the whole thing with a certain sense of detachment, but it is a pretty decent view of what such a thing would entail.
Why it should be read: For a cool view on the logic of omnipotent alicorns ruling.
Stand out moment: The bad petitioners were cartoonishly evil to the point of parody. I laughed.
5.5/10
Skywriter – Shipping Sickness – Reading by A Bag of Vicodin – Absurdist Comedy
Twilight Sparkle has a shipping problem.
This is one of those fics that takes an absolutely ridiculous premise, and runs with it as seriously as possible. It is also filled with some marvelous, terrible puns. It is one of those things that is so beyond normal that you can’t help but stare at with awe. That it is also very funny, and even tries to fit into the larger world of Equestria, only helps the whole thing stand out. It isn’t the deepest story, or one which you will catch yourself thinking about years from now, but it is a damn solid comedy.
Also, I suspect that the fic was written just so the author could use that last pun. If so, it was a worthy cause.
Why it should be read: If you are a terrible person.
Stand out moment: How after the “My one nightstand” line, there is another chapter just for a rimshot.
8,5/10
Pegasus Rescue Brigade – Infallible – Reading by A Bag of Vicodin – Situational Comedy
Celestia just can’t fail.
This is a pretty good, if too cliché story. The whole “I can’t do anything wrong!” scenario has certainly been done to death in all forms of media, but it is one of those things that is consistently pleasant, if not exactly amazing. Through that framework, the author manages to write a handful of amazing little scenarios, all contrived so that, no matter how hard she tries, Celestia succeeds at her tasks. It is almost pure fluff, and despite not leaving me particularly impressed, it is still one of those fics with which I can’t find much direct fault.
Why it should be read: For a couple of ways in which Celestia just can’t fail.
Stand out moment: The whole “All power gets cut just as my breakfast gets done” scene was my favourite bit.
5,5/10
MY WORD SOME OF THESE LOOK FAMILIAR :V
Shipping Sickness is still one of my favorites. Just so much fun stuff in it.
2717452 ALMOST LIKE WE GOT THEM FROM THE SAME SOURCE!
Thanks! Sorry you didn't end up enjoying it too much; your criticism tends to be the usual one, and was the reason why I was initially somewhat hesitant to post it when I first wrote it. Some folks like it because they feel it was an appropriate response to Bats!. Others find it perfunctory because it is too straightforward. Some folks hate it because I poisoned Fluttershy and they feel like it doesn't fit in with the show. It did, indeed, end up being my most-disliked story.
Good to see you doing reviews, though; I'd missed that you'd started doing them again.
Going to have to start stalking you to make sure that doesn't happen again.
Why would you capitalize that, except to give me a painful reminder of that book?
2721780 Book? I am sure that is just how Ford Prefect described Earth, and obviously never served as the title to a sequel that never should have been made.
But really, I had managed to forget it was the title of the fifth book until you reminded me.
Although the rating and some of the way you put the reviews are a bit harsh, I can kind of understand where you're coming from. It was my first story that I just thought of the bat, and I didn't proofread too well either.
Sorry you didn't like it. Not everyone has the same interests.