Friday, January 11, 2013

Clearing Out the Fanfic Backlog: Mini-Reviews

Sometimes, it seems like there aren't enough hours in the day to go to work, get a good night's sleep, keep up with family, have any sort of social life, do some pleasure reading, watch Top Chef (we all have our oddball indulgences), spend some quality time watching the squirrels in the backyard every now and then, and still read any bits of ponyfiction that happen to attract my interest.  My "read later" list never seems to shrink, but over the last few weeks it's grown ridiculously rapidly.  So today, I'm going to clear out a dozen or so of the shorter and more recent additions to that list, and provide a few comments on each.

These aren't full-blown reviews, but they're my comments as a reader on each story.  The selection is by the rigorous criteria of "Chris heard about this story and thought he might like it," so feel free to keep that in mind as you ponder how these stories made the list.  We've got a good mix of stories I found on EqD, stories I found by watching the author, a couple that were recommended to me, and one I think I picked off the FIMFic feature bar (though I can't remember now--I might have found it elsewhere).  Oddly enough, I think all or nearly all of them are on EqD as of this posting, though.  I guess my fan-lit net doesn't cast as wide as I might wish.  Check it all out, below the break.



1.     The True Legend of S. Guard, by Solar Phoenix

Zero-ish spoiler summary:  The tale of a semi-mythical hero from the time of Nightmare Moon, presented as an in-universe history.

A few thoughts:  I like the concept, and love the execution of the idea: there's a lot of (deliberate) loose ends and speculation here, as befits a history assembled from scraps of folklore and third-hand accounts.  I'm a big fan of histories, so the style really worked for me.  That said, the writing is dry and unengaging.  Frankly, it reads like a lot of real-life histories; too few historians are competent writers.  Nevertheless, I was disappointed by the frequent awkward phrasings.

Recommendation:  Despite the writing problems, I still enjoyed this story.  I suspect readers who enjoy historical reconstruction as much as I do will find those problems forgivable, as I did, but those less inclined to the subject and style are likely to be turned off.



2.     Pro Corvo, by RavensDagger

Zero-ish spoiler summary:  A representative of the ravens comes to Ponyville, hoping to secure some much-needed land and resources.  Unfortunately, pony and raven mores turn out to be vastly different.

A few thoughts:  I was a little put off that the author insisted on referring to a group of ravens as a "murder," and the A/N where he explains that it "sounds better" than unkindness leaves me unmollified.  Once I accepted that, though, it turned out to be a wonderful little story.  The indignant confusion of the raven over his treatment is endlessly entertaining, as tales of cultural collision so often are, and although there were a few in-jokes scattered about the story that I could have done without, these were rarely intrusive.

Recommendation:  This story will probably appeal to anyone looking for a fun but not slapstick bit of comedy, with an occasional twinge of dark humor thrown in, leavened by the sheer entertainment value throughout and the highly recognizable (read: well-executed) canon characters and setting.



3.     Warmth, by Dark Avenger

Zero-ish spoiler summary:  A look at Pony Joe's bar and its denizens, come Hearth's Warming Eve.

A few thoughts:  There's a quietness to this story which I found endearing.  It's not exactly about anything in particular, but it invites the reader to consider a great many things.  I enjoy it when stories don't talk down to me or oversimplify, and there's none of that here.  That said, I felt like I could have used some direction to the narrative; reading this was more of an experience than a story.  I mean that neither as a positive or a negative, particularly, but simply as an observation.

Recommendation:  Readers looking for something short to ponder over might get a lot out of this; readers looking for something with action, (direct) character-building, or just some semblance of a plotline are better off looking elsewhere, though.



4.     Two Nights in Hoofington, by Swashbucklist

Zero-ish spoiler summary:  Ponified Statler and Waldorf (aka. "the two old guys in the balcony from The Muppets") heckle Trixie.

A few thoughts:  I read this story because I like Statler and Waldorf (they're second only to the Swedish Chef in my muppet pantheon; I apparently have a thing for one-note characters from those shows), and I was not disappointed.  This is a story about Statler and Waldorf mocking Trixie's show, simple as that.  There's actually a bit of character-building for Trixie that goes into the story, but it's a mixed bag; while the introductory scene did a nice job building up to S&W's appearance, I didn't think a story that's mostly about trading puns and insults needed to spend quite so much time on Trixie's thoughts and actions outside of the show proper.  Though not poorly written, they tended to break up the more straightforward dialogue-comedy of the shows themselves, which are clearly the selling point of this fic.

Recommendation:  Go read the summary again.  If that sounds good to you, this is a story to read.  There's  a nice blend of classic S&W lines and original zingers, so it's not strictly retread jokes, either.  If you don't find their brand of humor to your liking, though (or if you don't think it's something you'd enjoy reading as much as you enjoyed watching it), then you're probably right.



5.    Remnants of the Crystal King, by Troutking

Zero-ish spoiler summary:  In the Crystal Empire/Kingdom/City's library, Twilight comes across the diary of King Sombra, which she takes back to Ponyville to study.

A few thoughts:  I didn't finish this one.  I read about a thousand words, then skimmed ahead a bit to where the actual diary entries begin (which didn't happen until about a quarter of the way into the fic).  While there was nothing terrible about any of it, there was a lot of over-explaining in this story; "yes Twilight, I know that making everyone slaves and killing the queen is bad, thank you for pointing that out to me" kind of stuff.

Recommendation:  I can't make much of a recommendation, having read just under half the story all told.  It didn't appeal to me enough to continue reading, obviously, but for all I know the last half is completely amazing.  In any case, readers with an aversion to rambling, over-long setups and characters with a penchant for stating the obvious will probably, like me, find that this story isn't to their tastes.



6.     As the Sun Sets, by Mystic (prologue +chapter 1 only)

Zero-ish spoiler summary:  Princess Celestia is called to the dragon lands to help with something she'll describe only as "diplomatic assistance."  Twilight is invited to come along with her.  Meanwhile: evil stirs!

A few thoughts:  I don't usually start incomplete stories these days; too much to read without investing in something that may or may not ever get finished.  I made an exception for Mystic for two reasons, first, I figure that if he ever stops updating I can take a tire iron to Cadel Evans' knees when he comes to America for the Tour of California or whatever other cycling race gets him on my continent, and then we'll be even.  More importantly, the word "Tolkienesque" was floated at me, and I could hardly refuse its siren call.  There's not much yet, but I'm getting a very good vibe from the first 8k words.  Despite a wandering tone in the narration (it has a tendency to adopt the inflections of whoever is speaking in its vicinity, going from near-biblical in places to more casual phrasings like "It felt wrong asking the question, but it kind of slipped out"), the powerful prologue and the hints of worldbuilding scattered throughout the opening chapter have me excited so far.

Recommendation:  For anyone less reticent to jump on incomplete fics than I am, this looks like it could turn into a highly memorable story of the adventure/worldbuilding variety.



7.     Bing Bang Zam!, by Pegasus Rescue Brigade

Zero-ish spoiler summary:  After discovering that a celebrity chef has been using the phrase "Bing Bang Zam," the Flim Flam brothers sue her for trademark infringement.

A few thoughts:  This is a pretty simple story, with some obvious bad guys, a fairly straightforward plot which nevertheless manages to conceal most of its turns pretty well, and its humor mostly deriving from the exaggerated personalities involved in the already ridiculous premise.  By that measure, I thought the story was excellent.  I did have a problem with Carrot Top telling Derpy to "shut up," but I admit that's just because I have my own private conception of how the two get along--not exactly something I can fault the author for, that.

Recommendation:  Although there's nothing particularly earth-shattering about the story, it's a well-executed bit of SOL/comedy.  Anyone looking for such probably won't be disappointed by this offering.



8.     Checkmates, by xjuggernaughtx

Zero-ish spoiler summary:  Twilight tries to teach Rainbow Dash and Applejack to play chess, which goes about as well as you'd expect.

A few thoughts:  Although I finished this story, I ended up skimming most of it.  It wasn't bad, really; it was just not what I was hoping for.  I was expecting there to be some actual chess involved, with plenty of character-based humor.  Instead, the joke here is mostly that Dash and AJ don't care about chess, and aren't paying attention while Twilight tries to teach them the rules.  As I say, it wasn't poorly written, but it was a much shallower approach than I was looking for when I saved the story link.

Recommendation:  If you go in expecting nothing more or less than a short story about mounting frustration and audience apathy, this fic will deliver.  There's not a lot more to it than that, though.



9.     In Their Highnesses' Clandestine Corps, by AugieDog

Zero-ish spoiler summary:  Blueblood's after-hours job as one of the most skilled secret agents in Equestria takes an unexpected turn when Luna takes control of the Clandestine Corps from Celestia, and sends Blueblood to Ponyville to pursue an old nemesis.

A few thoughts:  I absolutely loved this story.  It plays heavily on Blueblood's attitude and general insufferability (stories which write off an antagonist's faults are a major peeve of mine), and sliding in just a dash of Bond-style cool-under-pressure-ness fits his character surprisingly well.  The frequent cuts between characters and scenes are never confusing, the narration is engaging... this story was great.  If I had to gripe, it would be that I've never been a fan of bellicose (literally or figuratively) threats justified by "the greater good," and Luna's actions come off as precisely that, but this is still a great story.

Recommendation:  Any readers interested in a great blend of humor, action, and attitude (mostly of the "bad" variety) should give this a look.



Well, that helped clear out the list a bit!  Maybe I'll start doing this a little more regularly; I often end up putting stories I want to read on hold because I'm reading something for a 6-star review, but this way I don't have to chose (as often)!  Or maybe not, we'll see what I think.  Either way.

21 comments:

  1. Thanks for this. Also, I've been a fan of AugieDog's writing for a while, due to his clever, engaging style of writing. His other stories are worth a look, if you haven't read them yet.

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    1. Thank you both!

      As I mentioned somewhere in the story's comment stream, I was a little dismayed at how easy I found it to write in Blueblood's point of view. I may just hafta revisit that whole setting sometime soon... :)

      Mike

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    2. Glad you appreciate it; I appreciated the story, so I guess it all works out pretty well!

      One thing I forgot to mention: Zecora was incrediblely well executed. Probably the best Zecora I've read--every line flowed beautifully, and that's not easy to do.

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  2. I rarely have time to read anymore, so while I recognize most of these titles, I've only read one: "Two Nights in Hoofington," and that was because I gave the author an extensive review. He was pleasant to work with and made up his own mind on which advice to take, which is normally nice to see. My only regret is one joke he decided to keep that I thought fell completely flat, but it was definitely a fun story.

    And here I was hoping to get a review of "Author, Author!" Oh, well. Maybe another time.

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    1. ...And add another one to the list...

      (I thought I'd saved it off somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. Oh well, I have it now)

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  3. It's kind of scary how closely that list matches my own. The only three that didn't were Pro Corvo, which I somehow missed seeing, Augie Dog's, (Which I was leery of based on the description, but which I will now give a look based on your recommendation.) and Warmth, which still doesn't seem like my cup of tea. I even quit reading Remnants of the Crystal King half-way through!

    -iisaw (Anonymous because the stupid site software can't verify my ID... AGAIN>)

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  4. Oh, sure, shorten your list by lengthening mine! Jerk

    In the first sentence of the second paragraph, that should be "they're"

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  5. My to-read list just crept over 500 this week. I only add things from authors I'm watching, EQD posts, or the featured box, and those last two only if it sounds interesting. Sadly, when I read things, they tend to be under 3,000 words, and are generally stupid but funny clopfics.

    I agree that you should do this once in a while. :D

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  6. This does seem like a great idea for a segment. Also, it seems your reading interest list has overlapped with mine some.

    2. Pro Corvo. I didn't like it. *shrug*

    6. As the Sun Sets. That intrigues me. I think I'll slap that onto my read later list.

    7. Bing Bang Zam! I read about 1/8 of this then got distracted, but I think I'll make this my bedtime story tonight.

    8. Chekcmates. I skimmed this just like you did, and came out of it with the same impression.

    9. Ya know, I've been running into AugieDog a lot lately and still haven't read any of his stories, But I'm definitely intrigued and will likely pick one up eventually.

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  8. (Don't accidentally click the 'publish' button before you've read it through, Mystic. D:)
    Yessss, concrit! My favourite thing ever. You've done it now, though; I have to bug you, haha. That 'near-biblical' tone, were there any particular sections where that was stronger? Feel free to shoot me a PM or something instead if answering here is too clunky. That kind of consistent narrative voice is something I am keeping an eye on, so any examples would be really appreciated!

    And don't worry! As far as a first draft is concerned the story is almost finished, haha. I only have three or four chapters left to write. The hard part now is the monstrous amount of editing that needs to be done.

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    1. I don't mind "adorkable", but "concrit" makes my skin crawl.

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    2. YOU SEE!?!? YOU NEED A SECOND EDITOR TO CATCH THIS SHIT!

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    3. But Ezn, it's a mixture of 'constructive' and 'criticism' in the same word! :O It's so cute and rad and stuff, y'know?
      (OhgodIamsosorry)

      And I know, Sess! I do. You are right. It's just so hard and people are scary. :(

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    4. Huh, I've never heard that word before. My first thought was "conscript", which left me confused. Convention volunteers should be called Conscripts. I hate William Faulkner

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    5. It's so cute and rad and stuff, y'know?

      Totally crad, am I right?

      (Personally, I always read it as "concrete" first.)

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  9. Hmm. I've read two of these, with similar reactions. I was gonna read Checkmates but now I don't want to anymore.

    It's interesting to note that Remnants of the Crystal King was written by the same guy who did A Brand New Canvas in the Care Package write-off. I do hope he stops this redundancy thing; it can't be fun to write every scene twice.

    I totally agree about Bing Bang Zam!. I even had the same reaction to CT telling Derpy to shut up (thanks to Going Up, perhaps).

    Added a few of the others to my read later list (I've enjoyed some of RavensDagger's other stuff, and it's criminal how little AugieDog I've read), which I'm convinced will never fall below 150. Just the other day I did a similar thing to this, knocked off ten fics, and then within a day or two I'd marked ten more fics. I don't think I'll ever read (or even try) absolutely everything I've "meant to read later", but at least there's always something to look at.

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  10. I've read a few of these. Actually really liked Bing Bang Zam and Remnants of the Crystal King, though like many others I could have done without Twilight's redundant interruptions in the middle of the diary entries.

    I must admit though, I've never really had trouble with a high number of stories to read later. I read just about everything within a week of it updating usually, and the only things in my read later list are usually long projects that I'm still in the middle of reading like Background Pony, because it's my policy to not favourite anything until I've read it all the way through, so as to give it a fair assessment.

    As of right now, I have ten unread chapters in my favourites and six stories on my read later list, and that's the highest they've been for a year.

    Which reminds me, I should really get onto those.

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  11. Well, thanks for giving Checkmates a try. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a great writer, but I'm working on it.

    xjuggernaughtx

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