Read It Later Reviews #28 – Heat of the Summer’s Sun, Ten Degrees, X is a Changeling, In Memoriam, The Magician and the Detective · 12:30am Aug 21st, 2015
Apparently getting sick means that after I recover, I become more powerful productive.
I knew it was worth picking up the Anime Protagonist perk at level 1.
Today’s stories:
Heat of the Summer’s Sun by Rocinate
Ten Degrees by Bachiavellian
X is a Changeling by Wanderer D
In Memoriam by Bachiavellian
The Magician and the Detective by Bad Horse
Heat of the Summer’s Sun
by Rocinate
Comedy
1,285 wordsTwilight has seen and learned a lot about Celestia. Little too much for her own liking sometimes.
Why I added it: I liked one of Rocinate’s other stories so I thought I’d check this one out.
Review
Twilight Sparkle knows far more about Celestia’s sex life than she wants to know, and worse still, she can’t not know about it. I thought it was going to be the usual crudity, but the ending of this story made me cackle out loud. Still, there isn’t anything deep here; this is a 1,200 word setup for a punchline, so if that’s not the sort of thing you like, steer clear.
Recommendation: Worth Reading if you like jokefics.
Ten Degrees
by Bachiavellian
Romance, Slice of Life, Fluff
1,105 wordsAn unexpectedly warm day ruins Bon Bon's afternoon. Luckily, a certain mint-green unicorn is there for her, no matter the weather.
Why I added it: It was a writeoff story.
Review
Bon Bon’s candy melts in the summer heat.
Lyra cheers her up.
A very simple fluff piece which explains the TOTALLY CONTROVERSIAL MYSTERY of why Bon Bon didn’t show up for the competition in MMMystery on the Friendship Express, this is one of those cute, fluffy little slice of life pieces. It is simple and straightforward, and I’m sure some folks would get the warm fuzzies from it, but I more got a slight brush of hair before it was gone. There’s nothing obviously wrong with it, but it just didn’t quite cross the finish line for me.
Recommendation: Not Recommended unless you’re really into warm fuzzies.
X is a Changeling
by Wanderer D
Comedy, Random
3,036 wordsThere's a lot more going around Fluttershy's cottage than anypony knew. But it might just be time for it to be exposed... or not?
Why I added it: Because it has the exact same name as X is a Changeling.
Review
There are a few changelings around Fluttershy’s cottage.
Okay, a lot of them.
And X-025 knows that one of these days, that Twilight Sparkle is going to catch them.
Everyone else thinks he’s paranoid. After all, it isn’t like any of the ponies can even understand what they’re saying, right?
This was very, very silly. There were a ton of jokes in this story – character-based jokes, referential humor, jokes about the various pets on the show, rampant paranoia, brick jokes… the list goes on. While not every joke always lands, enough of them do to keep me smiling.
Changeling X-025 kept a steady eye on the road ahead. Under his careful gaze, few things went past unnoticed. Perhaps a bird. Possibly insects. Most definitely invisible unicorns. But he was confident that there were no unicorns in need of an invisibility spell in Ponyville at this time.
Well, almost positive.
But, even if there were invisible unicorns lurking around, Changelings X-012 and X-014 were also on guard, underground, attentive to any sort of steady vibration that would indicate ponies—invisible or otherwise— were approaching.
Unless, of course, the invisible unicorn had cast a silent-step spell on itself. In which case, neither X-012, X-014 nor X-025 would be able to see or hear it. But that’s what X-018, X-029 and X-015 were for... or was it 18, 29 and 26? No matter. They would be able to sniff the scent of the invisible, silent unicorn. Few things could escape their sense of smell, after all.
There was a chance, however, that the invisible, silence-enchanted unicorn might cross through the creek... and if the wind was blowing in the wrong direction... well, at least X-028 and X-027 were in the creek and they would certainly notice something amiss. Unless the unicorn didn’t go through the creek, but cast an ‘odorless’ spell on herself! Damn those unicorns were sneaky.
It all made sense now. The unicorns knew they were there. They knew. They had to. There was just no other way that he wouldn’t have noticed them by now.
All the changelings that had counted on him to do his job and warn them... they would be lost. And it was all his fault because he was unable to see, hear or smell invisible, odorless, silent unicorns!
Recommendation: Worth Reading if you like random comedy.
In Memoriam
by Bachiavellian
Adventure
3,301 wordsA young singer and an old soldier are all that's left to watch over the next Princesses of the Realms. He searches for answers while she cares for them in their home, hidden away from greater dangers.
Why I added it: Bachiavellian is a good writer, and this was the last story of his that I hadn’t read.
Review
Luna and Celestia come home to their caretaker, Cantata, while Fidelus wings his way back across a barren kingdom to the home of the two young princesses. The fillies have their cute everyday adventures, but Fidelus is bearing both good and terrible news…
This was written for the Most Dangerous Game contest, making its ending a bit less of a twist for me than it might have been, as I realized quite early on what the story must truly be about. Alas, this story feels like tremendously generic Luna and Celestia backstory – a tragedy befell their people, leaving them ultimately in charge, but hope comes in the form of the three tribes of ponies. It wasn’t bad, but I felt like I’ve read this story before, and seen it in comic form a number of times, and this didn’t really do anything to stand out from the crowd.
Recommendation: Not Recommended
The Magician and the Detective
by Bad Horse
Romance, Sad, Crossover, Adventure
14,788 wordsTo Holmes, she is always the mare. In his eyes she eclipses the whole of her sex, and fills him with admiration and loathing. Whether she in fact stole the Starry Night was ultimately beside the point. What mattered to Holmes was that he had been matched at his own game, by a mare; that it had not been altogether unpleasant; and that she had caused him, however briefly, to turn his keen and unflinching gaze upon himself.
Why I added it: This is the only story by Bad Horse I haven’t read.
Review
Fetlock Holmes is a masterful earth pony detective with no cutie mark. Doctor Watson is the only pony in Equestria who can stand his presence for more than a few minutes. And Trixie is a masterful unicorn magician with no understanding of other ponies, apparently driven to steal a painting – Luna’s Starry Night – which seems impossible to steal.
Written in the style of a Sherlock Holmes story, this is a glorious style imitation of those stories. The prose is wonderful to read, and Holmes’ offputting mannerisms combined with Watson’s observations make the story really fun to read. Holmes’ speculation about how the theft will be/was done was wonderful, as were his interactions with the Great and Powerful Trixie, and it was fun trying to figure out exactly what was going on – though I’ll admit, the story tags were a pretty big clue to me that things weren’t quite as they seemed.
This story was fun from beginning to end, and while it ends on a sad note, there was no other way for it to end with Holmes, and it tied together all the things that Holmes had brought up throughout the piece quite nicely.
In the course of my association with Mr. Fetlock Holmes, I have often been the subject of his keen insight. More than once, this has made me wish he would turn his unflinching gaze upon himself. I learned how needless that wish was from a peculiar entanglement with a most peculiar mare.
To Holmes, she is always "the mare." I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. If he once felt something akin to love for her, he at least believes he has since sublimated it into an intellectual admiration. He never speaks of the softer passions save with a gibe and a sneer. For him to admit such an intrusion into his own finely adjusted temperament would be to introduce grit in a sensitive instrument. And yet, to him, there is but one mare. It was in Fillydelphia that we first encountered her.
Holmes' appearance regularly drew attention in Canterlot, that magnet for everything and everypony outlandish or excessive in Equestria. He could hardly pass unnoticed on the streets of Fillydelphia. In height he was rather over fifteen hooves at the withers, and so excessively lean that he seemed considerably taller. By breed he should have been a plow-horse, but one could not imagine him engaged in dactylous labor.
Aside from his ectomorphic frame, he had a delicacy of touch in his hooves not exceeded by any unicorn; and something imperious in his eyes as well that at times called to mind the Canterlot high-bred. But he walked with the awkward urgency of a grounded pegasus, and I was once again pressed to keep up with him without breaking into a trot, as we headed from the train station towards the center of the city.
He would have stood out even had he not had a completely uniform tan coat, bare of decoration on both flanks. Either by virtue of his mastery of innumerable subjects, of his impatience for pursuing any of them with regularity, or (as I am inclined to believe) through sheer force of stubbornness, Holmes had managed to avoid ever manifesting a cutie mark relegating him to one trade or another. I may give the impression in my missives that detective work was his sole occupation; but in reality it took only a fraction of his time, and served as much as a framework to organize and justify his hobbies and vices, as a profession.
The sight was too much for one blue-maned unicorn on the other side of the street, who cocked his head and widened his eyes until I could see the whites. My companion stopped abruptly as we drew up beside him.
"I see you were admiring my mark. That is a sign of distinction." He tapped his forehead with one hoof and smiled conspiratorily. "Only the wise can see it."
The stallion glanced at Holmes, at Holmes' blank flank, and back at Holmes again. "Ah... remarkable!" he replied.
"Really? What do you think of it?"
"Think... of it?" The poor fellow – it is impossible not to think of anypony who falls into Holmes' hooves when he is in a mischievous mood as a poor fellow, no matter wealth or breeding – twitched his ears back and forth, uncertain whether to venture an opinion or bolt.
"Yes, yes. The coloring, the geometry. Does it call anything to mind?"
"Not... immediately. Unique, I should say." The unicorn took a harder look. "Yes... unique. Excuse me, I have a train..." He sidled off, then hurried towards the station at which we had just disembarked, looking shaken.
"Holmes!" I admonished as we resumed our walk. "You should be ashamed of yourself."
"On the contrary, I have rendered him a service. I have taught him that he is not wise."
"But by deception!"
"That is the difference between you and I, Watson. You are a deontologist; I, a consequentialist."
"I haven't a deuce what you're talking about."
Holmes whinnied briefly. "Thank you, Doctor. It is refreshing to converse with somepony who will admit to not knowing something."
"It is fortunate for our friendship, Holmes," I huffed, "that I do not feel the same."
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Summary
Heat of the Summer’s Sun by Rocinate
Worth Reading
Ten Degrees by Bachiavellian
Not Recommended
X is a Changeling by Wanderer D
Worth Reading
In Memoriam by Bachiavellian
Not Recommended
The Magician and the Detective by Bad Horse
Highly Recommended
I don’t know why it took me so long to finish off Bad Horse’s back catalog; I’ve liked most everything he’s written, and the last two stories of his that I read – Burning Man Brony: Fear and Loathing of Equestria and The Magician and the Detective – were both pretty excellent.
Anyway, that’s done and over with for now. I’ve got a big, long post about Twilight’s List coming up soon, as well as some more reviews that I need to cobble together into whole posts.
Until then, I hope you enjoy these stories!
Number of stories still listed as Read It Later – Important: 76
Number of stories still listed as Read It Later – High Priority: 326
Number of stories listed as Read It Later: 1644
P.S. I have an invisible story on one of my bookshelves. Does anyone know how to check what story it is/get rid of it?
Thanks for the review! And all the quoting!
Did I really write "between you and I"?
I just unironically recommended a Sherlock Holmes/My Little Pony crossover shipfic.
I always knew there was something fundamentally off about this world of ours.
3335662
Yes.
Yes you did.
Ooh, that Sherlock Holmes story sounds good! I'll be reading it next!
Thank you for the review! Glad you found X-025's paranoia amusing!
Well, I can see you've went and cleaned out my entire repertoire. I should probably take this as motivation to put more stuff out, but I'll probably wait until the next writeoff, like I always end up doing. Clearly, I can't get any work done without a time limit.
Really appreciate the reviews! I'm kinda dissapointed it didn't end on a high note, but I'm glad for the feedback, regardless. Stay awesome!
I don't think you can. If an author deletes a story, it disappears, but groups and bookshelves will still count it.
Nothing better than making someone laugh.
3335846 Hm. Do you have your Mature flag flipped? (Ok, that just came out wrong.)
The Magician and the Detective is one of my top favorites that I occasionally re-read just to break the 11th commandment. "Thou Shalt Not Covet Another Writer's Ability."
3335681 What are you talking about? I didn't see anything.
3335893
Yes. Just go looking for an author who quit and deleted everything. They will still show up as having fics.
3335817
I look forward to seeing your future work!
I managed to finish off both yours and Bad Horse's collections in a single post, though I have not yet reviewed all of Bad Horse's stories - not even all the HRs, I don't think.
That's my one big regret, not going with that one back when it would've helped me. Stupid "The Handyman Can" perk was such a waste of my time...
3335957
It's all about the exploits, man. Nearly dying twice of allergic reactions to shots as an infant made it pay off quite quickly, as opposed to the usual erratic boosts that come with learning how to drive.
Of course, the luckiest ones are the ones who get the Born Rich perk, but you've got to luck out on the RNG to even get access to that one.
Oooooooh, Highly Recommended....
*checks the time*
12:15AM; I just have to finish migrating data from the old beta database to the new one, publish updated code to the live server, update tables based on a variety of assuredly poorly-formatted excel files provided directly by the client, and get to bed in time to wake up and get to work sometime before 8...
Yep, totally worth it.
*commences reading*
Highly recommended? Is that the first time you've done that?
3336289
Not quite, though it has been a while. The last highly recommended rating I gave was to Three Nights in Read It Later #24, which went up exactly a month ago now. The last one before that was for The Destruction of the Self in Read It Now #33, which went up on Jume 4th.
That said, Recommended Story Reviews always contain a bunch of recommended and highly recommended stories, but they're all stories I've already read, so are self-selected.
But in terms of new stuff that I read, I HR probably on the order of a story a month. That said, it isn't evenly distributed; if I sat down and went through the rest of stories that were written by Estee, Skywriter, Cold in Gardez, GaPJaxie, Blueshift, ect. that I haven't read, I'd probably end up with several more HRs in a short time. On the other hand, I've already read most of the works by some of the very good writers in the fandom, so the only way their stuff shows up is in the Recommended Story Reviews. Bad Horse, for instance, boasts 5 Recommended stories and 6 Highly Recommended stories, but I've not reviewed a lot of them because I read all but three of them before I started writing reviews. I do plan on reviewing every single story on my Recommended/Highly Recommended shelves eventually, but to do so I'd have to reread them all, which, while enjoyable, means I'm not reading new things, so I do temper things a bit.
That said, such reviews are always in the works as I go back and re-read stories. I've got a big long post about Twilight's List which is only about halfway done, and I've got Recommended Story Reviews #5 partially finished.