I thought the curse on Lucius Malfoy was by far the weakest point of the chapter. The idea that Ron could manage to put a curse on Malfoy, using the druidic magic that Voldemort is a master of, that Voldemort can't notice or do anything about, is ridiculous. That moment yanked me abruptly out of my suspension of disbelief.

On the other hand, I like how Tom's plot is advancing. I honestly don't care about the Hermione situation, but is has led to Harry attempting to further his manipulation and diplomacy skills which is always enjoyable. The Voldemort/Harry interaction was great.

Not a bad chapter.

 

While there were a few painful spelling mistakes, the chapter was great.
I liked the cursing of Lucius and the subsequent blow-up that happened to Ron. It really shows the randomness and danger of Druid magic, which is nice.

 

The premise was intriguing but I almost clicked the big red X as I read about James' potential bi-sexuality and Harry's blushing pillow fights with the Weasley twins, but I stuck through it thanks to the quality of the writing. Only took me a day and a half, but I read through the whole goddamn thing from start to finish. I have to say it's one of the best stories of its size I've read since the Hero trilogy.(More politics than epic, but meh)

The spelling and grammar errors are jarring to say the least, but with an 850k word count it can be overlooked. The society that's been built in Voldemort's Great Britain is amazing. The addition of Druid magic had me a little wary as it seemed a way to wtf!pwn normal wizards for no real reason, but it's been kept sufficiently reined in to make the story enjoyable.

The author loves to jerk you around when it comes to shipping though. It looks like Harry/Hermione, then Harry/Natalie, Harry/Luna, teasing at the beginnings of Harry/Fleur, and then proceeding to crush my hopes of Harry/Queen of France. Slash is present, but kept in the background to the point that I can forget it's even there.

The characterization is amazing as well, with OC's I actually give a damn about. Most characters are recognizable even in this divergence and their reactions are refreshingly honest, seeming almost realistic. I have characters I hate and can't wait for them to be killed off(I started laughing out loud when Snape's fiance died) to others that I can't wait to see more of. To be able to incite either reaction is a sign of a skilled author and I can't explain how encouraging it is to discover an epic like this so long after entering the fandom. I have no idea why I hadn't gotten around to reading this in almost 4 years. The fact that it's not abandoned is just icing on the cake.

tl;dr 5/5

 

Man, I used to fucking love this fic - it was one of the only ones I was following consistently for a long time. I kept waiting for updates and reading them as quickly as they came out and then one day I just...

stopped.


Because I realized that with so many things happening at once and so many subplots being taken on at once my main focus, the reason I loved the story - the fantastically interesting relationship between Harry and Voldemort - was being lost. The story has started to spiral out of control, or at least it had prior to more recent updates (of the past two or three months) and somehow I just can't bring myself to start back up. Too much promise that seems too likely to be wasted. And it's a shame.

 

Yeah, you've definitely got a point, but I think that I have to disagree on a few counts.

One, Voldemort and Harry's relationship is not being abandoned as you seem to think. Its not as prominent, but it still forms a pretty important part of the story, as well as a couple of cool scenes. I am also sure that there will be some heavy shit in that area coming soon, given the way the books have turned out so far.

But I also think that for Harry's character its really significant that hes moving on his own, for his own goals and through his own methods. As a seven book AU, it really have to have that sort of arc and depth to survive, and as it has shown, it does have that. I think that the diminishing of that relationship is something that makes the fic so rewarding for me. Its a visible symbol of growth and competence, and frankly if the author which has impressed me so well and surprised me so many time with excellent twists wants to change his story, I think I'll let it pan out.

So, have a little faith. It may be changing, but its entering its final stages, where all the expectations you've been building, as well as your hopes, start to influence what you read more than anything else. It pretty hard to measure up to what you imagine will happen next.

Either way, I'm reading it through till the end.

EDIT: New chapter is up. Linkity Linkity. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3766574/119/

A short chapter, not nearly as much happened as I would have expected, but holy shit what an ending. I sat in actual shock for a minute. Wow. Ill just say that it was very, very tough. Mizuni can make the hard decisions.

 

So glad the latest chapter is mostly Harry centric for a change. It's a fantastic fic and she's a great writer but all the recent pov jumping around was getting annoying.

 

The Harry/Voldemort relationship is the best part of this fic, in my opinion. I wonder how their relationship would change if Voldemort comes to find out Harry could be his downfall. At the end of the day, it all comes down to a matter of choice. Harry could choose to not going down that path of taking his mentor down despite any sort of prophecy. And let's face it, Voldemort's rule hasn't been too bad for Britain.

 

Or it could alrdy be done with if u think about it, Voldemort is changing from being remade whole and that could be it but you never know.

 

Ending: Harry becomes King of the Dark Kingdom
Makes me want to keep reading: How does he topple what is one of the best-written, most competent Voldemorts in the fandom?

 

See, that's what I like about this fic. I do not know where it is going and because of that, it is super interesting to me. Don't forget it is a seven book series, and she is on book 6.

I think it could have been improved in many ways. A beta reader would help with many of these errors. I thought year five was quite weak, but it could connect well into the next two books.

This is my favorite major AU story.

and I love Voldemort in this story.

 

Well, I finally read it, after putting it off for Christ knows how long.

It's wrought with errors and inconsistencies, but for the most part I'm enjoying it massively. Despite many people's opinions to the contrary, I don't find Voldemort's characterisation to be the most startling thing about this fic, but rather those of the peripheral characters - Snape, primarily, but also the elder Malfoy, Dumbledore, Ron, various OC's, etc. There are very weak characters also - Tom, Hermione (who I want to punch in the face), Sirius and Lestrange, to name a few - but ultimately, I think the good outweighs the bad in this fic by a longshot. It's a beast, has excellent fanfic examples of world-building, political intrigue, large-scale warfare and writing villainy, and the inter-character relations of every canon/extra-canon/OC personality are intricate and realistic.

Masses more to come and so many resolutions that need to be worked out that I'm very nearly on the edge of my seat. And I reiterate - this is the best characterisation of Snape I think I've ever seen.

So yeah, 5/5 for the reasons above and overall enjoyment, even though I occasionally want to tear through my monitor and correct the author's grammar. A very, very well crafted piece of work. I almost want to deduct a star for keeping me from both work and writing the three fics I'm working on right now, but I won't.

Hopefully my opinion won't change now I'm having to wait for updates.

 

Reread this fic just now after abandoning it 4 chapters ago for reasons I can't really remember anymore. Both better and worse than I remembered - my standards have gone up significantly, but the last few chapters literally seemed to get the entire fic back on track so I have high hopes for the rest of it.

 

Has been updated with Harry going to France to visit the queen - good chapter

 

Am missing the cool magics that were there in the earlier chapters....

 

Much as the cool magics were...well, cool, I'm thoroughly enjoying the reasonably good portrayal of politics and web of shadows. The new chapter was very good. As someone else also said, I don't particularly care about the side plot with Hermione, but it is an excellent way of developing Harry's social abilities.

 

It was alluded that Harry partook in many formal meetings with Voldemort, as well as performed many official functions, but we never saw it. I felt that part of Harry's life was underdeveloped. Nice contrast with the previous, more teen, chapters.

Harry's relationship with the Dark Lord is certainly more relaxed, which is fun I suppose. I just can't grasp why Fleur was so carefree around Voldemort while people like Malfoy and Snape, after years of familiarity with him, are still walking on eggshells.

 

Yeah, but neither Lucius or Severus are women. I hope.

Fleur, on the other hand, is. And Voldemort here is very good with the ladies... :awesome

 

Partially that Voldemort is good with the ladies, and also that Snape and Malfoy have both seen and been on the receiving end of what Voldemort is capable of, even Harry as to some extent. Fleur however, will be confronted with this sociable and sophisticated man, and will think that the stories of an evil monster are grossly exaggerated.

 

I noticed this as a favorite on quite a few people's pages, is it worth spending the hours needed to read it or is it overrated?