So you weren't very specific on anything bad about this story, so I went to go look for myself, being the sort of person who reads Partially Kissed Hero to make fun of it. (Never make fun of something you haven't read.)
It really didn't deserve this level of hand-wringing. It's absolutely as described but it maintains tone and character fairly well, and it follows its premise without straying into unassociated garbage. The writing is competent but not brilliant and kept pretty taut. It also lacks the morally repugnant edge (you can read that "edge" in either the conventional or the modern sense if you want, both fit) that is common to the true shit-tier like HPMoR or Chunin Exam Day or the like. I'd actually rate it pretty high on the scale of insert stories and comfortably above many of its 2004-2008 era contemporaries in the crossover or insert genre by people like the Eyrie Productions Unlimited crew or Bert Van Vliet.
In short, it is not garbage. It's actually got some good points. I'd consider it on the acceptable end of questionable taste.
Fun sidenote: the author of On The Road Again, BTB, actually favorited two other Calamity Cordite stories. I'm poking at the Robotech cross and it's alright, though I reserve the right to throw a fit depending on how it handles Rick Hunter.
I will admit to exaggerating my reaction for comedic effect.
I still don't like it, though.
Anyway, more fics!
Exile
By:
Quill of Molliemon
AU. Intertrilogy. Sequel to Misunderstood! The Republic is dead. The Empire has risen. The Jedi Order is in shambles. So now what? Chapter 33: Lonely Little Boys
Rated:
Fiction T - English - Romance/Angst - Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan K. - Chapters: 34 - Words: 147,322 - Reviews:
705 - Favs: 497 - Follows: 516 - Updated: Jun 5, 2007 - Published: Aug 16, 2006 - id: 3108484
Impressions before reading:
I distinctly remember happy home life in some fancy house with Anakin, Padme, and the Skywalker twins. That's about it. Otherwise, a sequel to Misunderstood is a nice idea, especially since it's going to be pretty much all new material.
Review:
Unlike with Misunderstood, I have no ambiguity with this story: it's a good one, though I'll admit it takes a bit to get to the good parts. The fic starts by diving into the weeds of what the Jedi exile looks like, and while it's not
pleasant, it's also not spectacularly awful as it would be by the OT era.
But while that's somewhat interesting, the fic gets
good when Anakin reunites with Padme - and more importantly, tiny little two-year-old Luke and Leia. Who are adorable, and their interactions with everybody are a real strong point of the fic. They feel like actual toddlers
1, wonder of wonders, adultly constructed thoughts notwithstanding.
And especially after The Wild Horse Thesis left such a bad taste in my mouth, this is quite the pleasant surprise.
Verdict: So cute... Eh, what? Oh. Right. Yeah, it stays.
Anabasis
By:
Fialleril
Eight months ago, Darth Vader turned on his master in order to save his secret wife. Now, he lives as a prisoner in the Jedi temple. But he finds himself with a most unlikely ally: Jedi Master Yan Dooku. Very AU. Interlude: Anamnesis now up!
Rated:
Fiction T - English - Drama/Romance - Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala - Chapters: 12 - Words: 33,411 - Reviews:
241 - Favs: 498 - Follows: 474 - Updated: Mar 29, 2009 - Published: Aug 26, 2006 - id: 3125559
Impressions before reading:
Oh, look, it's another Revenge of the Sith AU - or maybe a prequel trilogy AU, I don't remember much of this one except some weird backstory issues.
Review:
Well, no weird backstory issues after all. I'm actually impressed with the AU part of things; there's enough hints in the text to tell give the reader a good idea of what happened, but it never outright states anything. And from there, you can see the tangled flow of connections that lead to the events in the actual story. Honestly, I expected to have to drop the story for not parcelling out enough information. And yet, this way there's a bit of ambiguity, a sense of mystery that drives you to read more.
If only it wasn't dead. Oh well.
And the story of Padme and Vader - not Anakin, not yet - somehow, I can see it happening. Don't ask me how. Oh, and- right. Spoilers. But there's another big moment I think was executed well.
Verdict: This is a good story. The only major flaw is that it's too short.
Oh, hey, my first Harry Potter fanfic on here! I don't have a very good relationship with Harry Potter fanfiction, as much due to popularity backlash as anything else. When you have to wade through fifty or a hundred summaries every time you mine someone's favorites for more fics, it kinda wears on a guy.
That doesn't mean I don't read any, but for the size of the pool the entries on my list aren't very numerous.
Tom Riddle and the Goblet of Fire
By:
drakensis
Harry has a power that Voldemort does not know of and through deception, victory.
Rated:
Fiction K+ - English - Humor/Mystery - Minerva M., Voldemort - Words: 2,518 - Reviews:
63 - Favs: 460 - Follows: 133 - Published: Sep 6, 2006 - Status: Complete - id: 3142958
Impressions before reading:
I remember exactly what this fic is about. Is that enough? Will it need more?
Review:
I honestly can't tell after which book this was written. I want to say Half-Blood Prince, but there are some... irregularities if that were the case.
So, in case you can't guess, Harry Potter and company dig up the Goblet of Fire and enter Voldemort's original name in it. As he obviously isn't there to complete any tasks, he promptly loses his magic.
I'm fairly certain this wouldn't actually work
2 in the actual books, but it's an amusing thought.
Verdict: Which, frankly, isn't enough to keep it on the list.
Next up, we have a bit of a unicorn: a long-form Naruto AU that's actually listed as complete!
- Take this with a grain of salt, of course. I haven't been around any two-year-olds in a very long time.
- Just getting the Goblet and setting it up would be problematic.
