If you don't like the pairing chances are you won't find the fic to be quality. It can be well written but if I can't stand a major character or portion of the fic it isn't a good quality story to me.

 

I'd disagree with that. There's a difference between a quality fic and a fic suited to your tastes.
I, for example, don't like Stephen King very much. Never have. But despite of that I can still tell that in the stories I've read the plot was well thought out, the characterisation good, the timing and pacing excellent etc. It just wasn't my piece of cake. And that's the whole thing I don't like, while pairings are only a small part of most stories.

And, regardless of that, it still would be no reason to ban every story with H/G in it from DLP. Remember why it is hated in the first place: Because her character is most often terribly written, mary-sueish etc. But when there is a story where that isn't the case, why shouldn't it be here?

 

I think what he's trying to say is that dislike of a paring may so strongly color one's perception of the fic's quality that it would be impossible to be an impartial judge of that quality.

Anyway, to everyone else,

I have to agree with Taure here. There is only one underlying standard for the DLP: Quality.

I'd personally like to see some cleanup of the library: all fics that are 3 stars or less are to be purged at some point. I've noticed that a lot of fics in the library aren't even rated at ALL! I know those were put there before the rating system was put into place, but unless people are going to rate them, they don't belong in the library.

 

I am hesitant to rate this story as it seems everyone has a point to prove with this either getting into the library or not.

Frankly right now I feel too old and tired for that bs, so if you jump on me for this you'll have the satisfaction of no replies from me and can revel in your superiority.

/rant.

Any the hell who: I have no idea what to make of this story. It is dead boring in most parts. Well written is a bad description, it is written competently in the technical sense, big points for that, yes, but god the story telling is a drag.

Even the interesting things like Harry getting obliviated, or Pettigrew's take-down not going as smoothly as possible, were written in such an 'a follows b follows c' kinda way I could only yawn.

On the other hand Arthur and Molly, when they are not shown as shouting, are done extremely well. I enjoyed reading Snape and Sirius' parts. I don't have a virulent problem with Ginny in general so I didn't mind her at all, she was written well enough. Was she written as an enjoyable engaging character? Not so much, same can be said for a lot of others. Snape, Percy, the elder Weasleys are characterized the best, the rest, including Harry are of a 'ho hum, flat' typical-ness.

And for the love of God why did the author have to spend so much time on the sexual attraction between Harry and Ginny when they are 11/10/9 - I kept cringing. We joke in irc, fine, but blergh, can't actually read that crap.

Drunk Harry was great, I wish he was drunk more often and cussing out Voldemort. I liked him for the half chapter he was like that.

So yeah, my problem with this fic is that it is very inconsistent. If there is a category for points given to the art of storytelling then she fails at it. For technical writing she excels. Having nuggets of interesting twists, she gets a cookie. In executing those nuggets in an interesting manner, she fails.

My personal rating for this fic, and I have read more than half of it, is 3/5. In my library it is average, could be sweet, had it in reach, but couldn't get there.

But considering the utter nonsense that has gotten 4/5 in the Review section lately, I think this fic actually brings up some of the falling standards. So I am rating the thread a 4/5.

I just wish the author would get out of the flat sequential way of telling her story. I like the year of silence or w/e it is called, but this just has vast stretches of boredom with small oasis of interest here and there.

imo the juice is not worth the squeeze.

 

Why don't you just rate the story based on your own criteria? If you liked it, and thought it was good, give it a good rating. If you hated it and thought it was bad, then give it a bad rating. If you gave it a good rating and it goes down the shitter, you can now change your vote to something better reflecting your new view of the story. If you gave it a bad rating but it improves, assuming you ever went back to it, then change your vote upwards.

If everyone else here hates a story, but you love it, don't feel like you need to rate it poorly and vice versa.

 

You totally missed my point. But thank you for the encouragement.

 

I just had a friend of mine read this forum, and she claimed that she never wanted to find anything like this on her own stories. I disagree - I like the idea of finding honest opinions from people who dislike/like the story. And frankly, as I'm wandering around the board more and more, I'm surprised that BWP is here at all. So that is a compliment in and of itself.

There's really a lot to respond to. I'm a bit leery of doing so - the last thing I want to do is come across as defensive. (Although I will say that I found bornagainpenguin to be a huge whiner - so sorry that changing my name was such an inconvenience for you). Now that's out of the way.

I think - I'm really not certain - but I do think that those who view the story as being excessively canon may find the explanation for this in the companion book, The Book of Albus. Also, I did this on purpose. I prefer HP stories that don't take me so far out of the HP world that I need a road map to get to Hogwarts. What bores me is the idea of Harry going back in time and then defeating Voldemort on his first day - conceivably, this could be done, but boring.

The boring factor I'm going to chalk up to personal preference. And that might even include my own. The problem with the story was that I had to consider the companion novel as well as this one. And that story line pretty much required that I have H/G/R go back to their first year as opposed to their fourth. Now that I'm thinking about it, though, I'm starting to see where I might have been able to change that. Hm.

I also think that the boredom issue is a personal preference, as I'm sitting here thinking about the types of novels that I prefer, and they all have a slow build-up. Granted, this only works if the pay-off is excellent. Someone said that the Weasley-love was vomit-worthy, and while they are, of course, entitled to their opinion, I prefer having emotional pay-off. I'm also not anti-Weasley, so this was a factor in the outcome.

About the temporal mechanics. Yeah. I was writing a fantasy, and while I did take into account the Time-Turner method, I decided it wouldn't work. I figured that the premise of a time travel story involved actually changing things. Though now I'm thinking of a fun addition to the prologue - just before they travel back in time, everyone they love pops up and says "surprise! We've been hiding for years! You actually DID go back and change time, blah blah blah."

I admit that I did play willy-nilly with the idea of creating a perpendicular reality, but frankly, the concept of time travel is so out there for me that I didn't realize that there were specific rules relating to it. I'm not a scientist. I don't even pretend to be. My husband is a doctor, and I love him to death, but once he starts talking about medicine and genetics and things that involve math or knowing the laws of the universe, my eyes glaze over.

So that is my $.02.

 

That's because some of us actually like your stories quite a bit. xP

 

Do you rememeber this one?

Harry, Ginny and Ron travel back in time to save everyone, and plot happens?

I barely did, when a few days ago, the sequel alert arrived at my mailbox. It was not an update, rather a re-post of the last chapter, and I figured it goofed up.

No, it didn't. Now there's a new alert for a genuine additional chapter. I remember this fic fondly, since it was one of the first ones I read, and I'm glad to see the author's note about finishing what xe started.

We'll see if xe delivers. As for the content of this sequel I remember being very much excited and dissappointed at the absence of new content - since this part could finally give all the answers and wrap things up with no loose ends. Now, I'm slightly more reserved, as beside of giving answers, I do not foresee much conflict.

There is

Spoiler

the race against time (heh) to find the cure for Al

but otherwise everything is sunshine and rainbows.
Unless something else goes wrong...

I also wonder if we'll see more time travel, or will the sequel remain grounded in a single temporal direction.

I hope this necro was as surprising as the fact that there is a new update.

 

This was one of the first fic's i read.

I remember loving it back than, but how has it held up? It was rather sappy from what I can recall.

 

On the other hand, it's definitely the Book of Albus that elevates this story above the average redo. The first story is worth reading through to the end even if it doesn't fascinate you, because what deadwoodpecker does with the second story and how it is interwoven throughout the first while providing a new perspective on the same events is very well done.

 

I am seconding everyone who has rec'd The Book of Albus. Just finished reading it -- truly an awesome story. It really makes you feel for poor Albus right from the beginning of the story, which opens with Harry's death. Albus goes back in time multiple times to try to save him, but it doesn't work, and his father just keeps dying, and Albus in his efforts to save him just makes everything worse.

The Book of Albus addresses a major part of the criticism hurled at Backwards With a Purpose -- the reason the trio tried to preserve the timeline as much as possible in the first couple of years (It would have been pretty much Rocks fall, Everyone dies if they hadn't -- something The Book of Albus deals with in all its gory details). Its also very fast paced -- almost non-stop action without breathers, while the starting of BWP was relatively slow paced.

That's not to say BWP wan't awesome -- the writing and characterizations were superb, the plot was engaging and had an element of mystery, the Weasley family dynamics were the best I've ever read in fanfiction, the action was cool, the badass moments were badass, the smut was hot and the author was able to generate genuine emotion at important moments. It just took a while to get off the canon rails and really get going -- it's sorta like On the Way to Greatness in that respect, but once it gets going, it really gets going.

Perhaps the best part of the BWP and its sequel comes after you finish reading them both, and you realize the sheer vastness of the plot and how intricately it was constructed by the author. You realize that the author knew exactly what she was doing right from the beginning-- there are little details right from the first chapter of the story that are suddenly very significant in The Book of Albus. All the concerns you had about plot inconsistency vanish and the 'plot holes' aren't plot holes at all, but something carefully planned and executed by the author. The sheer perfectness of it all is staggering.

So. 4.5/5 individually for both Backwards With a Purpose and The Book of Albus, and a shiny 5/5 for both of them taken together. There is a third part that hasn't really gotten off the grounds yet, but I have high hopes for it in the future. Now if only the Author would update more regularly .

I read most of the author's other works as well -- all of them are very well written and characterized, and all of them are with canon pairings, with heavy emphasis on the Weasleys. It is really fascinating how the author twists the (mostly) happy Weasley family from canon and creates so much conflict and tension in the family, all the while keeping them in character.

Yellow Submarine is the story of how broken people try to recover from their trauma and move on with their lives, often failing hard in the process. It is a hurt/comfort fic, and does not apologize for it. Superb writing as usual, and there is a really chilly moment in the fic when Arthur realizes exactly why Ginny can't stand being in his presence. This story is definitely not for everyone, but I liked it well enough.

Polyjuice, Memory charms and More is easily one of the best smut fics I've ever read, just below Whatever Happened to Bromance and It Could Only Happen to Harry. Surprisingly, I had never given much thought to that use of Polyjuice. Some really kinky stuff, and a good amount of humor thrown in for good measure. Unlike the heavy atmosphere of the previous story, this one is just plain fun. Highly recommended.

Socks is an AU in which Dumbledore dies early on in the second war when one of Draco Malfoy's murder attempts actually succeeds. Voldemort takes over the Ministry and Moody takes over the working of the Order. Moody's paranoia makes for a really interesting resistance movement. Throw in some smut and Weasley family shenanigans, and its your usual Deadwoodpecker fare. A great quick read. I loved it. Sadly not updated for more than a year.

Through a Dark Mirror and The Maddening Crowd are both very good for what they are, but sadly there isn't much to either of them. The former is Ron Centric, so if you wanted to read one of those, be sure to give it a shot.

 

To be honest, while I've read this entire fic twice, I never particularly liked it.

There's just too much canon rehash for my taste. The decision of the time travelers to still have Ginny use the Diary was just retarded in my opinion.

Still, it is well written, so I can't complain too loudly.

4/5

 

I've never reviewed this story? Really? How odd...

This is probably my favorite time-travel fic. I can't think of a one that I like more off the top of my head, at any rate. I like the story, the characters, the pacing, and the changes made to canon. The story is believable and interesting, the humor is, well, funny, and I just all around enjoy the story.

The mystery of Merlin is one of the things that I really enjoy about the story. When I first read it, I had no idea who Merlin really was. When we find out, the foreshadowing finally makes sense and we wonder how we didn't realize sooner, which is what good foreshadowing is supposed to do (not a lot of people can do it well, in my estimation).

I do have quibbles with the story. I'll admit to glossing over the sex scenes due to being uncomfortable reading them. In addition, I sometimes feel as though the characters seem slightly caricaturized. They act in ways that I don't really expect human beings to act, such as tearing up at moments that I wouldn't expect. For the most part, these times are isolated, but they do stick out to me.

As good as Backwards with Purpose is, however, The Book of Albus is better. It perfectly complements the original fic, filling in the details of why so many things happen and why they need to happen as well as being an entertaining piece in its own right. I simply love Albus' characterization in this story, detailing his mission to do right by Harry. The time travel is interesting, as are each of the alternate histories explored throughout the fic.

Finally, The Refuge of Hope doesn't seem to have really gotten off the ground yet, and I have my doubts that it really have will. What's been written is decent so far, although one of the chapters is ripped almost verbatim from Backwards with Purpose, so there is that.

Overall, I'd give Backwards with Purpose a 4.5/5 (rounded up) while The Book of Albus gets a solid 5/5. There simply isn't enough to The Refuge of Hope to rate it, in my opinion, so I'll abstain.

Finally, there's something I want to address. I know the post is many years old now, and it's possible that his views have changed, but...

Really, Pers? I expected better from you.

 

Seven years ago, that was an accurate statement about DLP, that even a very good H/G story had no place being discussed and that the story should not have been put up for review. BWP was one of the handful of stories that changed that about the site, making it about quality rather than about fitting a set mold.

If you're in the mood for digging up ancient post history, as you appear to be, recall that Ella (Deadwoodpecker) even joined the site for awhile, much to the shock and horror of her LiveJournal crowd (an active forum in its own right at the time). If memory serves, someone even sent her the obligatory "Tits or GTFO!"

Good times.

 

I love a good Time Travel story as well. I've read this twice, and disliked it both times.

Why I disliked it is a harder question, the writing is technically competent. I guess I just wasn't a fan of the story that was told or the characters in it. I kept waiting for it to get good, and waiting and waiting... then it was finished. Like, it felt too... perfect. I never felt any tension or uncertainty. Any tension seemed almost contrived. That's the best I can remember at any rate.

I haven't read the Book of Albus which I hear is a much better story as by the end of it each time I'm just over it.