Million Words in January (reading progress and reviews) #5 · 11:26am Feb 2nd, 2015

Even though I failed to make it to a million words read in January, I decided to keep going until I got there. I only had about 47k to go, so I figured I'd catch up with some old favourites (one of which I’m extremely excited about!). Grab some more small-ish reviews of fics in my faves list below.

Previously-reviewed stories with new chapters read: The Gentle Nights: Audience of One

Story: Not The Hero

Author: Alarajrogers

Synopsis:

Discord's the only creature in Equestria who can recognize the human for what he is -- not the long-lost Seventh Element that never actually existed and couldn't have existed before the human arrived, but a meta-reality warper, an entity far more powerful than Discord with the power to warp the minds of all around him and the very rules of magic to make sure that he's always the Big Hero. And the role the human's assigned to Discord is the Villain to beat down or kill.
Pre-reform Discord's fine with being the villain. But on his own terms. Not dancing on some alien interloper's puppet strings.
Without friendship, or even allies, Discord's going to have to find a way to defeat a creature who can alter fate itself and who can even mind-control him. Or he may just end up worse than dead.

Current Length: 72,762 words over 9 chapters, averaging 8,085 words per chapter

Status: Incomplete

Review: This is the most well-written Discord I, or you, will ever come across. This story is not just a story. It’s an experience. That latest chapter (9) was just… I mean… I’m still catching my breath.
This is as meta—as related to writing as an art form—as it gets. I’m not going to say any more. I can’t do it justice with my words.
All hail Alara, Master Writer of Discord Words.

Story: An Epic for Gilgamesh

Author: ZaleAcon

Synopsis:

When an attempt at banishing him goes horribly wrong, Gilgamesh finds himself trapped in a land far from the original target. Stuck with a group of pastel-colored equines who seem to completely despise him, Gilgamesh fears that nothing in the gorgeous, almost-utopian world will be able to sate his infamous bloodlust and desire to prove just how amazing he really is. Despite this, he decides not to lose hope that he can escape, and finds himself slowly befriending the strange and colorful creatures as the days roll by.
But when several strange and disturbing events reveal connections to a grisly murder from several years in the past, Gilgamesh must join forces with the denizens of Equestria in order to bring the perpetrator to justice.
And that is before even getting into the matter of the mysterious monsters that constantly appear from nowhere, and seem completely intent on destroying everything that stands in their way…

Current Length: 107,666 words over 11 chapters, averaging 9,788 words per chapter

Status: Incomplete

Review: I started following this story pretty much as soon as it came out. As a fan of all Final Fantasy games, this was largely relevant to my interests. Gilgamesh (in this iteration—he has many forms) dons his FF V persona, in which he is an obnoxious, self-worshipping braggart with a penchant for majorly overstating his own abilities (to an almost-always comedic effect). Zale has succeeded in capturing Gilgamesh’s personality to a T: he is so in-character here that I’m willing to say he’s easily the best and most truly written crossover-character I’ve read in this fandom so far. While the story starts fairly formulaic (Gilgamesh appearing in Equestria via interdimensional portal gone awry, meeting the mane six, establishing himself in Ponyville and getting his bearings) it soon enough gives way to a multitude of cleverly woven plots, turning into a murder-mystery story with a difference. This is one of those great crossovers that doesn’t require any real knowledge of the Final Fantasy universe to be comfortable reading. For a self-edited story, the grammar and techs aren’t too shabby either. Worth a look if you’re even remotely interested in Final Fantasy, or have a hankering for an eventual Ace-Attourney-esque plot with a variety of interesting OCs.

Story: Reaper Mare

Author: Novus Draconis

Synopsis:

While on an annual errand, Rainbow Dash and Applejack are attacked. In an effort to save her friend, Applejack sacrifices her own life. When Death comes for her, she receives an unexpected offer. With the chance to find a way back to the life she loved, Applejack begins her work. But on the horizon looms a threat that even Death itself is powerless to stop.

Current Length: 29,477 words over 14 chapters, averaging 2106 words per chapter

Status: Incomplete

Review: Ponies becoming Death? Or at least, Death’s assistant? Sure, the concept exists, but this is the only Applejack-as-a-reaper story I’ve come across. It’s not half-bad either. The story takes a bit to get into the swing of things, but it doesn’t matter so much because each chapter is relatively short, so you kinda get there soon enough anyway. The writing’s a bit sketchy too, as there’s no editor helping Novus at this point in time, although it does get measurably better as you proceed. This story deals with a lot of fears that we as mortals face, and how our deaths can drive people to do bad things. But it’s also a good story of learning to let go, even if you have to actually break the laws of nature to tell people to do so. To her credit, Applejack only spends the most minimal amount of time to come to terms with being dead, and she takes up the mantle of Assistant Reaper well. The new cover art is pretty badass as well. Some parts might leave you a little confused, while others drive home the feels (not always sad ones either). Oh, and of course we have our, er, pretty damn big bad approaching. So there’s that too. Things are shaping up to get pretty tense. I’ll keep watching. If you’re into AppleDash, the idea of reaping as an eternal profession, and meetings between the four horsies of the apocalypse, look no further. Did I mention it has dope new cover art?

Story: Here Be Dragons

Author: ToixStory

Synopsis:

When the Changelings attacked for a second time, pony rule in Equestria was reduced to Canterlot, ruled temporarily by Twilight Sparkle. Inside the castle walls, Twilight and her subjects have managed to hold on against Chrysalis' hordes, but they can only last for so long.
Sweetie Belle, loyal servant to Princess Twilight and the only adept political mind the ponies have, is sent overseas to unknown lands, in hopes of recruiting other nations to fight for Equestria. However, when things go awry, Sweetie Belle finds herself lost in a new land with new allies, foes, and what might be the only thing that can save Equestria: dragons.

Current Length: 4,834 words, only one chapter published

Status: Incomplete

Review: Wow. What a start. We have action, interactions, world-establishment, mission-giving, departure, and a twist all in the first chapter! I am so totally keen to see where this goes. Given that only one chapter has passed so far, your best bet is to either just read the synopsis, or better yet, get right into chapter one. It’s already promising to be quite a ride. Go and give Toix some cheer to keep the momentum up!

Story: Starving

Author: Foals Errand

Synopsis:

Twilight's life is changing very quickly and there is nothing she can do to stop it. Will Princess Celestia still look at her the same way? Will any of her friends? Is the pain worth it if they cannot accept her changes, or is it better to just join the starving?

Current Length: 14,124 words over 4 chapters, averaging 3531 words per chapter

Status: Incomplete

Review: Set just after the events of A Canterlot Wedding, Twilight Sparkle foolishly decides to try and learn more about her new enemies, the Changelings. Oh, you poor, deluded soul. Story is interesting enough to read. Character voices seem okay. Lots of grammar mistakes and run-on sentences though. It could really do with an editor to give every chapter a thorough cleanup. Still worth sticking around for the story, even if you have a tendency to get lost along the way for a few seconds every now and then. Production and outline of many further chapters is confirmed, with hopefully regular updates. If slightly-below-average grammar scares you off, steer clear. If not, and you like Changelings, it’s worth a try. You might like it, you might not.

Story: An Affliction of the Heart: Chitin’s Story

Author: Anonymous Pegasus

Synopsis:

Chitin, one of the first changelings of the new Changeling Consortium, tries to integrate into pony society. Even though there are elements that would rather changelings and ponies didn't interact at all...

Current Length: 8,740 words over 2 chapters, averaging 4,370 words per chapter

Status: Incomplete

Review: This is the cloppy side story to An Affliction of the Heart: Volume Five. As is the standard with AnonPeg fics, expect well-written sexytimes. Running side-along to the story in Vol. 5, the story follows Chitin (one of Kuno’s head changelings) as she investigates the murder of a worker in the newly established Changeling Consortium of Canterlot. Not exactly a story I can recommend to anyone if you haven’t followed the Affliction series up to date. That in itself isn’t a bad idea, though.

Next Review: How about you decide this time? Feel free to peruse my library and chuck out a suggestion. Preferably, something complete.

Words read: 1,002,538

Phew. I’m two days overdue, but I finally made it to the Million.

Love you guys.

,
Adren