Fanfiction Spotlight #49, with a reminder about the EFNW Scribblefest! · 2:25am Mar 2nd, 2017
Good evening Fillies, Gentlecolts, and those weird human things out there! Tonight we have a few special reviews for you! Twilight forgave me for being tardy so often just kidding, she totally just moved the deadline on these things up to the middle of the week when I actually seem to have time for them, so here is tonight's take on wonderful fiction from Everfree NW's writing staff.
This week's stories have a gritty take on what it is like to be a soldier (medic, specifically) in the Equestrian army, far from the lovely rainbow drenched shores of home. And, in an ironic twist of fate, we also have a story about the perils of starting snowball fights with unicorns.
REMINDER
Everfree NW's Scribblefest ends at the stroke of Midnight on March 7th! Get your stories in, folks!
And hope you enjoy these stories as much as we did!
---- Review by Silver Flare ----
In the Company of Night
by Mitch H
Words: 309,578 Complete: No
Recommended by Silver Flare
Today’s story is a military piece, a sweeping and ambitious tale about a mercenary company as chronicled by one pony. It’s heavily inspired by Glen Cook’s Black Company novels, as the author is quick to point out; yet the experience doesn’t feel like a crossover. We’re immersed straight away in a complex, living world that is clearly a far cry from the pastel quilt of smiles and fluff we know as Equestria, and it’s a gritty and exhilarating ride.
Sawbones is a surgeon, the chief medic for the Black Company. His job is to tend to the sorry parade of lucky souls who wind up on his table, and see to it they’re still breathing when they leave. He’s promoted to Annalist, due to unfortunate circumstances befalling the last Annalist, and his job is to continue documenting their travails until they find someone better. This begins just as the Company hits a bad turn of luck, since the politicians who hired them turned and stabbed them in the back and, worse yet, stopped paying them. So, before a lack of bits and food can cause a mass desertion, the Black Company hits the road looking for paying work, moreso than a noble cause. While they look for nobles to aid and rebellions to quash, tidbits of the group’s history reveal tantalizing ties to Equestria’s deep past. What is at the heart of the Black Company, and will their actions shape their world for centuries to come?
In my experience, reading stories written by actual service members in the armed forces is a very different experience when contrasted with highly-romanticized movies and TV shows out there. Real war and real conflict are always flooded with murky details, indigent culture, questionable values, and the constant reminder that everyone around you is an altogether different and complicated individual. Rarely is anything as simple as ‘good guy’ and ‘bad guy.’ Mitch H manages to craft such a narrative right out of the gate, and I find this world both sobering and fascinating.
This novel is quite long, and it's still unfinished. It’s overly detailed and staffed to the brim with OCs. It’s rocking both the ‘gore’ and the ‘dark’ tags. And, it’s the author’s first story on fimfiction. All of which, the author points out, probably relate to its low viewership. Which is a shame, really. It deserves much, much more.
Tactics of Snowbound Unicorns
By Novel-Idea
Words: 3800 Complete: Yes
Novel Idea has been writing a few series in a universe of his own headcanon. What would have happened if the sonic rainboom never happened. What if Twilight and Sunset Shimmer were just regular students at the Royal Canterlot Academy? What if Twilight still couldn't get her nose out of those darn books!?
In this cute piece, Twilight is still her bookish self, and Sunset is trying to get her to actually spend time with her friends! When winter comes calling to Canterlot, Sunset resorts to serious measures to draw her friend out of her books. Chaos, shennanigans, and magic snowball fights ensue. This was a cute, happy piece that I really enjoyed reading, and it makes me want to explore the rest of Novel's stories as well.
./blink
...Well, I wasn't expecting THAT! Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the review! BTW, I should state for the record, I'm not a veteran, just a guy who reads a lot w/ a history background and tries to listen when people speak.
I'm looking to wind this weary river somewhere safe to sea, but I fear we're still deep in the delta.
...And reading back over that, I swear that was supposed to be Swinburne, not a Vietnam metaphor.
4441278 My apologies! My intent in writing the review was to compare your work to literary efforts I've read produced by actual service members. You certainly seem to have the same knack for detailed and convincing storytelling. I hadn't meant to imply that you had served, yet of course I'm rereading the review and I seem to have done so anyway. My bad. Thanks for clearing that up.
Oh, and your story is awesome.
4441391 Thank you.