Fic recs, January 27th: 80 Days edition! · 3:28pm Jan 27th, 2017
horizon's 80 Days Challenge contest quested authors to write MLP crossovers with a game based on the classic adventure novel Around the World in 80 Days, a game horizon presented as moving, if not life-changing. It produced a lot of fantastic writing, and now, half a year later, I'm finally reviewing the entries! :V
I am, however, skipping Icenrose's Two Mares and a Carpet Bag because it's not done and I waited long enough to finish this as-is. I'm tracking it, though, and will review it once it's complete. If you want to read horizon's reviews, to get the perspective of someone who's actually familiar with the game, they can be found here and here.
But before I get to the reviews, does anyone by chance know if there's a group out there for kid-friendly fics? Because if not, I'd like to make one; Pascoite gave me the idea after my last blog, and I think it sounds fantastic. :D If it's already out there, though, I wanna let people know!
H: 4 R: 1 C: 1 V: 1 N: 0
80 Days: Under the Waves by Sharp Spark
Genre: CYOA
An attempt to circumnavigate the globe is put on hold by a pirate attack.
Well, this is a hell of a way to start things off! (Though, spoilers, this is actually the third story in this blog I've read. :V) Follow the exploits of valise Porter Stout as he tries to protect his mistress from pirates, makes allies, falls in love, and possibly destroys an entire civilization mere days after discovering it! There's a lot of outright neato stuff to explore in this — plus a hilarious infinite loop — and I'm always floored by the technical ability that goes into making CYOAs work. That said, I have two complaints. First, if you don't go through the way I did (that is, by clicking the first option in every chapter), the endings you can get may seem… Well, that ending explains what happens in the others. If you didn't see that first, you might think the conflict arises out of absolutely nothing. Second, none of the endings feel like endings, but I think that's because this is meant as a single chapter in a larger story. It's got that sense of beginning in medias res and ending without resolving anything; it just may not be satisfying. Still, it's a ton of fun, and these should always be experienced when you can.
Highly Recommended
Around the 80 Worlds in a Day by hazeyhooves
Genre: AU
It's not often I have difficulty following stories, but this one absolutely lost me. For starters, I think it's one of those ideas that really doesn't benefit from being pony-related; it just leaves me with questions. Why aren't these the Twilight and Fluttershy we know? What's their relationship? What is suggested by the "80 worlds" line? Then there are things like "Why is Twilight freaking out in the middle" that I think I was able to put together, but spent far too much time on to really make it worth it. Still, this is well-written, and if you like science fiction, it might be fun to try out. Just try not to think about canon while you read.
Recommended If You Like AUs
Pinkie Pie and the Search for the Missing Adventure by FrontSevens
Genre: Adventure, Kind Of
Pinkie is super-excited to travel around the world, but darned if she can meet anypony new.
Compare this to the story above: it sets us in an AU with characters from the show, then immediately defines their relationship so we can Get On With It. However, this feels somewhat thin, and I can chalk that up to two things. First, this is a story about a character being bored, which is admittedly forgivable, since that boredom drives her to switch things into adventure mode in the late story. Unfortunately, said adventure is mostly glossed over in just a few paragraphs, leaving it missing indeed by the time we're done. I won't say the show characters were used terribly well either, though the sequence on the ship was definitely the highlight of the whole thing. Honestly, I wish there'd been more comedy; it's a Pinkie Pie story, that should be a thing! But the laughs are few and far between. I won't say I disliked it, but again, it's thin.
Vaguely Recommended
Soul Searching by Grand_Moff_Pony
Genre: Steampunk Adventure
In an Equestria where machines have overtaken magic, one mare seeks out a sign that things might be changing.
Despite the warning that one need have read Around the World in 80 Days or played the game this contest is based on, I had no troubles following this. And what a story! It paints a very vivid alternate Equestria, our first protagonist's background and quest are interesting, and though it gets rather dark, on the whole I liked the aesthetic. If you like steampunk, or anything sci-fi related, don't pass this up.
Recommended
Around the World in 81 Days (And Other Problems Caused by Leap Years by GaPJaxie
Genre: Adventure/Tragedy
As Twilight and Spike race around the world to fulfill a bet, the world changes.
What a way to end this contest, as, spoilers, I'm reading this one last. Yes, it's the story I waited on being finished before starting the contest, then put off reading for just as long because I'm the worst kind of person. But there's no simple way to encapsulate this. Twilight and Spike fill the main roles, with Celestia providing the wager. It begins in a lighthearted, whimsical manner before plunging head-first into despair, cynicism and some of the darkest events I've seen in a fic I nevertheless cannot rightly call "grimdark". This story is often gut-wrenching as they sail through the rumblings of Pony War One, yet shot through it all is a story arc about Twilight and Spike's relationship, as they support each other unconditionally and explore Spike's place in the world and at Twilight's side. I mean, this is really some of the best Spike writing you can ask for, and him being the focal character makes this a far different story than it could have been. I often found my focus wandering off with Twilight as scenes transitioned from her goings-on to his, wishing with all my might to see her stately duties. But never once did it disappoint, myriad and unexpected as its numerous and often heartbreaking twists and reveals are. The plethora of characters Spike talks to are colorful and memorable (the zebra king is my favorite), and the specter of the Artificer's Guild helps tie together what initially seem like disparate scenes, to say nothing of the entire story. And it all works because Equestria very explicitly does not fit into the world at large; the world doesn't work like Equestria, as someone says. Make no mistake: this is not a happy story, but it is imminently worth the read. What can I say? This is an exemplar of a contest that inspired a lot of great writers to make great stories.
Highly Recommended
80 Days 'Til the World's Farthest Shore by Cynewulf
Reading by Poniverse
Genre: High Fantasy/Adventure
A lone traveller in a snowy land tells the tale of a remarkable, unbelievable princess from another world.
Just from the story's description, I knew this was going to be absolutely fascinating, and I wasn't wrong. Cynewulf has really outdone herself, crafting from whole cloth a vibrant, fascinating fantasy world for Twilight to end up stuck as a human in. There's just so much to this, I really can't do it justice in a simple review. What I can say is that the story-within-a-story-within-a-story works effortlessly, the inner story especially being very well and realistically told. Our inner narrator has a lot of personality, and it doesn't hurt that she resembles a young Twilight Sparkle. There are a lot of familiar things in this -- there would have to be for it to be posted on Fimfiction -- but a lot more surprises than I think anyone would expect. I would consider this excellent gateway fic, if there's someone you know who loves the fantasy genre but has kept ponies or fanfiction at arm's length. This is absolutely one of the finest pieces of writing I have had the pleasure to read.
Highly Recommended: Top Fifteen
Solitaire by Pascoite
Genre: Drama
I had the pleasure of help this story at an earlier point, so I'm reviewing it from somewhere outside the contest (and, to be sure, before I review any of the other stories). This is a rare fic, remarkable in that it's able to turn a bit of firmly-entrenched and thoroughly ridiculous fanon — seriously, it's one banana away from a full-on parody — into something serious, emotional, and worth looking it. This does require a strong tonal shift in the middle, so be warned. Our protagonist is such a self-absorbed yutz, the transformation he undergoes by the end is something of a shock. But this is a really insightful piece, absolutely classic, and I hope I haven't given too much of it away.
Highly Recommended
*herself
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was very surprised how well it did.
Hooray! You liked a lot of those entries.
4398686
Zebra King was my favorite, too.
That I had a hoof in that chapter has nothing to do with that, I'm sure.
(Actually, it doesn't, I sincerely felt like he was among the most interesting characters who concisely and poetically made his point.)
That's one impressive return! I'm trying to keep my RiL list as un-unmanageable as possible, but I don't think I can ignore a Top Fifteen story -- so on goes Cynewulf's fic.
4398961
You should put GaPJaxie's on there as well, because it's every bit as good, just without being as transcendant. :B
Thanks for the review, PP! I'm very glad that you enjoyed the story. :)
4399109 I will, though it may be some while before I read it. Long(ish) tragic stories aren't often what I feel like reading.
A group for kid-friendly stories? Try "Rated 'E' for Everyone".
4399109
I'm so transcendent you don't even!
It's okay though. I'll love you even if you're super wrong.
How... why? I do not get it.. just read the story and.... I did not like it, at all..... it.. was not a good story. The "Colorful cast of characters" while true enough in each one being made unique.... all ended up being the same exact thing, just a vehicle to deliver longwinded lectures to Spike. We see so little of what is going on to really understand anything, the jumping around is so random, cutting out seeing rather important stuff. All the "Heartwrenching" stuff fell utterly flat because of just how forced and contrived everything felt. It wanted to be heartwrenching, but it didn't earn that. It just wanted to skip to the big powerful moments, but without a story to back them up, just a series of interconnected set pieces, each one meant to be some big shock or big moment, but without the transitions, the details, without seeing Spike move between them, deal with them outside of the crisis.... there is no story there to build that emotion off of.
This is trying so hard to be tragic yet... fails utterly becuase of just how hard it's trying, how froced everything is to make it so, and just how contrived things have to be... like Twilight just moving on from a city where Equestrian citizens had just been freaking killed in the streets. Or just blindly being so naive..... the whole thing with her and Cadance and this.. oh there have been Crystal Ponies all along reveal with the Water Palace.
Is it just because it's trying to be tragic and spends more time having character lecture 'important' things at Spike then actually doing anything it's so good, is it one of those cases of 'true art is angsty'? Even if so much of this makes no sense and is trying way to hard to be something it really only is becuase it tells you it is?
This is actually one of the worst aspects about it. And one the just highlights the problems it has. Yeah Equestria does not at all feel like it fits into this world...... and that is the fault of the author creating a world in which that is the case. The problem is not Equestria being different, the issue is the story not creating a world that feels like Equestria fits in it.
I just do not get what is so perfect about this story at all.