Fan-Fiction in Review.

Here are a few of the Fan-Fictions I have been browsing, and my comments on them:


The Last Heir of Anasterian

"The Last Heir of Anasterian" is a fan-fiction based in the Warcraft Universe. It follows a group of Blood Elven Knights on their quest to locate the sole remaining heir to the throne of their kingdom. I found this piece of fan-fiction interesting, though the language use and sentence structure was clumsy. Despite its gramattical flaws, the concepts were well written, and the story itself drew me in. I wish the author had posted more chapters!

Secrets of Ulduar

"Secrets of Ulduar" is another fan-fiction based in the world of Warcraft. It chronicles the adventures of two rival armies as they are forced to work together to kill an evil God and save the land from annihilation! I found the flow of this story almost flawless. Its author is obviously well practiced in his writing, and as such, it is an easy read. The storyline is amazing - though it is really a retelling official Warcraft events. They are merely presented from a more personal perspective.

Asleep

"Asleep" is a fan-ficion based on the "Dollhouse" T.V series. It details some backstory which is missing from the Series itself, involving the first moments of the character "Whiskey" and her interaction with "Topher" when she first arrives in the Dollhouse. The writer was incredibly faithful to the canon of the series, and this fan-fic actually fits perfectly with the rest of the series. The way Topher and Whiskey are described match perfectly with their characters from the T.V series. The fan-fic only really covered two short scenes, but it carried a wealth of information for any fan of the series.

Jack and the Iron Maiden

This fan-fic is based in the cartoon world of Samurai Jack, where the evil Aku owns everything, and Jack is on the run from the law. In this fan-fic, he meets a homeless robot, and through an encounter with Aku's evil police, ends up breaking her arm. Samurai Jack feels responsible, and so, begins a quest to restore her arm. However, she is so grumpy and annoying that Jack comes under ALOT of stress trying to do so. As far as the writing style of the fan-fic, the Author seemed well versed in Samurai Jack canon, and a decent author, however it failed to hold my interest. There was too much writing wasted on describing insignificant events and details.

Upon a Star

Based in the world of the Movie & Novel "Stardust", this fan-fiction chronicles the adventures of Jacqueline & Everly as they fight to save Stars from being pulled from the sky and killed by Jacqueline's bitter brother. I actually found this Fan-fic to be exceptionally well written. The characters were full and well-rounded, with their own moral stand-points and perspectives seamlessly integrated with the rest of the story. The character Alvar too, is believable, not fake, as many fan-fictions tend to be. This story rang true, in both canon and character development. I wish it was finished.

Death of the Undead

A brilliant short story based in the world of the online Webcomic "Looking for Group". It tells simply and shortly of the death of one of the main characters: Richard the Warlock. While it was in no way canon, it did shed an interesting light on the possibilities of changing the Comedy genre into a Tragedy. While in the Comic, Richard always escapes death, and indeed seems more or less immortal and unkillable, this short fan-fiction starkly contrasts that aspect of the comic - lending him mortality and pathos along with it.

The Longest Night

I actually looked this one up as a joke. I didn't understand for the life of me why someone would write a fan-fiction on a movie like "Music & Lyrics". However, having read it, I can see that it captures a very small moment and makes it shine. "The Longest Night" has suprised me with its intense and accurate characterisation, and its use of dramatic subtext to impose tension upon the otherwise innocent situation.

Today I Met a New Friend

This fan-fic was brief, set in the world of the movie "Donnie Darkko". It explored a very interesting perspective on the movie - that of mental illness. It portrays Donnie not as some revolutionary with metaphysical powers, but as someone who sees hallucinations and suffers from multiple personality disorder. Intriguing, but brief.

The Convict in Me

This fan-fic was based on the "Chronicles of Riddick" series, and shows some inner dialogue of one of the central characters from the series "Jack", the girl Riddick mentors, and then falls in love with. The movie has a tragic end for her, but leaves much unexplained. The fan-fic helps to shed a little light on some of the movie's loose ends. Not very well written however. A bit disjointed, I had to concentrate fairly hard to make sense of the constantly shifting perspectives.

Power of the Space Marines

This fan-fiction was actually a parody of actual canon novels in the Warhammer 40k Universe. It accomplished its purpose - as a short spoof of how godly and overpowered the Space Marines appear in every story written about them - in comparison to anybody else. The writing was good, in that it did not detract from the purpose, and certain stylistic elements actually added to how ridiculous the Space Marine appeared to be.