Stephan Sokolow's Blog

A Friend In Deed by FFML Tim

Length: Oneshot
Sources: Harry Potter
Rating: 4/5

Well, there I was, sitting at my computer trying to think of what to review when I didn’t have time to re-read something else on my TODO list. Obviously, the answer came to me in the form of a Fanfiction.net “New Story Alert” e-mail.

“A Friend In Deed” is a reasonably successful attempt to write a Harry/Fleur shipper without resorting to boring cliché. I prefer to see it as the first Harry/Fleur shipper I know which doesn’t go overboard, is reasonably believable, and doesn’t go on and on, diluting the plot with events which, in all honesty, are just filler.

If you like Harry/Fleur, or if you’re curious about how it might actually work, try this. Now I’m going to get back to my assigned coursework.

Feel Like A Woman by Dragon Man 180 & Jedi Mistress 1990

Length: 11 Chapters, Ongoing
Sources: Naruto
Rating: 4.5/5

Ok, show of hands: How many people have read a fic that was so crazy it worked? Well, this story almost qualifies. It’s crazy, but I’m not entirely certain how much of it’s success is due to the crazy idea and how much is just plain quality.

Anyway, “Feel Like A Woman” is an entertaining look at what happens when creative people jump on the cliché bandwagon. Why did Uchiha Itachi massacre his clan? Because, no thanks to Uchiha Fugaku, she grew up disguised as a boy.

Yes, the concept seems crazy, but this is one of those cases which shows that, with enough skill, an author can make just about any plot work. In this case, the main reason it does work is because the two co-authors recognize the importance of character-centric storytelling and creative use of original events.

The story focuses on Itachi as she grows up along with the people who she interacts with. Naturally, various people find out but, for better or worse, they agree to keep her secret. It’s not complete yet, but given the quality of the storytelling, I’m hopeful that the authors will be able to transition their protagonist to an antagonist without totally botching the job.

Any Star Wars fans should recognize how similar the relationship between this Itachi and canon Itachi is to Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. I still don’t think George Lucas managed to pull that one off very well.

Anyway, a great story and well worth the read.

Stranger Than Fiction by DsirinWsdm

Length: 12 Chapters, Ongoing
Sources: Naruto
Rating: 5/5

“What if, during the time skip, Naruto wrote an autobiographical novel which became a runaway best-seller?” That’s the question “Stranger Than Fiction” asks, and it does a masterful job.

Like most really good character-centric stories, this story works to elaborate on existing characters in a canon-compatible fashion, rather than creating an alternate universe. It doesn’t succeed as wildly as “Pet Project” (Harry Potter) at convincing you that the facets were there all along, but it’s still a very nice read. Of course, I am rather biased in favor of stories which reveal a character’s true depth to the other characters, rather than just to the reader.

The author occasionally mixes tenses, and makes the odd homophone-related mix-up, but all in all, a very nice story and one that’s definitely worthy of it’s 5/5 rating.

The Demon Prince of Konoha by IEatChicken

Length: 14 Chapters, Ongoing
Sources: Naruto
Rating: 5/5

Some people (my brother, for example) consider OOCness to be unforgivable while others (myself included) are willing to overlook or even applaud such a change if the story is written well enough. In truth, the only difference between OOCness and an entertaining alternate universe is quality.

In “The Demon Prince of Konoha”, the aspects which are altered are Kyuubi and Naruto. However, in this story, I didn’t care. The author had successfully worked around that by plotting and writing well enough that it became unimportant. It also helps that it’s one of those few stories which chooses to be a shipper and dedicates itself to the task, rather than seemingly waffling as it tries to make up it’s mind.

The basic plot is that, as a little kid, Naruto was driven from the village. Kyuubi took pity on him and, now that the canon-timeline Chuunin exams have rolled around, he has become a legend: The Demon Prince of the Forest.

Of course, don’t take my word for it. This is one of those stories where the writing style is very important to the end result. The best I can do is to say that this story gets much of it’s quality from deliberately contrasting this Naruto with his canonical counterpart.

Heck, my only complaint about it is that the author included a chapter or two which are just author notes. Irritating, but only momentarily.