Title: One Year of Solitude
Author: Deadwoodpecker
Rating: T
Genre: Mystery
Status: WIP, 12k words
Summary: After the battle, Harry wakes up to a strange new world.
Link: http://www.siye.co.uk/siye/viewstory.php?sid=127972

My review:

4/5


Edit by Minion, Dec. 10, 2012
Dead link is dead. If you know where to find another copy of the story, please inform the library staff.

 

It's a creepy story. Not like Ruskbyte's HP/Hellraiser short, but in a more subdued way. Engaging writing, excellent characterization - I'll be following this one. 4/5

 

I honestly quite liked it, i'll be following this as well. I think it deserves a spot in the library.

4/5

 

I agree with the prior posters. I'm a sucker for dark mysteries and Ella delivers that in spades. I think I'm most fond of her characterizations of Hermione and her Neville. Usually, I find Neville boring (unless he's taken far OOC), but not so here. Of her stories, this is my favorite.

My only minor complaint is that she had posted through a few more chapters, then accidentally deleted the works. With her repost, she hasn't quite gotten up to where she had posted before.

I'm giving it a tentative 5/5 because, having read her other stuff, I have confidence she can deliver on such an auspicious start.

 

"Creepy" does not BEGIN to cover this story. It's terrifying. I'm having to firmly control the urge to look over my shoulder.

Great stuff.
5/5

 

Don't have a detailed review. Writing is solid. The pace is helping to create the atmosphere in which the abrupt happenings of the story don't seem so abrupt. Smart writing, I think, because of that.

Library worthy but the story has to develop more.

Definitely agreed with Taure over Ron's characterization. Big plus.

 

What N said, for sure. The atmosphere looks to be a pretty important part of this story, and I'm glad the author is taking the time to develop it.

It's nice to see a story where Ron is actually a good friend and sticks with Harry, even when no one else seems to. I like that Neville seems to be with him on that score, too. Especially the simultaneous question they ask at the end of Ch. 7. It'll be very interesting to see where this one goes.

 

Bookmarked, the story needs be more developed before we can see where the author is taking it.

The writing and characterization is excellent so far though.

 

So far, it's excellent. You're left wondering wtf is happening at the end of every chapter and as long as it continues like thi 4.5/5

 

This certainly didn't disappoint. Guilt trips aren't exactly my cup of tea most of the time, but they work pretty well here, and help set the mood. The creepiness of the story is extremely welcomed, and Harry's dissociation with the world around him keeps the reader wondering. The author seems to be pretty talented, It definitely looks like this could turn into something extremely interesting.

Round this up to 5/5.

 

The wtf factor is definitely very intriguing. I don't even know where I would begin in trying to solve this mystery. I would say some sort of mass enchantment (that maybe broke on Kingsley after the dementor attack) but I'm not really sure. This is great so far, and I'm sure it'll continue to be so. 5/5

 

I read this awhile back so the details are a little bit fuzzy to me but it was quite enjoyable as I recall. Her other fics characters were actually well characterized so this should be no different. The transition from canon to this is well done and pretty believable in a WTF sort of way. 4/5

 

From the fact that Kingsley was saying "Sorry Harry" as his worst memory, I find it more likely that Kingsley is responsible, at least in part, for whatever is happening, and that he doesn't like it but considers it a necessary evil.

 

I hope it is not some fucked up reason like to give him a normal rest of his life Kingsley cast a spell on Harry to make people less reliant on him which backfired into mass hate as we see.

Also, I liked Ginny's reaction. For someone traumatized by Tom Riddle I can understand the disgust at crushing on and kissing someone with a part of Tom Riddle in them. It's twisted but believable - much better than the usual plot devices used to make Weasleys hate Harry.

 

I'll leave you with the last lines from the current last chapter



"What the hell is going on?" they asked, in unison.




Because honestly I would love to know. Now I just have to come back from the edge of my seat. And wait for a stupid update.

This is going to make an excellent addition to the library

5/5

 

I read the next few chapters before they were deleted; I assure you, the quality stays high. (The chapter with Neville confronting Hermione is very good).

For what it's worth, if you can stomach reading a story with Ginny (not Ginny-Sue), Ella's story, "Backward with Purpose," is among the most readable "way-back machine" do-over fics out there. Because it portrays Ron and Ginny both as sympathetic characters, it's obviously not DLP Library material, yet it's still quite good. I've not yet read the sequel (The Book of Albus), but it's nearing completion.

Spoiler

The scene in BWP with Harry and Ginny getting caught in a state of undress by Molly the summer after his second year itself makes it worth reading.

 

Yeah I read Backwards with Purpose yesterday; it was quite good, though nowhere near as high a quality a fic as this one in terms of technical brilliance.

 

I loved the beginning of BWP, but it seemed to be falling into the Canon Trap many rewrites fall into, at least in some regards. I also get annoyed when the Prophet turns HP into a villain, and everyone and his best friend's grandmother believes it. Just a personal quirk of mine, I guess. I'll probably get back into it some day, and I suspect I'll enjoy it quite a lot.

Back on topic: At first I thought everything had changed because it was just a nightmare or whatever. But now that almost everyone seems to have been possessed by their alter ego, the possibility of something sinister being at work grows ever more likely.

 

It seems the author has taken the story down. Does anyone know what's up with that?

 

I saw that too. I asked the author via PM, but have not yet heard from her.