Fic reviews, October 4th! · 9:22pm Oct 4th, 2018
Scribbler has redone her reading of DeiStar's Tomorrow Never Knows!
If you're the kind of person who watches pony on iTunes, why not check out the season icons made by Dave Bryant!
This month's Flash Fiction Online includes alien gladiators fighting for freedom and Doctress Death vs. the Paleontologist!
I done said I was gonna post a blog, didn't I? :B Today's crop are a bunch of things that dropped in my lap all at once, plus something I couldn't not read.
H: 1 R: 2 C: 3 V: 0 N: 1
Parting by Wanderer D
Genre: Anon-a-Miss
Canterlot High assembles to hear Sunset's confession.
Whelp. That's it everypony. Anon-A-Miss is officially over. D wins.
-Royal Prodigy Twilight
Hard to go wrong with a recommendation like that. After the disaster that was Anon-A-Miss edition, I'm not likely to read more of that ilk unless it's by someone I know. And, well, the tags are right there: this is a refreshing, original, and dramatic take on "bad ending" AaM. It's also about the most sensational way I've seen for a character to commit suicide. I expect it will draw strong opinions either way.
Recommended If You Don't Mind Character Death
Training His Relief by LuminoZero
Genre: Slice of Life
Shining Armor receives a shock when he finds out he has a dragon for a brother.
This is a really great idea, we need more Shining/Spike bonding. :D On top of that is some good behind-the-scenes about Shining Armor as a guard trainee, not to mention some very good characterization for Spike. The writing lets it down a bit, however. There's head-hopping and some fairly weak word choices, which you can see best in the first paragraph. Still, I really appreciate the drive behind this, and it's not bad.
Recommended for Spike and Shining Armor Fans
The Thief and the Princess by Muramasa
Genre: Thriller
A thief coming to steal Princess Celestia's crown runs into a different princess.
This is a really tense piece, chock full of atmosphere. I love heist stories, and watching our Thief piece together not just her plan of action, but her motives. And of course, when she meets the princess, well, I like the way that played out. I suppose this could have gone a bit deeper with any of its elements, but as it stands, it's definitely worth the read.
Recommended
Grow Me a Garden of Roses by Flint-Lock
Reading by Scribbler, Goombasa and Gina M
Genre: HiE/Sad
Roseluck let a potentially deadly alien into her house for one reason: She knew what he was going through.
As HiEs go, this one's definitely up there. I like that the human is a space farer, and the ways in which his story dovetails with Rose's own. Because this is a story about loneliness, and there's only one way to solve that! Okay, well, two ways, but the second way is the one that gets cut short partway in. It paints a really solid portrait of Roseluck as a character, not to mention an Equestria with some very different details than you might expect. That said, the writing is a tad rough, and this could use another editing pass. I also got tired of the melodramatic dialogue, plus I think it might have taken a slightly simplistic tack with its central idea. Still, it ends on a high note, and good HiEs are something I'm definitely interested in.
Recommended If You Like HiE
The Monster We Made by Corah Il Cappo
Genre: Twyrant
We made her a goddess. And she unmade us.
When I get to the end of a chapter and see "Yes, it sucks. No, I don't care" in the author's note, I start wondering if I should care. The first chapter of this story alternates grand seriousness and hasty scribblings. Pompous and overblown, it starts by summing up the first three seasons of the show, then quickly turns to Tyrant Twilight. (Worth noting, this was written in the S3/S4 hiatus.) By the end of it, I had no desire to read more about a Twilight who would kill not only Princess Celestia, but her friends. But I gave it fair shakes. After all, each chapter is exactly 1,000 words; that counts for something, right? But chapter two was just the exact same thing, only from Celestia's point of view instead of Luna's. Less overblown, so at least there's something to be said for skill in voicing characters here, but that was it for me. I'm just not interested.
Not Recommended: DNF 2/10
The Tab by Antiquarian
Genre: King Sombra AU
Twilight and her friends meet at Pony Joe's for donuts and talk.
This one's for the veterans. There's not really anything terribly deep or surprising about it — even the reveal at the end is painfully obvious ahead of time — but it does a damned fine job portraying post-war life. Even better, all the characters are well and truly in character. I mean, Twilight's old Canterlot friends didn't have a lot of character, per se, but she in particular comes off as very Twilight, just after she's been through X years of warfare. I will say this needed more commas, and I could have done without the Fight Club references (boy, could I have done without them), but this is definitely worth reading and should have wide appeal.
Highly Recommended
Under Layers of Dirt and Worry by Tangerine Blast
Genre: Dark/Drama
Pinkie Pie returns to Sugarcube Corner to find somepony waiting for her.
To sum this up another way: Maud worries about Pinkie in the way that Maud does. Maud's a hard cookie to crack, and I still don't understand her, but I get the sense that this author does. And even setting that aside, this is a really strong look at what the adventures the mane six get up can do to those around them. Maud's not the only one worrying. So I think Maud fans will get the most out of this, but probably everyone will find something to enjoy here.
Recommended
"Words I’ve Redefined Since Your Dinosaurs Invaded My Lunar Lair" is the best title for anything the human race will ever produce, and I am going to spend the rest of my writing career knowing that I will never reach such a pinnacle.
4948247
FFO finds neat stuff sometimes. :)
Great finds. Antiquitarian has some interesting stuff
Those exist?
Glad you liked my four year-old HiE fic!
4948361
There are basically three ways Anon-a-Miss fics can end:
- Sunset dies.
- Sunset gets retribution. Perhaps other characters die in her place.
- It's a happy ending and everyone is friends again and nothing is badhaha who am I kidding, there are two endingsThanks for the recommendation! Glad to see Under Layers here too. That's one of my favorites.
4948405
Oh, and there's a parody somewhere where Pinkie thinks Sunset commits suicide and delivers a Shakespearian eulogy that's fantastic.
You know what, I think I'll add that Thriller tag to "The Thief and the Princess", as I have it pegged as a Slice of Life story right now.
I am very glad you liked it, thank you for the review!
I have a morbid fascination with your DNF reviews, partly because I tend to hit eject way earlier, usually once I'm sure a story is destined for my version of NR at best. It's always interesting to see a fresh answer to "what will PresentPerfect not read?"
I'm weird.
4948450
I'm honestly never sure what "Thriller" is supposed to mean, but if a story is thrilling to read, well...
4948518 Thriller stories must contain Michael Jackson.
4948530
Well don't spoil the sequel, dude!