I always start reading PotDK, then get distracted because the damn thing is so incredibly long. That said, what I've read seems pretty good.

OT: I have yet to investigate Ice/Dawn Crux, but if they're not complete shit, maybe invite the kid to DLP so they can improve? If the stories are anything but trash I'm reasonably impressed just because of the author's age.

 

Even though we aren't what we once were, I have to question inviting a 13 year old kid here. We're probably not the best influence.

As for Prince of a Dark Kingdom, I remember reading it and finishing it back when it was something like 300-400k words long. It was definitely enjoyable, but a lot of effort at the same time. I've always meant to pick it up again, but never got around to it.

 

I don't have time to start and read a story that's over a million words in.

 

I enjoy PoaDK; it's long but well written for the most part with some stumbles along the way.

I don't really get why people say they don't have time to read a long story; I've worked my way through plenty of 1k+ page novels just by doing a bit at a time. It's not the length that makes a story hard to read, it's the pacing. If the pacing is good, then there's really no limit to how long your tale has to be.

 

He shouldn't have said that, because so far (one chapter in) it doesn't read like that. It could be her beta since the A/N looks more like something a 13 year old would write, but that isn't terribly important when the story itself doesn't have any of the blatant spelling or grammar mistakes you might expect. The sentence structure might be pretty basic and there's a bit too much passive voice, but I probably wouldn't have paid attention to that sort of thing if I hadn't heard about her age. Her vocabulary is certainly better than I expected.

Yeah, I've passed it up for that exact reason, plus the fact that it's not even finished. The first third or so of Harry Potter and the Fifth Element by Bexis, which is even longer (so far), left such a bad taste in my mouth I'm not sure I'll be able to give it a shot for some time.

 

Very true.

That said, the pacing in PoaDK is atrocious.

 

It has been a while since I read so not sure if I recall things all that well but while I read and enjoyed it is not really worth it unless you have plenty of time to use up. There is nothing wrong with it per si but there is no exceptional moment, just a decently told tale. To really make it clear I remember more about fics far smaller that I read way before than I do of it but hey YMMV, especially if you like the theme.

Also there are several reasons people say that, for one reading so slowly is a great way of losing a lot of the impact of a story, for another lots of smaller stories instead means you are more likely to get into interesting things than a stupidly long story, for yet another then you also have that if you do enjoy it then having no time is really annoying and if you don't then you wasted the only bit of free time you had. I am sure I could give more reasons if I cared to.

 

The problem with Ice Crux - which I've tried to start several times and failed at several times - is that it reads like a slash fic. Now, whether or not the characters end up having homosexual sex is somewhat irrelevant - homosexual sex is not the problem of slash. The problem of slash is the feminisation of male characters (e.g. the use of words like slim instead of thin, beautiful instead of handsome, etc) and the common theme of overblown emotional melodrama (common hurt-comfort themes, abuse themes, etc).

 

If I remember Prince of a Dark Kingdom correctly, my main problem was the romance. It seemed forced and contrived (especially in the case of hermione/ron which was essentially a poor man's hermione/draco in that AU) and the author's annoying tendency to make every other character a flaming homo.

I don't have an issue with homosexuality, but it seemed like most of the canon characters that were gay were gay just to be gay and it all ended up seeming very forced.

That and it was long-winded.

...If I'm remembering the story correctly.

I don't really want a poor man's version of that.

 

I disagree; it's not perfect, but I can sit down and read it for a while. There are some epics with incredibly well thought out plots that just flow; others are In Flight. PoaDK isn't in the former category, but it's far closer than to the latter

 

What canon characters are gay in Prince of the Dark Kingdom? I read it whenever it updates and I have a strong aversion to slash fics.

The only gay chara who comes to mind is an OC lawyer and his partner, but they're only supporting characters of a supporting character and in no way canon.

The story is written in a way that's been influenced by slash or trashy novels, but there's plenty of action and intrigue to carry it past that.

If there are canon charas who've been turned gay then I've forgotten about them.

 

Wow, what is this internet you are living on where In Flight is the example of badness? Sure later on it dragged and dragged before it just sucked but the real sad part is that even if you ignore the outright unreadable fanfics IF is still above average...

Way too long since I read it but I think he is talking about Remus and Sirius?

 

No they aren't gay. It's easy to assume they are gay in the early part of the fic thanks to a combination of Snape's insults and werewolf social structures. After a short while it's very apparent that that isn't the case.

 

Yeah, Sirius and Remus turn out to not be gay. Though really, with all that alpha/beta stuff going on with them, it was mighty hard to tell.

 

That's a fantastic description of Came out of the Darkness by JCSwriter, which I found several months ago while trolling FFnet. I'm not even going to link it here because it doesn't belong in Almost Recommended. Despite the fact that everybody is supposed to be heterosexual (and not just any kind of hetero, I'm talking Soul-Bound hetero), the amount of homoerotic subtext is ridiculous. Guys really don't whisper in each others' ears at all, let alone for pretty much no reason.

 

Do you remember point where it happens? I was trying to read it, but...

 

For me it was around chapter 6 or 7. I highly recommend pushing through, the rest of the series is amazing.

 

I was talking about pacing, and it's pretty much the posterboy for stories mauled by godawful pacing. Seriously, I can't think of another piece of fanfiction that was dragged down by its inability to know when to cut and when to elaborate more so than In Flight

 

I love this one. Admittedly I was slightly skeptical during the first few chapters but was extremely relieved when

Spoiler

the travelers didn't run sniveling to Dumbledore or Sirius fucking immediately. Also the fact that Voldemort mysteriously disappeared had me thinking it might be some garden variety other-BWL or "transcendental prophecy magic made Voldemort explode" fic, but it was really cool how subtly dark the other world actually is proving to be. It was fast paced but I think it was built up well, from drunk asshole Ron to Minister Umbridge and the covert pogroms to Ghost Hermione and Ginny's fate.

It's cliffhangered in a really suspenseful spot right now. Not only because of the obvious but because I want to know what the fuck the deal is with

Spoiler

Pettigrew, Snape, and Trelawney.

Tentative 4/5, mostly for minor pacing issues and distracting errors (words missing or replaced with the wrong words). I also dislike Lily being depicted as a saint but that's just a personal peeve.

 

Have you considered listing problems in a review on ff.net? I complained about eaten spaces and author at least declared intent to fix it.