If five posts are enough to access the WbA section of the forum, you might be surprised what you'd find there.

 

Team 7's Ascension: Lines in the Sand by Eilyfe - M - Naruto

Title: Team 7's Ascension: Lines in the Sand
Author: Eilyfe
Rating: M
Genre: Adventure
Status: Complete
Fandom: Naruto
Pairings: None.
Summary: Keep fighting, they say, eventually you will have won. But what is winning? As order in the Element Nations collapses, Team Seven asks just that. The desert cries out and on blood-soaked dunes their sandals leave imprints. Where do you draw the line when war puts morality into question at every turn? [AU]
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11830798/1/Team-7-s-Ascension-Lines-in-the-Sand

The sequel to Eilyfe's https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9948266/1/Team-7-s-Ascension-Blood-Wings I thought this story deserves its own thread as it is written much later than its predecessor and, in my opinion, vastly superior.

This story is enthralling and leaves you wanting more after every chapter. The character interactions are very interesting. The fighting is realistic and gritty.

Overall 4.5/5 rounded to 5/5

 

I'm also about a 4.5/5.0 on this, rounding up to 5 for now, but I might revise depending on what happens in the sequel. There are a number of plot threads / character developments that were built up over the course of this book, without being fully resolved -- which makes it hard to judge without knowing how it's all meant to pan out in the end.

Strengths: Definitely very enjoyable and engaging. What I appreciate most is the original storyline and setting -- there are few fics that do a good job of world-building with regards to regions of the world that get less screen time.

Weaknesses: At times I felt the tone/writing was a bit repetitive. I'm not a talented enough critic or writer to articulate this well. It's something like, not conveying as much "range" as I would have liked? You know, how some books or movies make you laugh, cry, burn with anger, etc. I'm not saying all stories need to do this, just that at times I felt there was a bit too much of the opposite. I'd put forward Shinobi Team 7 by Gallyrat as a similar-ish fic that does better on this count. Though of course, I do think Team 7's Ascension is better in some other areas.

The author's writing has definitely been improving though; you can really see the contrast with the early chapters of Book 1. All in all, I'm very optimistic and excited about the next book.

 

I really enjoyed Blood Wings, it was everything I wanted in a Team 7 fic and then some more, a definite 5/5.

I've read Lines in the Sand a couple of times now and I still find it very forgettable, it doesn't have the same omph as Blood Wings. That said it's not shit and a pretty good sequel, but nothing to write home about.

I'd give this a 3.5/5

 

The first chapter was interesting. There were quite a few grammatical issues, but nothing too distracting. So far, the characterizations are canon, which is what I always look for in a fiction. This whole 'characters in name only' fad is bad writing for me.

I cannot really say much here, but it has piqued by curiosity if anything else. I will read this whenever I find the time. This is much, much better than all the fictions I have read (or portions of them) on the first page of this section. Perhaps, the review count is well-deserved. Only time will tell.