What are the Great Equestrian Novels? · 9:13pm Sep 21st, 2012
On September 14th, a little-known brony, Sunderbraze, posted a novel-length story called "Equestrian Elite: Tartarus Infernum". It's really good, but because he posted the whole thing at once, only 133 people have seen it, as of this writing.
Luckily, I and a few other guys convinced him to pull most of his chapters and re-post them one by one, to give "Infernum" the exposure it deserves as one of the Great Equestrian Novels.
What do I mean by "Great Equestrian Novel"?
I've coined the phrase in reference to the Great American Novel, which Wikipedia defines as "distinguished in both craft and theme as being the most accurate representative of the zeitgeist in the United States at the time of its writing." Famous examples include Moby-Dick, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, and The Grapes of Wrath.
I'm sure a few candidates for the Equestrian take on this concept are coming to your mind already. So I ask you, what novel-length stories capture Equestria's essence like this, and why? Extra credit will be awarded for less-than-well-known works (everyone knows about "Past Sins").
Tell me what you think.
The Windigo, by Hidden_Identity. A true masterpiece of Grimdark, and a fine example of what the genre could be if it wasn't the first genre touched by terrible writers everywhere. It reads like a journal, kind of like Moby Dick. Only terrifying.
I will be following this comment thread with great interest.
In my opinion, AbsoluteAnonymous's The Games We Play would qualify (138k words), and Jetfire's It's a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door (143k words). Saddlesoap Opera's Pony Psychology Series would as well, though at the lower end of things (61k words).
I'll definitely be adding both The Windigo and Tartarus Infernum to me 'to read' queue.
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Disagree with 'Games We Play'. It's got far too much angst to be representative of these happy little ponies.
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>I will be following this comment thread with great interest.
Unfortunately, since I have only 30 followers so far, I don't expect a lot more comments. But I encourage you to reblog this idea; I'd like to hear more people's thoughts.
Well, I haven' read Games We Play yet, enjoyed Dangerous Business, Pony Psychology was actually one of the first fics I read so I found it a bit... intense?
I really enjoyed The Best Night Ever and if you count the sequel (This Platinum Crown - which I haven't read yet) it clocks in at 269,582 words.
I also haven't read Background Pony but I heard that's good. It clocks in at 328,899 words.
Fallout Equestria I've also heard good things about, and it's a beast.
I love Seeing The Pattern (1 & 2) which together has a count of 71,825 and if Aegis Shield ever gets around to writing a third part, then it'd probably qualify better. YOU HEAR THAT AEGIS, GET ON THAT. I love how he handles Luna and Celestia. They're true Gods.
And speaker of Aegis Shield, I haven't read his Luna's Story series (which totals so far a decent 145,813 words). But I love everything he's written, so I bet it would be a good contender.
I've added The Windigo to my 'to read' list.
I've bookmarked this thread so keep it coming! Woot!
373915>>374116>>374711>>375167 I've also replied to everyone to get some feedback.
No one else interested? I think, when I eventually have a lot more readers, I'll have to re-run some of these posts.
I anticipated some of the responses, but found myself genuinely surprised by others, which I had never heard of. My thanks to those who shared. And again, feel free to spread this idea around, if you like.
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Mad at myself for forgetting The Best Night Ever! Definitely belongs.
The Upheaval stories by Visiden Visidane. http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Visiden%20Visidane I haven't read the sequel, but the first one was a great adventure-type story. I highly suggest this one.
For pure grimdark/horror [WARNING: Gore], I suggest Cheerilee's Garden and it's sequel, by Unahim. http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Unahim Final warning: lots of gore. But well-written. Best gore ponyfic I've read so far. He's also got another sequel coming, which won't have so much gore...
It's A Dangerous Business Going Out Your Door by Jetfire, as mentioned before, is also an excellent adventure story.
And The Immortal Game by AestheticB? It's got plenty of action and stuff, but it's also pretty popular...
These are the only ones I can think of so far. I'm not sure if they even qualify. (Most likely the gore one doesn't, but it's certainly unique).
I hope this helps.
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Let's add in a few little things here...
The Colour You Bleed
My Little Alicorn
It Takes a Village
Apotheosis
Those are the obvious, but there a few less-known things I think belong on the list of Now That's What I Call Fiction! (and late 90s references)
The Price of Grace
MLP: Friendship is Tragic
Of Harmony and Chaos*
Lacuna
Just my two cents. I think for the pure mindfuck effect and a little nostalgia, The Shades of Time is also a considerably good fic.
* = unfinished
On A Cross And Arrow - (freaking hilarious!)
It's Dangerous Business Going Out Your Door - (MUST read, great adventure)
Past Sins - (classic)
It Takes A Village - (love this story)
Memory Pending - (great twist on *blank* in Equestria story)
Fallout Equestria - BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!
I usually judge fanfic on how the author interpreted canon materials. Yet you ask not for my favorite fanfic, but those most representative of the spirit of Equestria (that I have both read and would recommend)?
Top candidates (I thought about the qualifications and I cared enough to screen these through them):
Tangled up in Blues - by TheDescendant (once he stops wandering, it really shines)
Fallout: Equestria - by Kkat (I believed the hype of Past Sins and was sorely disappointed. I came across FoE by screening the 6-star stories and never looked back. I agree with blackstar: Believe the hype)
Wild, Sweet, and Cool - by Kwakerjak (awkward working together for awesome pegasus races!)
Runners-up: (Either not really reflective of the spirit of canon Equestria, or unfinished.)
I would normally put FoE here, but if you've read it to the end, you already understand that it is utterly evocative of the Equestrian spirit, with the added bonus of showing how it both changes and stays the same.
A Rising Moon - by MetalSquirrelChaos (unfinished and I'm not entirely sure if Luna's return reflects the criteria on its own. I feel like the transforming power of friendship is the criterion that matters, and this doesn't really have that.)
Sword, Hammer, Stallion - by RedSquirrel456
The Powers of Harmony - by CyborgSamurai (unfinished, but definitely about the transforming power of friendship. Just more in a superhero sort of way. It's awesome. Note though that only the pilot episodes are used. All other canon "hasn't happened yet" or "is happening" during the story's course.)
The immortal game as one has said- great world building, character moments, and wonderful action
Sweet taste of cake- A great romance story, a terrific look into two background ponies lives.
Rainbooms and Royalty- A wonderful alt story that doesnt act too dark