This is a scheduled post as I'm expecting to be away on New Year's Eve. This is a Special Edition of PR, in which I concentrate on just one story. As the subtitle today may suggest, it's a tale in which Rule 63-ery takes centre stage. It's also another of the most popular stories in the fandom's history, and one which has had plenty of influence since. Before I get on to that, though, I hope everyone will have a very good 2015! Now then...
On a Cross and Arrow by Conner Cogwork
Mane Six, CMC, Spike, Celestia, Snips, Snails, Mayor Mare, Angel, Opalescence, Owlowiscious, Derpy, Lyra, Bon Bon, Doctor Whooves, OCs, Old Uncle Tom Cob-Neigh and All
Romance/Comedy/Adventure; 86K words; Sep 2011; Everyone
Twilight gets a spell wrong, sending the Mane Six across dimensions to... Ponyville! But in this Ponyville, there's one important difference... everyone is gender-swapped. (This story popularised, though didn't originate, Rule 63 names like Dusk Shine and Butterscotch.) Does this mean shipping? Oh yes, with variable results for both ponies and reader. Characterisation is decent for the most part, and there are some amusing sequences, which are generally better than the serious stuff. A big problem is the writing itself: it's not impossibly bad, but it suffers from messy style and misplaced punctuation throughout. It also has Lavender Unicorn Syndrome on a truly heroic scale, surpassing even It's a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door (PR 13) on that score. That makes it, frankly, wearying to read, and helps pull its score right down to 5/10.
As usual with a Special Edition review, there's more to come, including plenty of spoilers, after the break!
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
Monday, 29 December 2014
The Louder Yay Awards 2014
This is just a bit of fun, so please don't take it too seriously! But 2014 has been an interesting year in ponydom, and I thought I'd share with you a few of my own highlights and lowlights. Well, all right, it's just going to be the highlights, since this is the festive season! Note that I'm not awarding "best episode" now, since that's been decided long since: it was "Filli Vanilli", and that's all there is to it. "Twilight's Kingdom" was brilliant, as was "Pinkie Pride" and as (more surprisingly) was Rainbow Rocks, but none of those had Fluttershy being quite so ridiculously adorable throughout.
Best social event
The Worcester meetups continued to be excellent; I truly think ours are among the best ponymeets in the country. I also went to a couple of Leicester meets, which were enjoyable too. But the two conventions really stood out: there was BUCK in August, which was on a scale never before (and probably never again) seen... but the award goes to UK PonyCon, which proved to be a wonderful surprise. The best atmosphere of any pony event I've ever been to, excellent value and (barring crowding issues) enormous fun throughout.
Best commercial supplier
I remain perhaps the only brony in Britain never to have ordered anything from Mare Play, but I've obtained stuff from plenty of other sources. The inevitable Forbidden Planet, though the MLP range in the Birmingham branch isn't very big. Tesco and Sainsbury's did better than the old stalwart Asda for blind bags and the like, while Redbubble continued to serve my T-shirt needs well. The winner, though, is Level Seven Comics, who proved that good old-fashioned customer service can be the most important factor of all.
Best website
I'm excluding UK of Equestria from consideration, given my position on its staff, although I do genuinely think it's very good! I did read Equestria Daily a little more this year, and even made the odd comment, but it remains just too large and unwieldy for my tastes. Derpy News remained a useful alternative source of pony information, but it's Fimfiction that takes the prize. Knighty retained his tendency to be unnecessarily abrasive at times, but the fact is that the site works, and does so much better than any other fanfiction platform I've used.
Best official fiction
This section is pretty much a G. M. Berrow benefit, but Amy Keating Rogers' Journal of the Two Sisters deserves mention. It isn't as good as The Elements of Harmony that came before, but is still a useful reference for more serious fans. Berrow's chapter books continued to appear, and the best of a generally good bunch was probably Rarity and the Curious Case of Charity, which turned out to be a very satisfying tale. The fact that I had a copy signed by the author at BUCK has absolutely no bearing on this award, honest!
Best fanfiction
If you've been following Ponyfic Roundup since the start, then you'll know that only two fics have gained a 10/10 rating. As such, I'm making this a joint award: we have Blueshift's remarkable So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish, which snares readers by appearing to be a silly Blueshiftian comedy and turning out to be a highly moving exploration of friendship. The other winner is Lucky Dreams' astonishing In the Place the Wild Horses Sleep, which forever puts to rest the notion that Human-tagged tales can't be masterpieces of ponyfic literature.
Best comic
I don't really pay much attention to fan-made comics (or indeed fanart in general) so I'm concentrating on the licensed IDW titles here. 2014 was a pretty variable year for these, seeing both some of the worst comics thus far released and some of the best. It's the latter I'm interested in today, though, and it comes down to two Friends Forever issues. The Applejack/Rarity pairing was very enjoyable, and showed the best of the Cook/Price/Breckel gang, but the overall prize here goes to a recent comic: the Twilight/Pinkie Friends Forever was just what this side series should be: light-hearted, funny and a good read all round.
Best official music
This is one of the hardest awards to, er, award, given that every episode of the show from "Rarity Takes Manehattan" onwards, plus Rainbow Rocks, are eligible. From TV, there was Fluttershy's singing in "Filli Vanilli", just about every song in "Pinkie Pride" and the finale's "You'll Play Your Part". The film gave us "Under Our Spell", while the "Welcome to the Show"/"Rainbooms Battle" climactic battle scene is spine-tingling in context, though much less so on the soundtrack album. But I'm plumping for "Shine Like Rainbows". Simple, heartfelt and uplifting: just what MLP should be.
Best fan-made music
Aviators does a lot more non-pony than pony stuff these days, and though it's also very good it's not eligible for this award. However, he hasn't abandoned brony music altogether: "Set Me Free", about Luna's banishment, was an excellent example, but it's "Revenge" that takes first place for me. Although Aviators' voice isn't the perfect fit for a harsh song about Tirek, he makes it work. Special mention also to Evening Star's "Starswirl the Bearded", which has a suitably epic feel.
Best social event
The Worcester meetups continued to be excellent; I truly think ours are among the best ponymeets in the country. I also went to a couple of Leicester meets, which were enjoyable too. But the two conventions really stood out: there was BUCK in August, which was on a scale never before (and probably never again) seen... but the award goes to UK PonyCon, which proved to be a wonderful surprise. The best atmosphere of any pony event I've ever been to, excellent value and (barring crowding issues) enormous fun throughout.
Best commercial supplier
I remain perhaps the only brony in Britain never to have ordered anything from Mare Play, but I've obtained stuff from plenty of other sources. The inevitable Forbidden Planet, though the MLP range in the Birmingham branch isn't very big. Tesco and Sainsbury's did better than the old stalwart Asda for blind bags and the like, while Redbubble continued to serve my T-shirt needs well. The winner, though, is Level Seven Comics, who proved that good old-fashioned customer service can be the most important factor of all.
Best website
I'm excluding UK of Equestria from consideration, given my position on its staff, although I do genuinely think it's very good! I did read Equestria Daily a little more this year, and even made the odd comment, but it remains just too large and unwieldy for my tastes. Derpy News remained a useful alternative source of pony information, but it's Fimfiction that takes the prize. Knighty retained his tendency to be unnecessarily abrasive at times, but the fact is that the site works, and does so much better than any other fanfiction platform I've used.
Best official fiction
This section is pretty much a G. M. Berrow benefit, but Amy Keating Rogers' Journal of the Two Sisters deserves mention. It isn't as good as The Elements of Harmony that came before, but is still a useful reference for more serious fans. Berrow's chapter books continued to appear, and the best of a generally good bunch was probably Rarity and the Curious Case of Charity, which turned out to be a very satisfying tale. The fact that I had a copy signed by the author at BUCK has absolutely no bearing on this award, honest!
Best fanfiction
If you've been following Ponyfic Roundup since the start, then you'll know that only two fics have gained a 10/10 rating. As such, I'm making this a joint award: we have Blueshift's remarkable So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish, which snares readers by appearing to be a silly Blueshiftian comedy and turning out to be a highly moving exploration of friendship. The other winner is Lucky Dreams' astonishing In the Place the Wild Horses Sleep, which forever puts to rest the notion that Human-tagged tales can't be masterpieces of ponyfic literature.
Best comic
I don't really pay much attention to fan-made comics (or indeed fanart in general) so I'm concentrating on the licensed IDW titles here. 2014 was a pretty variable year for these, seeing both some of the worst comics thus far released and some of the best. It's the latter I'm interested in today, though, and it comes down to two Friends Forever issues. The Applejack/Rarity pairing was very enjoyable, and showed the best of the Cook/Price/Breckel gang, but the overall prize here goes to a recent comic: the Twilight/Pinkie Friends Forever was just what this side series should be: light-hearted, funny and a good read all round.
Best official music
This is one of the hardest awards to, er, award, given that every episode of the show from "Rarity Takes Manehattan" onwards, plus Rainbow Rocks, are eligible. From TV, there was Fluttershy's singing in "Filli Vanilli", just about every song in "Pinkie Pride" and the finale's "You'll Play Your Part". The film gave us "Under Our Spell", while the "Welcome to the Show"/"Rainbooms Battle" climactic battle scene is spine-tingling in context, though much less so on the soundtrack album. But I'm plumping for "Shine Like Rainbows". Simple, heartfelt and uplifting: just what MLP should be.
Best fan-made music
Aviators does a lot more non-pony than pony stuff these days, and though it's also very good it's not eligible for this award. However, he hasn't abandoned brony music altogether: "Set Me Free", about Luna's banishment, was an excellent example, but it's "Revenge" that takes first place for me. Although Aviators' voice isn't the perfect fit for a harsh song about Tirek, he makes it work. Special mention also to Evening Star's "Starswirl the Bearded", which has a suitably epic feel.
Sunday, 28 December 2014
Ponyfic Roundup is changing!
Okay, it isn't really. Well, not much. I'm still going to be reviewing several stories on a generally weekly basis. I'm still going to have some themed posts. I'm still going to rate primarily on how much I enjoyed a fic. What is changing is the scoring system. I've decided that marks out of ten are fairly pointless; as I said earlier, nobody really cares whether a fic scores 7 or 7.5/10. So I'm going over to a simple and straightforward star-rating system, as follows:
★★★★★ : Outstanding. These are stories that I'm kicking myself for not having read earlier, that leave me open-mouthed with admiration, that do something truly original on a grand scale... the top-notchers, in other words. (Equates to 9+ on the old system.)
★★★★ : Very Good. These are stories that I had a lot of fun reading and would happily read again, and that I could easily recommend. However, they may have small niggles or flaws that prevent their reaching true greatness. (Equates to 8 to 8.5 on the old system.)
★★★ : Good. There are likely to be plenty of stories in this class, meaning that I enjoyed them but that they didn't do enough to stick in my mind in the longer term. Some fics here could have been four-star stories with only minor improvements. (Equates to 6 to 7.5 on the old system.)
★★ : Meh. In this category will be placed those stories that didn't really move me either way. They didn't make me wish I could write like that; they didn't make me wish the author had a clue. Read, shrugged, moved on, basically. (Equates to 4 to 5.5 on the old system.)
★ : Poor. To finish with a one-star rating, a story must either suffer from such poor writing as to make it truly a trial to get through, be outright objectionable in some way or include content that I really do not like. (Equates to 3.5 or below on the old system.)
The New Year's Eve edition of Ponyfic Roundup will be the last to use the out-of-ten scoring system; star ratings will be instituted with the first PR of 2015. As long as it seems to work okay, I intend to continue using the star system as described above for the foreseeable future.
★★★★★ : Outstanding. These are stories that I'm kicking myself for not having read earlier, that leave me open-mouthed with admiration, that do something truly original on a grand scale... the top-notchers, in other words. (Equates to 9+ on the old system.)
★★★★ : Very Good. These are stories that I had a lot of fun reading and would happily read again, and that I could easily recommend. However, they may have small niggles or flaws that prevent their reaching true greatness. (Equates to 8 to 8.5 on the old system.)
★★★ : Good. There are likely to be plenty of stories in this class, meaning that I enjoyed them but that they didn't do enough to stick in my mind in the longer term. Some fics here could have been four-star stories with only minor improvements. (Equates to 6 to 7.5 on the old system.)
★★ : Meh. In this category will be placed those stories that didn't really move me either way. They didn't make me wish I could write like that; they didn't make me wish the author had a clue. Read, shrugged, moved on, basically. (Equates to 4 to 5.5 on the old system.)
★ : Poor. To finish with a one-star rating, a story must either suffer from such poor writing as to make it truly a trial to get through, be outright objectionable in some way or include content that I really do not like. (Equates to 3.5 or below on the old system.)
The New Year's Eve edition of Ponyfic Roundup will be the last to use the out-of-ten scoring system; star ratings will be instituted with the first PR of 2015. As long as it seems to work okay, I intend to continue using the star system as described above for the foreseeable future.
Friday, 26 December 2014
Cons, cons everywhere!
Well, everywhere in the UK, that is. In the last few days and weeks, we've seen no fewer than four pony conventions announced for 2015 in this country, plus another one for 2016. Two of the events in question are returning after successful outings last year, while another two are newcomers aiming to take advantage of the absence of BUCK next year. And talking of BUCK, the behemoth of British brony bashes will be coming back as well, albeit not until 2016. So, here's the run-down:
Great British Brony Convention – 24/25/26 July, Manchester
A completely new venture, the GBBC takes the "BUCK replacement" concept almost literally by being held in the Manchester Conference Centre, only a few hundred yards down the road from Manchester Central itself. This con is intended as a one-off event, as the organisers don't wish to compete directly with BUCK when that returns (see below). Nevertheless, it takes several cues from that con, such as a Friday night concert. Captain Hoers and Mush have already announced their attendance, but it's highly ambitious, especially with another con happening 40 miles down the road just a month later...
My Little Convention – 29/30 August, Southport
Another newcomer for 2015, this con's venue has been announced as the Floral Hall in the Merseyside/Lancashire resort. Early bird tickets are already on sale (£45 for Standard tier) and planned events include a Saturday night concert, an area for up-and-coming musicians (apparently modelled on BUCK's Cadance Stage) and the inevitable CCG tournament. No guests have been announced yet. MLC was originally planned for Norwich, but has chosen to move across country for better transport links – although holding the con over a Bank Holiday inevitably means that there'll be rail engineering works to contend with.
UK PonyCon 2015 – 10/11 October, Leicester
This is a two-day convention covering the entire My Little Pony fandom, with a strong emphasis on collectors but also catering for families, bronies and other ponyish types. This means that the attendee profile (and therefore the atmosphere) is very different from other cons, with everyone from young children to grandparents coming along. The venue, the Mercure Grand Hotel, is the same as this year's, but 2015 will see the con gain the use of the entire hotel, not just half of it as happened this year. This should do a lot to alleviate the crowding problems that affected it in 2014.
BronyScot – "October/November", Edinburgh
Scotland's very own brony con faced challenges in its debut year, resulting in the decision to reduce the planned two days to one. This disappointing outcome was responsibly handled, though. This, together with good organisation, resulted in a well-received convention, so it's good to see it returning in 2015. After an unfortunate clash of dates with UK PonyCon last year, the two organising teams are on good terms and have made sure that this won't happen again. The popular Rock Nessie concert is set to return, while tickets look likely to remain attractively priced.
BUCK – "early 2016", venue TBA
Yes, the big beast of the UK pony convention scene is returning, probably in a new spring slot. Plenty still needs to be thrashed out before exact details will be made public, but I can guess at several things: it will be the biggest of all the British conventions, the tickets will be the most expensive, it will have the best range of guests and events and it will be the most slickly run event. BUCK's membership of the European Pony Convention Union is also a big plus, indicating that it abides by a number of rules to protect con-goers and staff alike.
Great British Brony Convention – 24/25/26 July, Manchester
A completely new venture, the GBBC takes the "BUCK replacement" concept almost literally by being held in the Manchester Conference Centre, only a few hundred yards down the road from Manchester Central itself. This con is intended as a one-off event, as the organisers don't wish to compete directly with BUCK when that returns (see below). Nevertheless, it takes several cues from that con, such as a Friday night concert. Captain Hoers and Mush have already announced their attendance, but it's highly ambitious, especially with another con happening 40 miles down the road just a month later...
My Little Convention – 29/30 August, Southport
Another newcomer for 2015, this con's venue has been announced as the Floral Hall in the Merseyside/Lancashire resort. Early bird tickets are already on sale (£45 for Standard tier) and planned events include a Saturday night concert, an area for up-and-coming musicians (apparently modelled on BUCK's Cadance Stage) and the inevitable CCG tournament. No guests have been announced yet. MLC was originally planned for Norwich, but has chosen to move across country for better transport links – although holding the con over a Bank Holiday inevitably means that there'll be rail engineering works to contend with.
UK PonyCon 2015 – 10/11 October, Leicester
This is a two-day convention covering the entire My Little Pony fandom, with a strong emphasis on collectors but also catering for families, bronies and other ponyish types. This means that the attendee profile (and therefore the atmosphere) is very different from other cons, with everyone from young children to grandparents coming along. The venue, the Mercure Grand Hotel, is the same as this year's, but 2015 will see the con gain the use of the entire hotel, not just half of it as happened this year. This should do a lot to alleviate the crowding problems that affected it in 2014.
BronyScot – "October/November", Edinburgh
Scotland's very own brony con faced challenges in its debut year, resulting in the decision to reduce the planned two days to one. This disappointing outcome was responsibly handled, though. This, together with good organisation, resulted in a well-received convention, so it's good to see it returning in 2015. After an unfortunate clash of dates with UK PonyCon last year, the two organising teams are on good terms and have made sure that this won't happen again. The popular Rock Nessie concert is set to return, while tickets look likely to remain attractively priced.
BUCK – "early 2016", venue TBA
Yes, the big beast of the UK pony convention scene is returning, probably in a new spring slot. Plenty still needs to be thrashed out before exact details will be made public, but I can guess at several things: it will be the biggest of all the British conventions, the tickets will be the most expensive, it will have the best range of guests and events and it will be the most slickly run event. BUCK's membership of the European Pony Convention Union is also a big plus, indicating that it abides by a number of rules to protect con-goers and staff alike.
Wednesday, 24 December 2014
Ponyfic Roundup 36: Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?
For the Hearth's Warming Eve edition of Ponyfic Roundup, I thought I'd do something different, so this time I'm looking at six stories written by other reviewers! The six were chosen as all having published at least 100 reviews, as entered in Griffin's Big Master Review List. I chose one fic from each person, deciding simply on the basis of what looked interesting. If I've ended up selecting a story you'd rather everyone had forgotten about, then I can only apologise! Anyway...
Pick of the fics
Every Mare Needs Her Stallion by InquisitorM
Fluttershy and Rarity
Sad/Slice of Life; 8K words; Feb 2014; Everyone
Fluttershy, having lost her cool (off-screen) earlier, turns up at Rarity's... but she's far from the embarrassed mare Rarity expected. A really interesting story that challenges its reader, though it's one I'm far from sure I've entirely got to grips with myself. There are undercurrents galore, and the ponies frequently behave slightly unexpectedly – Fluttershy especially – though the writing is such that this simply makes their characterisation feel more believable. You can't skim any of this: a phrase as simple as "second most beautiful" can, in context, make the reader's eyes fly open. The story's basic agenda is fairly obvious by the end, but I still can't shake the feeling that I've missed something somewhere. It's an impressive piece of writing, but my enjoyment suffered very slightly simply because it was so demanding. 8.5/10
Other stories
Going Up by Chris
Derpy and Carrot Top
Slice of Life; 5K words; Dec 2012; Everyone
This is yer actual children's story, which is a rare thing indeed and reminds me of the amazing In the Place the Wild Horses Sleep (PR 20). It's not quite that good, but this is nevertheless a charming little tale of the friendship between the two principals, who make an odd couple in the best sense. Carrot Top is unhappy at being earthbound; Derpy wants to cheer up her friend. The way she does so is clever, original and entirely logical; I loved that. You do occasionally notice Chris's teacherly voice coming through ("which I shall attempt to describe") but it doesn't really harm the story. Really nice portrayals of Derpy are few and far between, but this is undoubtedly one of them. 8/10
Laugh, Laugh by PresentPerfect
Pinkie Pie
Sad/Slice of Life; 1K words; Sep 2014; Everyone
Pinkie's inspiration has always been the great clown Ponyacci; now she's heard from him again, but it's not what she'd expected at all. Drawing heavily on the backstory from Pinkie's IDW micro-series comic (to the extent that I'd recommend reading that first) this was actually written for another reason. Read the Author's Note, but not until after you've read the story. Pinkie's narrative voice initially doesn't quite seem right, but read carefully and you'll find the reason for that. One slight mis-step (the "-thingy" stuff just doesn't work) but otherwise a pretty satisfying story all round. 7.5/10
Ponies of Faith by JohnPerry
Mane Six
Comedy; 1K words; Jan 2012; Everyone
Twilight is accosted in the street by a "researcher" from the Church of Magictology. Later, she discusses belief with her friends. This is pretty much the opposite of InquisitorM's story, in that it's absolutely not meant to be a difficult read. It's short, it's silly and it gave me a laugh or two, especially in the early scenes. On the flip side, I didn't like the real-world intrusions: there's one particular reference that I don't think any writer has avoided making cringeworthy, while the punchline it all leads up to probably just doesn't work very well on my side of the Atlantic. I suspect some people would find this hysterically funny; I just shrugged and moved on. 5.5/10
The Potion by Prak
Twilight and Zecora
Sad/Dark; 3K words; Dec 2013; Teen
Twilight has a great idea: ask Zecora to help mass-produce the past-seeing potion from "Princess Twilight Sparkle". Zecora gives Twi a glimpse of the future instead. Prak is one of the surprisingly few authors to have nailed Zecora's dialogue: it's possible to make her rhymes too good, but this fic avoids that trap. On the minus side, I did think elements of the future scenario were a tad overdone, and an apparent strange gap in Celestia's knowledge near the end was a bit hard to swallow. 7/10
Sol Invictus by Soge
Celestia
Human; 3K words; Dec 2013; Everyone
Neither of Soge's published stories use my preferred tags (the other is Alternate Universe) so I chose this one at random. A pilgrim tells the tale of his annual journey with others to the otherworld where Sol Invictus dwells. It's obvious from the start that this means Celestia, but it's still a solid read, especially if you have a sprinkling of third-century Roman history. (It's not often I say that about a ponyfic!) There are a few irritating errors ("an unicorn") and one strangely repeated phrase, but nothing too bad. For those of us who like Celestia, this is a decent choice, albeit more oral history than actual story. 7/10
Pick of the fics
Every Mare Needs Her Stallion by InquisitorM
Fluttershy and Rarity
Sad/Slice of Life; 8K words; Feb 2014; Everyone
Fluttershy, having lost her cool (off-screen) earlier, turns up at Rarity's... but she's far from the embarrassed mare Rarity expected. A really interesting story that challenges its reader, though it's one I'm far from sure I've entirely got to grips with myself. There are undercurrents galore, and the ponies frequently behave slightly unexpectedly – Fluttershy especially – though the writing is such that this simply makes their characterisation feel more believable. You can't skim any of this: a phrase as simple as "second most beautiful" can, in context, make the reader's eyes fly open. The story's basic agenda is fairly obvious by the end, but I still can't shake the feeling that I've missed something somewhere. It's an impressive piece of writing, but my enjoyment suffered very slightly simply because it was so demanding. 8.5/10
Other stories
Going Up by Chris
Derpy and Carrot Top
Slice of Life; 5K words; Dec 2012; Everyone
This is yer actual children's story, which is a rare thing indeed and reminds me of the amazing In the Place the Wild Horses Sleep (PR 20). It's not quite that good, but this is nevertheless a charming little tale of the friendship between the two principals, who make an odd couple in the best sense. Carrot Top is unhappy at being earthbound; Derpy wants to cheer up her friend. The way she does so is clever, original and entirely logical; I loved that. You do occasionally notice Chris's teacherly voice coming through ("which I shall attempt to describe") but it doesn't really harm the story. Really nice portrayals of Derpy are few and far between, but this is undoubtedly one of them. 8/10
Laugh, Laugh by PresentPerfect
Pinkie Pie
Sad/Slice of Life; 1K words; Sep 2014; Everyone
Pinkie's inspiration has always been the great clown Ponyacci; now she's heard from him again, but it's not what she'd expected at all. Drawing heavily on the backstory from Pinkie's IDW micro-series comic (to the extent that I'd recommend reading that first) this was actually written for another reason. Read the Author's Note, but not until after you've read the story. Pinkie's narrative voice initially doesn't quite seem right, but read carefully and you'll find the reason for that. One slight mis-step (the "-thingy" stuff just doesn't work) but otherwise a pretty satisfying story all round. 7.5/10
Ponies of Faith by JohnPerry
Mane Six
Comedy; 1K words; Jan 2012; Everyone
Twilight is accosted in the street by a "researcher" from the Church of Magictology. Later, she discusses belief with her friends. This is pretty much the opposite of InquisitorM's story, in that it's absolutely not meant to be a difficult read. It's short, it's silly and it gave me a laugh or two, especially in the early scenes. On the flip side, I didn't like the real-world intrusions: there's one particular reference that I don't think any writer has avoided making cringeworthy, while the punchline it all leads up to probably just doesn't work very well on my side of the Atlantic. I suspect some people would find this hysterically funny; I just shrugged and moved on. 5.5/10
The Potion by Prak
Twilight and Zecora
Sad/Dark; 3K words; Dec 2013; Teen
Twilight has a great idea: ask Zecora to help mass-produce the past-seeing potion from "Princess Twilight Sparkle". Zecora gives Twi a glimpse of the future instead. Prak is one of the surprisingly few authors to have nailed Zecora's dialogue: it's possible to make her rhymes too good, but this fic avoids that trap. On the minus side, I did think elements of the future scenario were a tad overdone, and an apparent strange gap in Celestia's knowledge near the end was a bit hard to swallow. 7/10
Sol Invictus by Soge
Celestia
Human; 3K words; Dec 2013; Everyone
Neither of Soge's published stories use my preferred tags (the other is Alternate Universe) so I chose this one at random. A pilgrim tells the tale of his annual journey with others to the otherworld where Sol Invictus dwells. It's obvious from the start that this means Celestia, but it's still a solid read, especially if you have a sprinkling of third-century Roman history. (It's not often I say that about a ponyfic!) There are a few irritating errors ("an unicorn") and one strangely repeated phrase, but nothing too bad. For those of us who like Celestia, this is a decent choice, albeit more oral history than actual story. 7/10
Tuesday, 23 December 2014
Book review: The Daring Do Adventure Collection
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| It really is quite a substantial box |
Monday, 22 December 2014
So. Farewell then, Twilight's Library
E. J. Thribb (17½) is really having his work cut out this last week or so. First Everfree Network bit the dust, and now it's RIP Twilight's Library. This news came as a complete surprise to me; many others, especially Fimfiction insiders, probably saw it coming, but not me. Not only did I not read the TL staff forum, I didn't even realise that such a publicly-viewable thing existed until a few hours ago. So all the drama of the last few days is something of which I was blissfully unaware. It's a great shame.
As I've said in my Fimfiction blog, I feel the loss of TL (in its present form, at least) quite keenly. After all, I'm a middling-to-good author (I think) who likes to write sub-2,000-word shortfics. I'm not good enough to get picked up by the RCL, while EqD isn't interested in stories that short. TL was pretty much the only significant place I could submit one of my stories and feel that a) I had a decent chance of acceptance but that b) it wasn't guaranteed. There must be other writers like me out there, now feeling somewhat similar.
Depending on what, if anything, picks up the slack, I think one thing this will do is make reviews even more important. I love getting feedback, more than anything else; obviously I prefer positive feedback, but negative is much better than none. With TL dead and few, if any, other options for writers like me, the only way we're going to get such feedback, rather than just the odd like/favourite, is by having fics reviewed by an actual person. (Or pony, depending.)
The demise of TL has made me think about the future of Ponyfic Roundup. I enjoy doing it and it's not (usually) an excessive amount of work. I might tweak things a bit, especially in terms of ratings: does anyone really care whether a story gets 7/10 or 7.5? A simpler, star-based system has considerable merit in my eyes. But the PR reviews will continue and, especially since most of the mooted replacements for TL concentrate on new fics, I'll continue to feature many older stories.
I'm proud of the fact that all five stories I submitted to TL were accepted first try, and those ribbons will always mean something to me. Just because getting into Twilight's Library didn't require pro-level writing skills doesn't mean it was worthless; far from it. To me, at least, it was a source of encouragement and I really will miss it. Also, It Doesn't Matter Now was the featured fic at closure. That somehow amuses me.
As I've said in my Fimfiction blog, I feel the loss of TL (in its present form, at least) quite keenly. After all, I'm a middling-to-good author (I think) who likes to write sub-2,000-word shortfics. I'm not good enough to get picked up by the RCL, while EqD isn't interested in stories that short. TL was pretty much the only significant place I could submit one of my stories and feel that a) I had a decent chance of acceptance but that b) it wasn't guaranteed. There must be other writers like me out there, now feeling somewhat similar.
Depending on what, if anything, picks up the slack, I think one thing this will do is make reviews even more important. I love getting feedback, more than anything else; obviously I prefer positive feedback, but negative is much better than none. With TL dead and few, if any, other options for writers like me, the only way we're going to get such feedback, rather than just the odd like/favourite, is by having fics reviewed by an actual person. (Or pony, depending.)
The demise of TL has made me think about the future of Ponyfic Roundup. I enjoy doing it and it's not (usually) an excessive amount of work. I might tweak things a bit, especially in terms of ratings: does anyone really care whether a story gets 7/10 or 7.5? A simpler, star-based system has considerable merit in my eyes. But the PR reviews will continue and, especially since most of the mooted replacements for TL concentrate on new fics, I'll continue to feature many older stories.
I'm proud of the fact that all five stories I submitted to TL were accepted first try, and those ribbons will always mean something to me. Just because getting into Twilight's Library didn't require pro-level writing skills doesn't mean it was worthless; far from it. To me, at least, it was a source of encouragement and I really will miss it. Also, It Doesn't Matter Now was the featured fic at closure. That somehow amuses me.
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