Fic recs, July 23rd! · 1:13pm Jul 23rd, 2016
Neighrator Pony's newest reading is of Captain Unstoppable's Make It Stop!
As of the last time I posted a rec blog, the spreadsheet is now 300% more functional! Now, when accessing it, you can find a link to the actual review blog in the Date column. (If you don't see it, scroll up; always up. Contest blogs can take up a couple pages!) It didn't take me as long as I thought it would. :D And not only will it help people find their reviews after I've reviewed them, it helps me a lot and was totally worth the effort.
Something I feel the need to say just because it was on my mind right now: I aim my reviews at readers more than at writers. "Is this story worth reading?" is the question I try to answer. That's why I have so many levels of recommendation, with the ability to change things up as necessary. Someone will like one story and someone else won't, entirely because they do or do not like a particular thing that happens in it.
Which is not to say writers can't get anything out of these reviews, but they must first ask themselves a question: "Do I want to be taken seriously as a writer?" (Even if you write nothing but trollfics, you can be taken seriously.) Some writers I see just can't or don't improve over years of releasing stories. If they don't want to be taken seriously, that's fine: they can write what pleases them. And if they happen to come across my reviews, or anyone else's, they shouldn't feel bad if their story is panned. Instead, they need to focus on what positive exists in the review (and avoid reviewers who can't come up with any positives; truly rare is the story that lacks all merit). Know that some aspect of your story has been enjoyed, and feel good for having made that possible.
The rest of you, shape the fuck up. >:B
Well, that was heavy. :V Have another round of reviews full of stuff off my "read it now" list, starting with a re-review of Fallout Equestria: Lesbians!
H: 1 R: 3 C: 4 V: 0 N: 0
Fallout Equestria: Lesbians by fiendofthet
Reading by Aanok
This guy's good! I get the feeling he has an odd accent, but he was able to simultaneously pull off posh British and Southern American, a rare talent! No complaints. Well, other than his only other audiobook being an unfinished Project Horizons started three years ago. I wouldn't rush to follow him is what I'm saying, I guess. :B
Mature: Sex
Genre: Fallout: Equestria Crackfic
What if everypony was a lesbian? Would Littlepip have a chance with Velvet Remedy then?
Here's the deal: I've long said this was my favorite FoE sidefic because, well, it's goofy as shit, how could it not be? I 'reviewed' it back in 2012, during the short period of time when you could flag a journal as NSFW. As I discovered while updating the spreadsheet, that journal was later purged when the NSFW tag was done away with, so it's time to re-review this story! And what can I say? It's just as hilarious as I remember. It takes nothing seriously; it even takes potshots at Project Horizons! Still my favorite FoE. :V (Also, it didn't really need to be Mature rated, just FYI.)
Troll Recommended
One of the Living by Horse Voice
Genre: EQG AU
In the Wasteland, two old friends talk.
Techno-zombies. Flash Sentry fighting with the power of rock. Demon Sunset. A first-sentence reference to Nibiru. This is some crazy crap, yet believe it or not, it all holds together really well, making for some solid post-apocalypse. And of course, there's a healthy dose of SunFlash angst in the middle of all the action and world-building. Fans of pulp fiction will get the most out of this, but you just gotta love when an author runs with an idea and turns it into something great.
Recommended
A Boat Tailed Waggon by teamidris
Sequel to Fish and Lilypad
Genre: Cute
Fish and Lilypad test gravity.
After the seapony-filled fun of the previous story, I had to read this one sooner than later. Like its predecessors, it's cute, with a lot of writing issues. You could pretty much insert my review of the previous story here and get the same result. The "two fillies getting into trouble" plot drew parallels to G1 for me, for some reason. If you've enjoyed other stories in this series, you'll enjoy this one as well.
Recommended for the Forgiving
When Hearts of Stone Collide by Moowell
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Crackshipping, more or less literally
Long ago, a fleshy pony took a piece of Tom with it.
I will always read rock shipping. I love the way this one's written, considering the whole thing is in subjunctive mood. There's wordplay, there's legitimate jokes, there's just some really crazy stuff taking the perspective of rocks into account. There are a few typos, but if this was hastily dashed off in a fit of creative pique, it certainly avails itself well. I'm glad I read it.
Recommended If You Like Goofy Shit
The Late Twilight Sparkle by InsufferableUnicorn
Genre: Experimental
One day, you will have to deal with what happened to Twilight.
Speaking of stories written in odd ways, this one answers a challenge by a pre-reader! It is, namely, written in second-person future tense. It's certainly the kind of second-person I approve of — 'you' are Fluttershy — and combining that with the tense gives the whole thing an air of inevitability and dread: these events have yet to pass, but will certainly occur. One without the other — or without this subject matter — likely wouldn't have worked as well. Fluttershy's characterization is great -- actually everyone's is -- and of course not all is as it seems, as I had hoped from the outset. (Just look at the tags.) It's stories like this that make taking offhand remarks as challenges worth doing.
Highly Recommended
Wishing by Fon Shaolin
Genre: Slice of Life
Apple Bloom leads her friends into her sister's room, hoping to score some dirt.
This was billed (in a journal) as something of a sequel to fandom classic Forever Is Forever, but it isn't actually marked as one, therefore I shall not treat it as such. That said, it could be treated as a spiritual successor along the lines of "about Applejack" and "heart-wrenchingly sad". Okay, it's not that sad, but there's a mystery set up through the first half of this, the denouement of which really got me, y'know? It could use some proofreading, but otherwise, it's a really strong piece about having dreams and losing them, presenting a very believable and wholly unique look at a young Applejack. Definitely worth the read.
Recommended
Lyra and Bon Bon Drive to Trotcon by Admiral Biscuit
Genre: PoE/Comedy
Having just driven to Trotcon myself not that long ago, I had to read this. :V Anyway, I don't know why Lyra and Bon Bon are living in Michigan with a 'human host' who I assume is Biscuit himself. I do know that this is full of the kind of pony shenanigans that make these sorts of stories fun to read. That said, the driving-to-humor ratio is a tad higher than I'd like, even if there are a couple pretty hilarious moments. If you've ever been on a road trip — or if you appreciate ponies trying to do human things — you'll get a kick out of this.
Recommended for Laughs
Exotic Goods by FanOfMostEverything
Genre: Transformers Crossover
And then Moondancer licked Megatron.
This is based on the actually-legit comic panel that comprises the cover art. It is hysterical. I laughed all the way through. That said, I will put it to task for not really having an ending. It distinctly feels like a "ran out of ideas" sort of finish, though it at least leaves things open for a sequel. (Or a chapter two, more like.) Still, you don't have to know diddly squat about Transformers to understand this (aside from a certain Death Battle, perhaps); just love ponies. :D
Recommended
"One of the Living" may have been a flop, but this helps make it worth the effort. Thank you.
I think I'll always love "Lesbians." I don't know what exactly it is about it, but it's clever and funny and hits at just the right parts of the OP without ever that I can remember seeming mean-spirited.
"One of the Living" had really well developed atmosphere for something only a few thousand words long, and some bits of writing hit with a degree of cleverness that was all the stronger for the tonal background they came to the surface from - think Flash responding to what Sunset said about his sense of humor, or the follow-up to the description of the statue on Mount Canter. The characters mesh together well, there's a full and satisfying narrative arc, everything just comes together very well.
"When Hearts of Stone Collide"
First of all, I'd like to note the coincidence that you reviewed stories with opposite joke chapter titles: "Lesbians" had "I Shouldn't Have Written This"; this one's chapter is called "I regret nothing." :V
I like the way it actually switches between mainly subjunctive and flashes of indicative, giving the story some grounding and punch here and there. Despite the conceptual silliness of it all and the commentary jokes by the narrator, there's a certain feeling of earnest niceness that you see sometimes around here growing out of the character and perspective projected on Tom, and I enjoyed that quite a bit.
Before getting to the rest of it, I think the cover page, or even just the cover image and short description, of "The Late Twilight Sparkle" did a great job of setting up a second-person narrative where the character isn't the reader. This was a case where the set-up of the site was used to make a definite, positive contribution to the story itself. The first two sentences reinforce that sense of the perspective rapidly while also beginning to develop the story's tone, so we're looking at a very strong start here.
The intimacy/projection of the second-person narration is offset by the future tense to make an odd, floaty haze, and the choice of Fluttershy (especially as she existed at the time of writing, perhaps a bit less so after four years and three and a half seasons of continued development) works at every point in the story, justifying the actions themselves and the tone both before and after the story's defining breaking point. On which note, I think this pretty well encapsulated my reaction.
http://pre08.deviantart.net/2a05/th/pre/f/2014/337/8/c/princess_of_mood_swings_by_captainpudgemuffin-d88lqht.png
All this said, the strengths of the fic--its unusual perspective and the tone it helped induce--left it in one respect fragile, and resulted at least for me in a greater than normal breakage of immersion and flow when a couple editing things (something I perceived as a missing comma and a strangely voiced line from Rainbow Dash) showed up. Still, excellent story.
I think I differ a bit in my opinion of "Exotic Goods," as it felt to me like it not only didn't have an ending, but almost all the really good (and it was really good--for example, I normally don't like much from "Slice of Life," but the last line before the scene break more than made up for the Agent Sweetie Drops bit) comedy material was in the first half. A lot of it seemed to be based on meta-ish (but not exactly full-on meta) humor, so that's something I could see putting some readers off.
I can't explain how much I love having a dramatic reading!