Read it Later story count: 107 (-2)
I'm planning on an author spotlight edition of PR at some point in the next month or two. I've actually mentioned this author before in that context, but I've never actually had the time to make the post. You'll have to wait to find out who it actually is! One clue: they haven't had a story reviewed here this year. In the meantime, here's the usual hotch-potch to be going on with.
The Buffalo Telegraph by Horse Voice
Flash Sentry by shortskirtsandexplosions
Gift of the Heart by Apple Jewel
★: 0 | ★★: 2 | ★★★: 0 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.
Troubleshoes, Daring Do and Other
Romance/Adventure; 9k words; Jun 2017; Teen
The Buffalo Telegraph told Clyde that a stranger was coming to call. It did not tell him that she was carrying something dangerous, or that evil people were close behind her. And it certainly did not tell him how much she would someday mean to him.
From an author still best known for horror, here's a fic for fans of unusual pairings – though here it's almost entirely in the team-up sense; the story is only marginally worthy of that [Romance] tag, really. As an adventure it's very good, although despite Daring Do's role you shouldn't expect a romp through ancient temples and the like. Instead Daring is in danger and finds herself at the house of Troubleshoes Clyde (now settled down; this is set well after "Appleoosa's Most Wanted"). A lot of this fic is simply dialogue between the two, but it's so well done that this is a treat. Body language as well as verbal, and there's plenty of interesting world-building. Indeed, the title itself refers to one such aspect. Horse Voice even successfully introduces an artefact which could so easily have become groan-worthy given... well, spoilers! But bar the disappointingly thin romantic element, this is just all-round great. ★★★★
Flash Sentry by shortskirtsandexplosions
Flash Sentry and Mane Seven (EqG)
Equestria Girls/Slice of Life; 1k words; Apr 2019; Everyone
Flash Sentry is a young teenage boy who attends Canterlot High School.
This story appeared on 1st April, and I can't help feel that was deliberate. Still... this is a day in Flash's life as an ordinary guy at an ordinary high school. For the most part, this can be read as a slightly sad story about Flash's determination to be, well, an ordinary guy. Just... read it carefully. If you do; I may well be missing something here (given the author, it's highly likely) but even with the "blink" moment I didn't get all that much out of this. ★★
Gift of the Heart by Apple Jewel
Pear Butter, Bright Mac, Applejack and Spoiled Rich [well, still Spoiled Milk here]
Slice of Life; 1k words; Jul 2017; Everyone
Buttercup is excited to buy her daughter a fancy gift, yet when Spoiled Milk shows up to rain on her day. She will learn what makes a gift special to the heart.
A simple tale of Applejack's parents, especially her mother's love for her. There's not a lot to it, beyond that and Spoiled being as much of a sweetly caring mare as you'd expect her to be, but that does make it easy reading. The ending is quite sweet, too. One or two slightly weird technical errors (eg direct speech ending with a question mark and a comma) but this isn't too bad. This didn't stick in my mind, but it was a relaxing read while I was reading it. Another two, but a decent one. ★★
Next time around, stories reviewed should include TheKissOfTheVoid's Nightmare Moon tale The Nightmare Omen.
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