I agree that reviews and views are a poor tool to judge quality, but there really isn't much else to go on in most cases. That's why it is interesting to see what people say when the author isn't around. I know the story isn't perfect and I'm not trying to convince anyone that it is, but even so I am fairly satisfied with how it turned out. There's better and there is worse, but this one is mine.

 

I've read the whole story, and yes, I stuck it in my favorites. But honestly? The story really is average at best. Maybe you ought to have someone fix it up and add/take away some things in the story to make it better.

Most people on ffnet are ignorant and don't know what a really good story is, seeing as most of the stories on ffnet are poor at best (this is including about 99% of the slash stories on that website).

 

I just really can't get past some of the basic premises of the story; primarily the fact that everyone abandons Harry. While Ron was pissed for awhile at Harry in GoF, it is just way overdone in this fic and is clearly just a contrivance for which the author can introduce Daphne into the story and a way to create needless (and boring) drama. And that's another problem: I greatly dislike Daphne's characterization in this story. While I don't remember all that much from the bit that I read, I just felt that she was horribly flat. Well to be fair, nobody is really written well in this story; at least from what I can remember.

And like others have said, the writing is also exceedingly average. Too much telling and not enough showing, and there is no real hook that I can discern to keep the reader interested. Everything about this fic feels like an old hat.

2.5/5

 

Looking back I agree that it started too slowly, but I am puzzled by your assertion that in it everyone abandons Harry. Ron's reaction is a little more severe than in canon, but not by much, and Hermione almost immediately regrets her initial doubts and apologizes.

 

Ron's always been an idiot almost as much as Harry was in canon, but Ron wasn't stupid all the time. I have to agree with Demon, the characters are pretty flat. 2-dimensional, you could say.

I say take away or add things to the story to make it better. I'm glad you're not flipping out like a lot of other people would, which is a good sign. Here's an idea for you: Why not post it in the WBA thread, and have some of the members review it? They'll at least tell you where you went wrong in the thread.

In all honesty, there are a lot of good reviewers on this forum, and most of them will be honest with you. They'll criticize your story, and they'll be honest with it. But at least you'll most likely get a better story out of it. What's there to lose? Give it a try.

 

Final Thoughts on A Champion's New Hope.

I actually liked the opening chapters. Are they cliche? Yup. Still, I had fun reading about the clandestine nature of Harry and Daphne's relationship. Even after they became a more public couple, it was a big enough divergence from canon that I still enjoyed it. I really liked your draught of rage concept, and they way it was used in a few chapters.

That said, the fic kind of lost me when Hermione decided to become a summoner. Once again, it's unique, and I acknowledge that Hermione would pay a price, but it just felt incongruous with Harry Potter canon. The same with Voldemort's summoning ritual; it felt like there was a logic gap that didn't meld well with the rest of the story.

All in all, I still rank this a 3/5. I had fun reading it at least.