I disagree with both conclusions. And it is still clearly without the last chapter in both linked locations.

 

This story has what any other writer should hope to achieve - depth.

Harry is about as complex a character as I've ever read. His emotional attachment to Dumbledore is heart-wrenching, well-written, and believable. My only complaint is that Hermione and Ron could have used a bit more fleshing out, but this story has it all. 5/5. Easily.

 

Nice! I liked it!

 

Honestly, I had no problem with the soul bit. Not necessarily because it's good, but just because I'm bored with grey in fanfics.
Seriously, I am so tired of greyness in fics. Grey magic, Grey!character, Grey... I can't think of a third, but the first two are common enough.
I for one welcome a traditional good vs evil plot device.

 

Well, it's done.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7309863/9/The-Prisoner-s-Cipher

The ending felt a bit uninspired compared to the rest of the story, but I'm glad that it's been finished.

 

Holy shit it's finally finished! This has been on my to read list for ages, Nd I keep putting it off until it's finished.

 

A perfect 5/5, in my opinion. The stroke of genius was to create such a deep character around the idea he is a flat character. Hermione is very canon-like, and most of the runes presented make sense and show a deep thinking based on the books. I recommend it hands down.

 

Color me odd, but I like overpowered Harry in a way. Not boastful, Imma one shot you beeyotch boastful Harry, but a Harry who quietly and subtly is magnitudes stronger than anyone else.
I liked this story for that reason, from the very beginning. Had flashbacks of Homunculi when reading about Dumbledore.

 

I think I remember Taure making a distinction between readers who enjoy identifying with the protagonist and those who don't. I loved the writing and how the ideas played together but was for obvious reasons unable to identify with Harry (or Hermione - buts that's just because she was too good, victim-y for my taste) for the most part.
Interesting read nevertheless

 

5/5 I'm a fast reader, but one really needs to slow down to really appreciate the detail that goes into it. Blending the movie and book Ministry of Magic fight was really neat as well.

 

This is weird, and strongly so. I'll say it's not my usual fare.

I appreciate the work the author put into the details of the writing. On the technical side, it's very good.

For me, the highpoint was chapter 6. It builds and builds, the suspense grows and when Harry drops the bomb, it is appropriately awesome. And I don't mean awesome as it's commonly used. Not cool. Awe-some.

However, I feel unfulfilled after reading. The ending is abrupt and -yes, the word seems fitting - depressing. If that's what the author was going for, then congrats. Personally, I hoped for some kind of ending redemption arc, though the fact that Harry fails in the end and Hermione still pays the price gives the story a very poignant character. In that, it succeeds.

And perhaps it's better that way. There aren't many stories like this. I wouldn't call it enjoyable, but it wasn't time wasted. I'd go so far as to say it's less a story and more an experience.

The aftertaste it leaves is more on the bitter side of bittersweet, but I like to indulge in something like this from time to time. Such things enrich the soul.

And now I shall end this, strangest Library review I've ever written and award the story a solid 4/5 though in my subjective opinion not a speck more. I think it's well worth reading once, but not something I'll be coming back to.

 

I absolutely loved this fic, the description of the duelling was very good. I liked the way runes are used too, not seen many fics go into such detail. I give it a 4/5

 

I definitely liked this fic. In particular I liked the detailed magic system. The only part that really seemed off was the ending, maybe I misunderstood but it seemed that Harry's soul was fixed, although he was still effected by his guilt over his deeds, and he killed himself anyway. The odd part is that if he was going to kill himself anyway why did he go through with the ritual, not to mention fighting Dumbledore? 4.5/5.

 

This was an interesting story. Though initially unsure about it, I'm glad I read it through. The dueling scenes are fantastic without being over done or absurd, but I too failed to understand why Harry went through the whole procedure just to end everything so abruptly. Ultimately it's a good thing there aren't many stories like this, or it would lose that which makes it hard to put down.

 

I usually hate stories that have any sort of over-powered main character, but the portrayal here of Harry as subtle and manipulative instead of simply raw power is a refreshing change from the usual way that authors write powerful characters. Definitely enjoyed this one.

 

3.5/5 which I will probably round up to 4. It was a breath of fresh air. It's quite hard to find a story with 'different', and unique ideas. The suspense was built gradually and at least that part was well executed although the resolution was a little anticlimatic.

Now onto some stuff that caught my eye.

-Some parts I just wanted to skip. And I did skim through. Although in a sense it is a good thing too. I skim alot while reading fanfictions. With this story, I didn't. Skim 'a lot' that is.

-Sudden power boost. And If he was so smart and clever, why would he try to do what he did. He should know the consequences. Author wasn't really able to sell that part to me.

-what I really liked was the lack of bashing. I know some people like bashing and think it's cool. Sometimes I do too. But when it is every day, everywhere, you get a little tired. Dumbledore was not bad, was not evil. Just for that I could give 5/5.

The language was good. Story telling was good. The only thing lacking would be the plot. And character interactions.
Overall a good read. Enjoyed it.

 

The ending was very good, even though the storry finished on a bitter note. All through the second-to-last chapter i was wondering how things would be resolved between Hermione and Harry, and i think this way was the most fitting and actually in-character for Harry, be it canon or AU. The story overall didn't seem extremely dark but the suspense and characterisation were great. Only thing i didn't see much point in was whole Ring thing, but that might be just me

 

5/5

The Prisoner’s Cypher is one of the only stories where Harry is imprisoned, that I actually enjoyed. Most of the DarkPrisoner!Harry stories that are around FF.net have Harry being unbelievably insane and just cruel for no reason other than to just have him be cruel. Here the story starts off telling us the where and the how, but not the why. My favorite parts of the entire story were the Pensieve scenes. Finally learning the why, why he was imprisoned and why he went down the path he did, was what caused me to finish reading this story at 4 a.m. last night.

Spoiler

The build-up of the Mentor!Dumbledore and Student!Harry kept me intrigued and the reason that Harry turned completely caught me by surprise. The Final Confrontation between the two confused me, I’m going to have to go back and re-read it when I’m not half asleep to understand it fully, but the action was well written. The ending while some-what expected still had me thinking if the procedure failed or did he kill himself because he couldn’t stand what he had done?

 

The writing was amazing! The whole concept of duality and souls fed my appetite or philosophy. The ending was bittersweet but it was expected, my heart goes out to Hermione, she gave her all into uraveling the mystery that has become her friend and when she finally got him back, she slipped right through her fingers again.

The Harry vs Dumbledore's fight had me crying out for Harry (poor Harry, don't give up!) It was such a well written story, the author did a great job giving depth to the characters without straying from their canon personalities.

5/5

 

This is among the best stories I have ever read, and definitely the most original. I particularly enjoyed the explanations of rune magic and soul magic. Generally when fanfics go into tangential types of magic it only makes Harry seem overpowered, but in this case it was clear that there is work/sacrifice required. The characterizations were very good, and the difference between past Harry/Dumbledore and their present states allowed for character growth despite the story taking leave over a short period of time. As an aside, the beginning of the story reminded me of the scilence of the lambs scene when Starling interviews Hannibal.

5/5