In truth this is not something I thought I'd be writing in 2022, but I'm delighted to say there's a new reviewer on the block. Ghost Mike, known to many of you here as Mike Cartoon Karma, the provider of those long and fascinating comments about production changes on Friendship is Magic episodes, is branching out! His Monday Musings will appear every... well, guess. I wish him a long and happy career in ponyfic blogging.
On the basis of the first edition, Mike's reviews will be a very welcome addition to the scene. He's said he's unlikely to review many longfics on time grounds, which is fair enough! If I had to pick an existing reviewer that Mike's approach reminds me the most of, it would be PaulAsaran, though naturally he has his own quirks. The reviews are medium length, meaning several paras each (which may be slight overkill for a 2k-word one-shot) but not so long you need a run-up each time.
This week Mike has reviewed seven fics, but he says in his intro that five is the likely amount he'll settle at. The whole post is a bit over 4,000 words, with substantial intro and outro sections, so it's not something you can skim in 30 seconds but nor is it something you'll need to invest hours into. He also uses a seven-point rating scheme, running from Excellent at the top to Bad at the bottom, though no fic this week ends up with either of those.
Oh Logan, you're making me blush white! Not that one can see it, of course. I didn't expect a signal boost, and at most I thought I'd get a side mention in a Ponyfic Roundup. Even the gentlepony, you are.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to pick an existing reviewer that Mike's approach reminds me the most of, it would be PaulAsaran
Very fair! A lot of that is Fimfiction formatting, though I shamelessly pulled Titanium Dragon's "put the fic title, pic and info in a quote box" strategy. The comparison isn't really a surprise, it'd be hard to be similar to yourself or Present Perfect's bite-sized reviews, and TCC56 does recommendations blogs, quite a bit different. I'm sure more stylistic differences will emerge over time.
he says in his intro that five is the likely amount he'll settle at.
Poor phrasing on my part – I meant five would be the minimum going forward, least for now. It may often be bigger for any number of reasons: mostly short fics, a theme or author spotlight, related fics being paired, wanting to shrink my backlog more, or just because I feel like it.
The whole post is a bit over 4,000 words, with substantial intro and outro sections, so it's not something you can skim in 30 seconds but nor is it something you'll need to invest hours into.
Ha, always living up to an reputation, aren't I? In all seriousness, even discounting that lengthy intro (and an outdo at all) being a once-off, the reviews have gotten more compact since I started doing them. Back then, the word count ranged from 250-650; now, unless the fic is long enough to justify more, they're in the 200-400 range. Those 2K fics especially, while still a few paragraphs, get in and out quickly. Just refinement with practice, you know. And they'd be even shorter if, like yourself, I just pasted the fic's description, rather than writing my own (another thing PaulArasan is known for, though Titanium Dragon did this on top of quoting the fic's blurb). So the blogs will be much sleeker going forward! Just not the one-paragraph affairs you specialise in.
He also uses a seven-point rating scheme, running from Excellent at the top to Bad at the bottom
I will probably see about renaming the tiers' titles soon, they're a bit simple and reductive, though the rating criteria (visible in the bookshelves and which I will elaborate on a future Monday), will remain. For now, here's how they'd compare to your rating scheme:
★★★★★: Excellent
★★★★: Really Good-Excellent
★★★: Good-Pretty Good
★★: Weak-Decent-Good
★: Bad-Weak
I used to have an extra tier at the top (Best) and the bottom (Terrible), but I decided the former was redundant (I suppose it's the equivalent of the old ★★★★★★ rating!) and the latter only needs to be pulled out for no-rating fics.
Anyway, anyone who happens upon me as a result of Logan's generous signal boost, I hope you like what you read!
Hey, it's a big deal having a new regular reviewer around the place! I can't even remember the last newcomer in that vein, as opposed to rec blogs or one-off signal boosts. The fact that yours are so readable is just the cherry on top. :)
DeleteYay! I shall have to follow Mike so I can keep up with these.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure he'll be happy to hear it! :)
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