Fic recs, July 21st! · 10:29pm Jul 21st, 2019
Scribbler's newest reading is CoffeeMinion's Baby Limestone Rides to War, with Agent0Fluffy and NeighratorPony!
I may have just gotten home from Trotcon, but that doesn't stop me from reviewing stories! :D This is the backlog of longish fics I've been listening to recently, plus a brand new one that I found waiting for me when I got home...
Gotta post my con review still. c.c;
H: 2 R: 2 C: 0 V: 1 N: 0
A Tale of a Mountain Clan by Beige Monkfish
Genre: Historical
Once, there was no peace between ponies and griffons. Then a griffon caught a pony for a meal...
Boy, this was surprising. It looks at first glance like your classic historic fic, a simple tale of friendship emerging where there once was nothing. And that it is, decisively, up until the very end. I was highly amused by the turn, and it's entirely fitting the setting and style of this story. This was quite good!
Recommended
To Bring Light to Eternal Darkness by scifipony
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: Historical
The story of how Celestia got her wings begins long ago, in a sunless land called the High Desert…
Oh my god, where can I even begin? This story is really powerful, from every angle you can approach it from. We've got a unique backstory for Celestia, a regular unicorn living in a draconian gender-divided society where the unicorns in the capital are having, shall we say, difficulties raising the sun. She stands out, of course, making waves because she can read and so forth, and so she gets in endless troubles. There are lots of hints at background for other characters, too, and towards the end, this starts setting up for a tantalizing dive into the history of the Hearth's Warming tale. Beyond just good character work and world-building, this also features a really strong portrayal of autism, with Celestia's twin brother (yes!) the kind of pony others feel uncomfortable around, though she loves and understands him with all her heart. Just learning about the things they go through day to day was fascinating, and as the tension ramps up, as it gets closer to that brilliant moment where you know she's going to raise the sun, oh it's so good when it pays off. The writing is overall excellent, though the editing gets a little hinky as the story goes on. I also took some umbrage with the pen-penultimate chapter, whose lengthy (if, again, unique and exciting) world-building explanation ground the story to a halt. It does stand out simply because the rest is so good, though. This is one of the best stories I've ever had the pleasure to read in this fandom, and I hope everyone checks it out.
Highly Recommended: Top Fifteen
The Cuil Theory by GMBlackjack
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: Random
There's something wrong in Twilight's library.
So I'd heard of Cuil Theory before reading this story, though I couldn't claim to be overly familiar with it. My first impression was that it was someone's way of justifying writing "lol tacos" level random stories, and reading this story does little to dispel that idea. That being said, what I learned recently reveals that the "theory" is just a big inside joke. Ergo, this story can be only blamed for taking a joke too far. The writing is actually good, it's just impossible to interpolate. It makes no sense as it piles wacky randomness atop wacky randomness. Reading this is exhausting; I'd rather read Finnegan's Wake imitators. My point is, I don't know that anyone's actually going to enjoy this, and I kind of hated it, but the author accomplished what they were trying to do? At least it's actually got a plot, a mystery wrapped in an adventure, even if it takes a while to rear its head.
Vaguely Recommended
Twilight in Plain Sight by Mitch H
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: EQG AU Urban Fantasy Murder Mystery
Twilight Sparkle and Flurry Heart were all set to begin their new lives away from Flurry's murderous grandfather and his cult. Then a body shows up literally on their doorstep…
What a story. What a story! I don't know what turned me on to this one, but I'm glad it did, because this is fantastic. That mishmash of tags up there all come into play one way or another, often in surprising ways. The setup of Twilight and Flurry restarting their lives in witness protection, worrying about cultists lurking in the shadows, would have fed an entire story by itself, but the way the murder works out is so good. It's so good, you guys. On top of that, there's trying to fit in in a small Southern town, Twilight working her hedge magic to find the culprit and action and drama centered around rival drug-dealing biker gangs. The ways canon characters are used are frequently a pleasant surprise, though all the R63 names can be a little confusing. But the writing is solid, the world-building is a joy, and this is just really good fiction, period.
Highly Recommended
Pepsi® Twist 2: Luna Sucks, Dude by Argembarger
Sequel to Pepsi® Twist
Genre: Trollfic
Can Pepsi®-Man defeat Santa Claus? Probably.
So I read this story aloud around 24 hours ago as I write this, at Trotcon's speedfic panel. It was glorious. Who knew Argembarger had a Pepsi® Twist sequel in him? Truly, we are blessed to be in the presence of his genius. I am so very glad he took my threat advice and published this to Fimfiction.com, the best place for all your horse fiction needs!™ Highly Troll Recommended
Recommended
If Mitch weren't already in the RCL, I would've nominated Twilight in Plain Sight the moment I finished it.
Also, don't let Cuil Theory turn you off of GMBlackjack. He's become one of my favorite authors on the site.
5092273
Yeah, I'm actually sad Mitch is already there, because as good as his inducted story was, this is even better. D:
And I figure Cuil Theory is just a weird experimental piece and not indicative of the author's body of work. I hear about him a lot, after all.
Two more for the RiL list, then. I'm intrigued by a story with a relatively poor thumbscore balance (+56/-6) making Top Fifteen, so that had to go on the list. The other one... I'm not the biggest EqG reader and not that often in the mood for Magical Girl Human fics, so it may have to wait a while, but 5092273's comment, together with the fact that I loved A Requiem for Lost Libraries, got it into the queue.
5092301
I can think the low score can be attributed to To Bring Light's strong, unabashed feminism. Some people just can't appreciate it. :B
5092301
I think it's also not unusual to see people generally dissatisfied with Celestia origin stories like this. But I really liked this one. I gave the author some help on it (and some of his other stories as well) and had the pleasure of approving it for Equestria Daily.