Fic recs, March 22nd: Project Get! #7 · 1:43pm Mar 22nd, 2017
One weird thing about having a backlog: actually have to remember to post! :B Doing okay right now, anyway. One last edition today, and then more regular reviews next time.
Project Get! is an effort meant to get eyes on low-viewed stories and hopefully find some hidden gems. I sort my RIL by views, go to the end, and pick the first ten stories that are:
- At least a month old
- Not sequels to something else
- By unique authors
Do please check these stories out. :) I've got a review milestone this time around, too!
H: 0 R: 3 C: 6 V: 0 N: 1
Winter Wisdom by LiterarySerenity
Genre: Episode Followup
Winter has come rather sooner than Cranky would have liked.
This is a reaction to Tanks for the Memories, and it's got a lot of really great stuff: a close look at Cranky and Matilda as a couple, pre-wedding; some unexpected bonding between Cranky and Rainbow Dash; even some comedy, owing to the reader knowing more about the situation than Cranky. If anything mars it, it's occasional passages where the narrative seems to be rushing to get ahead of itself. When it's relaxed, this ends up a really solid slice of life. I think the pacing issues are easy enough to ignore, though, and this will appeal to anyone who enjoys odd characters making friends.
Recommended
Crunchy Pigeon's Excellent Adventure by Super Trampoline and CrispySparrow
Review #4100/200th Review of 2017!
Genre: Random
This is a piece that wears its Random tag like a badge of honor, and yet it's fairly cohesive for a crackfic. I mean, yes, it's about someone's ponysona stalking another Fimfic writer — mostly — and then something about a library of horror and then Super Trampoline shows up. But, I dunno, it was kind of neat, as crackfics go, and rather funny, to boot.
Recommended If You Like Crackfic
Looking After the Animals by teamidris
Genre: Gorefic
In this story's defense, I think it's actually based in the realities of keeping farm animals, up to and including a certain amount of desensitization toward having to dispatch the older ones. It's amazingly blaze about what's going on; the second chapter is even heartfelt. But the other chapters more delight in needless animal death, and I kind of have to wonder why this was written. It's a poor fit for pony life, if nothing else.
Not Recommended
Let Her Take My Place by Miller Minus
Genre: Episode Followup
A freak storm in the Dragonlands sends Princess Ember scrambling to save the Flamecano.
I actually found this story hard to folow. You've got one character — Torch — who says a lot but never explains anything, a second — Concordia — who can't talk, and a third — Ember — who can't do anything. The purpose of the piece does at least become clear by the end, and is confirmed by the second comment. If anything turned me off, it's Torch's behavior; he seemed far more bloodthirsty than the impression I got of him during Gauntlet of Fire. This does give us some interesting expansion of what little we saw of dragon culture in that episode, but it definitely feels like a single idea stretched out for a few thousand words.
Recommended for Fans of Dragon Lore
Twisting Yer Innerds by Xx soul sorrow xX
Genre: Badfic
Apple Jack steals from the wrong pony.
Wow. If you have not had the opportunity to experience the amazingness that is Xx soul sorrow xX, start with this one. It's a madcap cavalcade of bizarre spelling, null-logic, and what the fuck, I don't even. Apple Jack (rarely written as one word) likes dating goths and steals things because her family is poor. There's an aside detailing where and how the Apples got their kitchen counters. Advil helps diabetes. This was a marvelous read, if you don't mind a few oregons, and a must for connoisseurs of badfic.
Troll Recommended
Enough by FloydienSlip
Genre: Heartwarming
This story is three lightly connected scenes about two characters embracing family on Hearth's Warming Eve. It's the kind of slice of life where not much happens, but the purpose is to evoke a certain feeling, both emotional and atmospheric, and that's where this shines. It's a light read, but definitely worth it.
Recommended
The Nightmare Verse by Protopony350
Genre: Horror
When the Nightmare Verse is loosed, it brings horrors upon Equestria, the like of which mortal pony could not even dream.
The big draw here is the writing, evocative of Lovecraft and his madness-taken protagonists. It's epic and dramatic and utterly insane, and if you start thinking that maybe this isn't exactly "horror", that it relies on familiar tropes a little too much, that the grandiose names of the elder things being unleashed on Equestria are maybe just a little goofy, just wait until you hit the reveal at the end of chapter three. That gave me chills, if only because I'd been suspecting it. This is a really cool piece, frantic and doleful and occasionally joyous, and it should definitely be read.
Recommended
More Than Alive by Loganberry
Genre: AU
Rainbow Dash has other ways to achieve speed than just flying.
Straight-up, I did not get a lick of this story, but I know exactly why. The recommendation will tell you everything you need to know.
Recommended for Hillclimbing (?) Racing Fans Only
Defense of the Library by Soge
Genre: DOTA Crossover
Twilight is such a noob.
Okay, so, everything I know about MOBAs I learned by watching a guy playing League of Legends and explaining precisely nothing that was going on. Which is to say, I don't know jack about MOBAs, but I know enough to recognize that's what this is, and get a few jokes like "mid or feed". Thankfully, Twilight, our hapless protagonist, knows even less than that, so if you feel like you might be confused in reading this, that's okay, you're not alone. I was mostly amused by the ponies talking in chatspeak the entire time; the way the dialogue is framed is hilarious. That's mostly what I got out of this; it's confusing, and could use a good proofread, but if you don't mind trying to take things as they come and enjoy the absurdity of ponies saying things like "ffs", this is a fun read.
Recommended for Laughs
Pip the Potty Pony's Story by Doc Crowl
Mature: Gore
Genre: Dark Comedy?
How did I miss this for Poopfic edition? c.c This comes off as an actual anecdote, vaguely ponified. In fact, if you don't read the description, you might be forgiven for thinking this had nothing to do with ponies at all. It sure as heck doesn't sound like Pipsqueak, aged up or otherwise. Anyway, I was kind of taken by the absurdity of the situation and the drollness with which it's told, but if you're not interested in reading four thousand words of Pipsqueak taking an explosive (and very detailed) shit in the woods, you can safely pass this by.
Recommended Only If You Think Poop Is Funny
Thanks for the R!
Heh, thanks. More than Alive is probably the story of mine I least expected ever to get reviewed! By anyone, really. But yeah, it's definitely a niche-appeal fic, one of those that was written for my own enjoyment above anything else. I'm actually surprised that it's had more than about three views.
Personally, I'd say that it might appeal to people interested in speed events in general (hillclimbing, sprinting, maybe also rallying) and conceivably to wider racing fans. But a general-interest fic it definitely is not, so I'm more than happy with the C. It's what I'd have given it, too.
For those who want to know what hillclimbing is, see this video.
Thank you! I was so sure no one would like it! I am so so so happy!
4467822
Yeah, you told me what it was, and I've literally never heard of that. I figured it was formula one or something more akin to rally racing.
Looking back at my fic, I'm actually surprised that it doesn't have more typos. I wrote it essentially while watching streams for Dota tournaments, and didn't actually go back to proofread it (beyond adding the links to sound clips).
What's a unique author?
4468463
Only one story per author per blog. :B