Review #46 - The Big Red Button, What's In The Box? , The Glass Blower · 2:51am Jan 24th, 2017
So, this time I've got some alright ones, and some really alright ones. (I feel like I should be doing something up here, but I don't know what)
The Big Red Button by Jay-The-Brony
What's In The Box? by naturalbornderpy
The Glass Blower by Cold in Gardez
The Big Red Button by Jay-The-Brony
(Comedy Random)
One morning, all of Ponyville is shocked by the sudden appearance of a big red button, right in the middle of the town square. Nopony knows how it got there, or even what it does. But Twilight, as ever, steps forward to solve its mystery before it unleashes its possible reign of terror.
Review
Twilight wakes up to find a random big red button in the center of Ponyville. They proceed to press it. Said button turns off the universe. It's al Discord's fault. (Surprisingly, not Cadance's fault... this time.)
So, in terms of pacing, this one is pretty good, and probably cannot be much better. It has few errors within, and what it does have is not very noticeable. It seems planned out enough, with the rest being random comedy stuff. The tags work well too.
Score: 8/10 Recommendation: Worth Reading/ Recommended.
Personal Thoughts: I want a Universe-switch-off-button.
What's In The Box by naturalbornderpy
(Random)
Pinkie Pie sits alone in a room with an unopened box. What's in the box, you ask? Only everything.
Review
An adventure story with 300 words per chapter, where in the universe's Pinkie Pies try to stop the writer from doing something horrible.
Pacing... very hard on this one, as it is quite odd... I'm gonna go with very nice pacing. There are, however, very few errors in this one, which is quite nice. It is completely random, and yet also totally planned out to the minute details, it's... hard to explain. But the tag works, I would maybe add a "Comedy" or "Adventure," though.
Score: 9.5/10 Recommendation: Highly Recommended.
Personal Thoughts: This one, this one encompasses some of the best writing I have seen, (Number 5, actually), and I do recommend reading it.
The Glass Blower by Cold in Gardez
(Dark, Romance)
She is as beautiful and graceful as the moon, and just as hard to reach. He is a young artist with much to learn about the world. When he accepts her challenge to create an artistic masterpiece, will he win her heart, or learn a terrible lesson in the nature of beauty and love?
Review
A Glass Blower falls in love with Rarity, and seeks to pass the tests she has set up for potential lovers. First, the task of well craftedness. For this, he makes a magical Hummingbird that moves. Rarity tells him it is not useful, and therfore is not enough. The Glass Blower then makes a perfect comb in the shape of a cat. But still, she rejects him, saying that true art is timeless. To fufill this criteria, he makes a model of the solar system, one that can stop time itself. Once again, however, Rarity rejects him, saying to craft her the most beautiful of objects. So, the Glass Blower crafts her a mirror, one that shows who a person truly is. Rarity shatters it in rage at what it showed her, and never returned to that bazaar. Never again did the Glass Blower's works truly live, for they lacked the magic of love.
The pacing on this is, to put into words, perfect. The errors? Well, there are a maximum of 46 within the 9k words of this story, so it has very few. As for the planned out portion of this review, I have one word to say... perfect. The tags also fit well.
Score: 10/10 Recommendation: Very Highly Recommended.
Personal Thoughts: Wow. Just... wow. This is the best writing I have ever read. It even beats out My Only Sunshine.
Yeah, The Glass Blower blew me away too.
Thanks very much for the review!
Glad you enjoyed it. I really liked that one, personally.
Cold in Gardez is a ridiculously good writer. If you're planning on reading more of his stuff, you're in for a treat. I've reviewed nine, I think, and The Glass Blower is the one I liked least. That gives you an idea of CiG's quality. (Admittedly my relative dislike of it was because I wasn't that keen on Rarity's portrayal, not because of any problem with the writing.)
4394882
Rarity's portrayal bothered me the first time I read it, but during the second read, I realized that this story goes deeper than Rarity. Also, if the author just slapped an AU tag on there, I think that most complaints would then be invalid.
4394809
Well, I do enjoy reviewing stuff. Partly because I get to read all these awesome stories! (And a few that aren't, but that's beside the point.) So, no prob mate.
4394421
I can definitely see why.
Ah, I remember the feeling when you read that first CiG story. Quite a rush. I do believe Glass Blower was the one I started with too. I still think The Glass Blower works best when you consider it pre-show. Like, we saw Twilight before and after making friends. What if the other ponies in the mane six were just as bad in different ways. In my head that is just pre-friendship Rarity.
4396602
I... actually never thought of it that way... head-cannon accepted!