Story Review: Anthropology

Anthropology

Description (from story page):
Humans.
Truth or myth? Ancient lost civilization or just an old pony's tale?
No pony has ever seen one, and most haven't even heard of them. But Lyra knows that these wonderful creatures are more than just old legends, and she's going to find out... and possibly drive her roommate insane in the process.

VISION (Does the work present or reflect a point of view, theme, or idea?): B (above average)
The overarching theme of the story was readily apparent from about the third chapter. It essentially amounted to, "Don't let history absolutely determine your perception of the present." This is the first human-in-Equestria (or, rather, Equestrian-on-Earth) story I've read that actually incorporated this theme, and it did the job well. I appreciated how the story gently pressed the issue indirectly and never pushed it outright or preached about it. The author incorporated it into the story and especially into Lyra's character. The theme itself, I believe, fits well into the friendship theme of the My Little Pony genre.

ORIGINALITY (Is the work fresh or new in its style, execution, or approach? Is it something you haven't seen before in its genre? Did it surprise you?): C (average)
The details of the story were quite original; I've never read anything quite like this before. That said, the human-in-Equestria or pony-on-Earth stories always seem to follow the same path. In this case: pony tries to fit in on Earth, pony encounters a problem on Earth, pony needs to use knowledge/objects/traits from Equestria to accomplish change on Earth. Again, the story itself was original, but the plot was one that's been hashed and rehashed so many times, that it's grown very tired.

TECHNIQUE (Was the work skillfully created? Does the author exhibit advanced knowledge of storytelling, plot-building, grammar/spelling, etc.?): B (above average)
As far as spelling and grammar go, I didn't find many mistakes with either, despite the long length of the story. I can excuse what few mistakes I found as typos. The story line was consistent in tone and pace, excusing the few large time gaps between chapters. The viewpoint shifted a couple times in an unintuitive way, and that briefly interrupted my immersion in the story. The author, however, did an excellent job of recovering the reader after these instances. What really impressed me was the plot construction. The author hit each of the four points of a good story (introduction, problem, actions, resolution), and each one was distinct. The plot followed a logical progression from one scene to the next and the acts were interdependent, yet flowed nicely from and into one another.

IMPACT (Does the work resonate with you or evoke strong emotions? Does it make you think?): C (average)
Although the were a few points in the story that did evoke some sort of emotional response, the story in-general was like reading a science textbook. It was interesting and well-written, but I just didn't feel anything about what was going on. The plot was written in a way so as to keep me turning the pages and wondering what would happen next, but I honestly didn't care if what happened was good or bad. It seemed at most times that I simple couldn't connect with the characters, and especially the pony characters.

OVERALL: B (above average)
Anthropology is a good story. It was well-written, immersive, and engaging. Unfortunately, it somewhat lacks in originality and emotion. Overall, I recommend this story, and rate it as above average relative to other stories on this site.