Mini-Reviews Round 178

As a heads-up: Friday's post will go up 24 hours late.  Why yes, that will put it on April 1st!  Make of that what you will.  

In all seriousness, though: here are some totally on-the-level mini-reviews.  Get them below the break.

Fandom Classics Part 206: Celestia's Prophet

To read the story, click the image or follow this link.

I'm coming back from a weekend of Barbershop contest, which is mostly great fun... except for the 5 a.m. wakeup times.  Who wants to get up that early?  One of the underreported hazards of having "old people" hobbies is that old people don't sleep in on weekends.  Ah well, it was worth it.  So, is Aegis Shield's Celestia's Prophet worth it, too?  Find out what I think, below the break.

Mini-Reviews Round 177

I went to the dentist to get a cavity drilled yesterday.  This is particularly annoying because I take pretty good care of my teeth (I even floss!  I think I might be the only person on the planet who flosses on something approaching a regular basis!), and yet my last two check-ups have had less than heartening responses.  Bah.

So to help un-sour my mood, let's turn to fanfic.  Short thoughts on stuff I've recently read, below the break.

Fandom Classics Part 205: A Change in Three Parts

To read the story, click the image or follow this link.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not super bothered about Scarlett Johansson playing the Major in the new Ghost in the Shell movie.  I mean, yes, it's whitewashing, but I guess I don't expect Hollywood to be culturally sensitive to begin with?  My expectations are too low to be really disappointed.  It does kind of bug me that Batou looks so goofy, though.  He really should have, like, 100 more pounds of muscle and ocular prosthetics that don't make him look like he's constantly trying to stare down the tip of his own nose.  That just seems like (aesthetic) common sense, no?

Whatever; I'm probably not going to see the movie anyway (I see so few these days), so I reckon there's no point caring too much.  Instead, let's move on to my review of GaPJAxie's A Change in Three Parts, below the break.

For a Change, Let's Talk About Actual Books (Part 22)

I do like to read things that aren't horsewords sometimes, after all.  So, here's a look at what non-horsewords I'm reading at this very moment, and what I think of them!

Below the break, as always.

Mini-Reviews Round 176

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Go out and enjoy your terrible, terrible green beer if you must; just try not to throw up on me, if you please.  Or if you're not the over-imbibing type, do like me and make yourself some corned beef and soda bread.  Okay, so I'll have a beer or two with that as well... but at least it won't be green beer.

Either way, check below the break for a couple of short reviews, one of which is even seasonal.

Fandom Classics Part 204: The Mare Who Once Lived on the Moon

To read the story, click the image or follow this link.

Just a lil' reminder that if you had any intention of reading and/or voting on any of the stuff in the current writeoff, you've got just over a day left (from when this post goes up, anyway) to do so!  And, since the preliminary round is over, your odds of guessing which fic I wrote have risen from 1:19 to 1:10.  Come give it a shot!

But while you're here, maybe start by checking out my review of MrNumbers' The Mare Who Once Lived on the Moon.

Mini-Reviews Round 175

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...Mini-reviews, below the break.

The Agony of Excessive Commas

I want to talk about something I see in fanfiction with some regularity: overuse of commas.

Not, mind you, incorrect use of commas; that's another matter altogether, and one that can be much more easily (or at least, more prescriptively) fixed.  No, I'm talking about technically correct sentences which, nevertheless, have too many commas--not too many for accuracy, but too many for aesthetics.  Head down below the break for some explication, and why not to do the thing I don't want you to do.

Fandom Classics Part 203: It's Elementary, My Dear Rainbow

To read the story, click the image or follow this link.

So, I wrote a story for the original fiction writeoff over the weekend.  I tried something different this time around, and I'm pretty sure my story is going to completely tank in the voting.  But hey, at least it won't screw up my ponyfic stories score, right?  I'll be Chris: that guy who writes nice pony stories, and who's terrible without that crutch.

So yeah, if you want to read some not-ponyfic, give the writeoff a look.  Vote for a few stories, see if you can figure out which one is mine (I won't be telling until after voting's over, but if you guess right, I'll give you an as-yet undetermined fabulous prize!), and all that jazz.  But first, head down below the break to read my review of bats' It's Elementary, My Dear Rainbow.

Mini-Reviews Round 174

I saw a piece of pony merch at school this week which I hadn't previously been aware of: one of my girls came in wearing a fake ponytail, neon pink, with Pinkie Pie's image helpfully emblazoned on the top.  It doesn't exactly look natural, but I thought it was pretty cute.  Speaking of cute things, let's do a cute-themed round of mini-reviews!  Get them below the break, as always.

Fandom Classics Part 202: The Brightest and the Best

To read the story, click the image or follow this link.

Hey, a story about testing!  I can relate to that!  In fact, that yellow-and-purple mare's dull-eyed ennui in the face of yet another round of score-assigning is one I'm relating to extremely hard right now.

Will I relate to the story proper as well as I do to its screenshot-coverart?  Only one way to find out!  Head down below to see my review of Pineta's The Brightest and the Best.