It’s a bit awkward to release nearly all of the reviews at the same time but I was too lazy to post them in smaller segments.
That being said, most of the fics were really strong this year and there were only a few ones to whom I gave a significantly weaker grade. Then again, I didn’t give any fic the perfect 10 so that’s also a change from the past years. This bunch of reviews doesn’t include the two stories from Ducky as he asked for them to be reviewed later. Anyway, I hope you like these reviews and find them fair and balanced!
Name of Fanfiction: LBT Hatchling Series
Rating: 8,5/10
Review: This has thus far been an extremely solid and fun story that despite its short length had carried a lot of sweet emotions. It is a pretty novel idea to chronicle the Gang’s first days even if it hasn’t really built any meaningful plot. It has just been rather amusing to follow Ducky and her siblings’ first efforts to make sense of the world around them while also taking a look on how their parents see their children and their lives in this momentous situation.
Especially after reading the Swimmer Trials, I really like how you’ve characterized the children in their early infancy as those brief interactions have started to create certain bonds between the children. You’ve also created a tangible feeling of happiness around Sura and Ruphus and it is a positive read throughout. The first chapter went through Ducky’s birth in a way that deepened the film’s portrayal of it while the second continued those events while also turning this story into a prequel for TST. I’m curious on whether the others’ arcs continue this trend of showing how the first bonds of the characters were formed, soon to be followed as a brief scene showing their greatest future threat.
Now, I cannot give this story a perfect score for two reasons. First, I’m not too crazy about reading about newborn children overall which made certain segments a bit awkward to read through, even if you handled the premise in the best possible way. My second reason is that the lack of plot prevents this story from ever becoming an extremely impactful one but then again, these more low-key stories are also fun to read from time to time.
The level of writing portrayed here was extremely good, though, and this fic certainly was one of the stronger ones we saw this year. I really want to see just how you’ll handle the other arcs of this story without them becoming repetitive or too formulaic. But overall, I’m certain you have good ideas on how to continue and I hope we’ll see more stuff from you next year.
Name of Fanfiction: More than a blinky light
Rating: 9/10
Review: In many ways, this one was one of my favorite stories from you this year. It was a simple yet effective look into both Littlefoot and Cho’s characters while also building their mutual relationship really well. It started in a rather low key but even that was turned into an advantage as you really showed here how difficult it was for Littlefoot to really get through to Cho. Long discussions such as this one are the kinds of scenes I tend to struggle myself.
As the scene progressed, more than more emotions were starting to be brought up and the way the boy drew parallels between himself and Cho was quite heartwarming as was his willingness to simply help her feel better. It was a great testament to his character and provided one of the best characterization of him I’ve seen. Also, Cho’s slow opening to him was quite nice to see and this scene was quite a heartwarming one.
Yet, I can’t give this one-shot a perfect score as the ending to it, while emotional, was a bit weird. While it was a good idea to show that Littlefoot’s special star, for example, is seen only by him, the idea is taken too far by thinking all the stars are dead dinosaurs. Now, it is a good belief for children, which fits this story perfectly, but it also left me to wonder a bit about the overall themes of this story.
Even then, this was a very good story and one that promises a very good future for the eventual character development of Shorty’s Dark Past. In many ways, the level of writing here is close to your best ever and it was a real pleasure to read it again. But even without SDP, this story was a solid one in itself and one of the highlights of the year.
Name of Fanfiction: A Grief Observed.
Rating: 9,5/10
Review: Now this story was a real treat to see. As I’ve said before, Anagnos has improved visibly with each story this year and this fic has thus far proven to be the pinnacle of that development. Not only is it much more solid and free of mistakes than its predecessor but I also have tremendous respect to its ambitiousness which managed to create a good and intriguing vision of Shorty’s past. While it could have worked even better as a semi-long, multi-chaptered story, this fic was a major step forward for its author.
The scenes portrayed here were very well assembled, from the loss of Shorty’s home to his eventual meeting with Bron. Few stories have managed to portray so many interesting and emotional scenes in one story and I’m really happy that this kind of background has been created for Littlefoot’s brother. In fact, the scale and feel of this story reminds me of my own story, One Fallen, Two Torn Apart, as both of them aim to create a wide-reaching and detailed look into a character’s past.
It’s hard to pick a favorite moment from this story as all parts of it were similarly engaging. However, Shorty’s meeting with the other children and Bron were very sweetly done and they fit the mentioned characters perfectly. Yet, as I said in the original review, there were some parts where the mood seemed to fall a bit flat because of long segments with nothing but thoughts which were reminiscent of your older stories. Yet, those are minor points when reviewing this story.
All in all, this story allows me to look forward to your future fics. It’s been great to follow your improvement in the past six months and as the prompts resume next year, you will certainly be one of the frontrunners. This story is your best one thus far but there is still room for improvement and I’m sure you’ll be able to fix the problems I mentioned. But for now, great job!
Name of Fanfiction: The Necessary Truth
Rating: 7/10
Review: This story offered a pretty good look into Ruby’s earlier childhood and it had a decent feeling to it. The premise was quite an interesting one and it was quite funny to see a very different Ruby than the one we’ve come to know. Likewise, the lesson at the end was done very nicely and wrapped this story up very well.
One of the strengths of this was showing a new aspect to Ruby’s family’s life and it also proved you know them quite well. Detras and Pearl’s worrying about their daughter was rather believable even if I would have made them more fearful myself. However, the ending was a nice one as it was very believable for the fastrunner family. I like them rather much myself so I had a good time reading about their worrying day.
The long sequences of simply describing the fastrunner’s thoughts and actions was simultaneously a positive and negative for this fic. While it was nice that you offered such a deep look into Ruby’s thoughts, it also made this fic a bit jarring. The plot, while interesting, seemed to move forward rather slowly which has also been noticeable in your other stories. In some parts, it was a bit difficult for me to keep my concentration up which was rather awkward. And while the ending worked quite well in many ways, it also didn’t offer much suspense.
Now, I must apologize for sounding negative but it was good to see you’ve managed to patch up most of the issues mentioned here in your last story. While the idea was a good one here, you couldn’t quite utilize it quite perfectly which explains my considerably lower score. But as I said, this story seems to be but one episode in your way to improving your abilities so it served its purpose.
Name of Fanfiction: Light Among the Darkness
Rating: 8/10
Review: In my view, this is your second-strongest fic of the year. Not only did it offer a rather captivating premise but it also provided us with very intriguing characters. It was very easy to feel for Vilar throughout this fic but perhaps the most interesting part was the long battle between the two threehorns. It was a really solid battle scene which offered both dread and hope but even then, there were elements in this story that weren’t quite on point.
First of all, you did a very good job in creating a lot of tension between Vilar and Craster and it was very easy to get involved into the struggle. This was achieved to a large degree by the amount of buildup at the beginning of this fic and it was nice to see how many dinosaurs were rooting for the main character here. Likewise, Grimlock’s malice brought more nice feels into this fic which made it quite interesting throughout.
The reason I can’t give this a higher rating is mostly because of the pacing and the ending. While the first scenes, as I said, were nice for buildup, they were also even too long and inflated the story’s length quite a lot. As for the ending, Craster’s sudden wish for death seemed really off for me as it didn’t really suit his character. Likewise, lines like “I can’t live with myself anymore.” felt too dramatic for the situation. The ending was only one scene but it is obviously a key part of any fic.
Even then, this was a good short story and a major step forward from your two first stories. It was much more interesting and well-built than they were and it was this fic that raised my hopes for your writing tremendously. There were signs of your overall faults in this fic as well but this time, they were much fewer than the story’s obvious strengths.
Name of Fanfiction: The Silent Storm
Rating: 6/10
Review: There were certain things I liked in this story even if it wasn’t my favorite one of the year. For example, you managed to create rather enjoyable dynamics between Red Claw’s pack and that sequence was quite nice throughout. However, the main premise of this fic wasn’t that compelling and there were many faults that dragged the rating down somewhat.
As I said, the overall premise of underlining Screech and Thud’s relationship was a good one and I can respect your efforts to create some kind of a story around the threehorns as well. However, that never got off the ground and the final scenes were both a bit uneventful as well as heavy to read due to the long paragraphs. Also, the ending itself didn’t really tie a whole many things up and it left a rather empty feeling.
This isn’t a bad story but it is a bit modest compared to your other fics. Your clearest problems thus far, namely the loss of emotion due to too much description and less than perfect pace were perhaps best seen here and I’m happy you got over those as well as you did. This story showed that you could create nice relationships and dialogue but when I first read it, I couldn’t help but feel this to be a bit of a letdown.
But as I said, it is a thing of the past and this fic managed to help you learn more about writing and to be sure, there have been far more modest stories than this. This was a rather solid, if not exactly captivating and exciting, prompt response that nonetheless earns its place among your stories this year.
Name of Fanfiction: Waves Crashing Against the Sky
Rating: 9,5/10
Review: I’ll admit, I wasn’t immediately convinced by this story when I first started reading it. The first few chapters seemed quite slow and I wasn’t that impressed by them. However, those feelings were swept away as soon as we got to Petrie’s transformation as the following chapters have been close to pure fireworks.
While the last chapter was easily the best one in my view, the story has started to progress in a very intriguing direction as of late. I love how you’ve described the new Petrie and just how you’ve created the tension that is now present in this fic. Petrie and Ducky’s warm but distant relationship as well as this mysterious conspiracy surrounding these stones are extremely interesting plot points that I’ll look forward to reading more about.
The thing is, there are also some elements in the plot I don’t really approve of. Fenris’ character is one of those and I’m not at all fond of a completely evil villain in a story like this and he is the weakest point of this fic thus far. However, the way you’ve portrayed even him is really quite spectacular and in terms of pure skill in writing and feeling in the text itself, this might really be the year’s strongest story. It has kept me on the edge of my chair quite often and it’s one of those stories where it feels like every word is meaningful.
I know very well this story is just in its early stages and there will be many more things to be revealed before long but even now, this fic has not only shown promise but it has been a very exciting one as well. I truly believe you can keep up with the great quality of this fic in the months to come and this fic, along with your other works, make you one of the best authors on GoF.
Name of Fanfiction: The Threehorn Way
Rating: 9/10
Review: This has been a really fun story thus far and you’ve really nailed the first-person view here. You’ve done a really good jobbing in exploring Cera’s mental landscape during the first film while also reconciling her bad and good aspects. This has been quite a unique tale that has not only been executed well but it has also done a good job in widening our understanding of the character in the first film. Though, retelling that tale again also holds this story back a bit.
It is quite clear that this won’t be a long story and it also underlines that the main goal here is to simply sort out Cera’s thoughts which is a good idea. One thing I really like is how you’ve put her way of speaking to this fic as it makes this a far more relatable read. Cera’s endless appreciation of her father is in full display here and it’s sometimes even eerie how fanatically Cera is following his principles.
As the story progresses, the threehorn’s ideology gets challenged more and more but it makes sense she isn’t planning to give it up that easily. Her resorting to the belief of her kind’s supremacy over the others is very believable from the film and it was quite a sad part in her character development. It’ll be interesting to see just how you plan to continue this story as from now on, the tensions inside the Gang are only going to increase.
Even if rewrites rarely reach any degrees of greatness, you’ve justified very well just why this fic needs to exist. You’ve not only underlined your understanding of Cera’s character in the first film but you’ve also made an amazing case for the first-person storytelling and I might try it myself in the next year’s prompts. The lack of suspense in this story is a slight downer but as I’ve said, the level of writing itself is the most notable feature of this fic.
Name of Fanfiction: Of Broken Words and Mud Brothers
Rating: 8,5/10
Review: This is another interesting short story that holds a lot of potential as it proceeds. As has been said before, Mo certainly deserves more focus in fanfics than what he has received and you’ve certainly done justice to his character with this backstory. We have had very little idea about his past and it certainly doesn’t seem to be as happy as one may believe judging from his cheerfulness.
The plot has been quite solid thus and the first chapter describing Mo’s exile was really emotional. It was very easy to see just how painful it was to the swimmer considering the real gloom that for the first time descended upon him. Likewise, Orca and Kelp’s characterizations were solid in the way that they didn’t want to get rid of Mo for hating him but rather because they saw him as a burden to the herd. That distinction is something I really liked.
As for Mo’s quest to redeem himself, it remains to be seen how it’ll go. The concept at least is a fun one and the swimming sharptooth’s presence make things very interesting. The last chapter was very intense and once again shows that your stories have been very strong this year. I gave this fic a bit lower rating as it wasn’t quite as rock solid as the other ones in terms of writing and it’s still far from finished.
Even then, I like this fic as well as it has created very interesting herd dynamics, emotional scenes and a very nice quest where it is easy to relate to the swimmer’s fears and hopes. I look forward to seeing how you’ll continue this story as it seems very probable that we’ll soon reach the point where Mo is introduced in the film. It’ll be interesting to see what you’ll do after that point but thus far, it has been a very good short story.
Name of Fanfiction: Boundless Curiosity
Rating: 8,5/10
Review: It feels funny to review this again considering that I did so only a month ago. As I said before, this story’s premise is an extremely strong one and one that needed to be utilized at some point. The idea of showing just how different the rainbowfaces’ and the other children’s’ views of the world are while still showing their affection for each other is similar to their friends was a really sweet one. It was also nice to see that the others still respect Datum’s secrecy even if they practically caught him speaking about stuff no dinosaur should know.
At the same time, the rest of the new Gang’s curiosity is tangible and it’s difficult not to join them in demanding answers from the rainbowfaces. The first scene’s lightheartedness and simple willingness to learn something new and Datum’s later conflict about his situation both underlined the characters’ differences which created a new level of depth into the narrative. Chronos and Logos’ words to their children only reinforced this impression.
It’s clear that the scene presented here solved nothing in the long term, however. Tricia’s determination to get answers will certainly lead to some uncomfortable situations for Datum and Axiom. While this kind of resolution is the only fitting one for a story like this, it also leaves us practically where we started. I said it before but I didn’t find the ending too satisfying even if we did get some much needed information about the new Gang’s internal relationships.
Overall, this was a good tale which was a good way to finish your prompts for this season. I always like to see stories situated in another fic’s universe and you did that very well here. Despite the simplistic plot, this was one of the strongest fics you did character-wise which is quickly becoming one of your greatest strengths. Your fics were extremely good this year and I’m more than sure that trend will continue next year as well.
Name of Fanfiction: The Hurting of Desire
Rating: 8,5/10
Review: This was, in my opinion, your strongest story of the year and it was a great story throughout. The way the tension and hurt were built inside Petrie was rather emotional and the HP inspiration was far from misguided here. There were a few issues, mainly with some parts of dialogue and few plot points, but mostly this was a very good read despite the few issues.
The deterioration of the flyer’s family life wasn’t a new plot point bit you did a very good job in that regard, especially in making the reader as outraged as possible. Petrie’s fall into ever deeper depression is very believable and at the same time, it was disheartening to see just how powerless Petrie’s mother was to stop the bullying, at least initially. Many of Petrie’s struggles were pointless from the start which only made the older flyer’s role more reliable.
As for the latter part of this story, it was very well done. It was nice to see just how deeply Petrie wants his family to be complete but even then, that dream is as unachievable for him as it was for Harry. His mother’s efforts to cheer him up were equally heartwarming even if there was the issue with the dialogue I mentioned in my original review. However, it was also nice to see him still being able to see Petrie being able to listen to reason after all he’s gone through.
One of the main reasons for the missing points is the resorting to potty stuff to make Petrie feel miserable which, while effective, isn’t that fun to read about. The same plot point has been used in your other story, Gone Too Far, which was a bit awkward. I’d love to give this an even higher rating but even then, this was a great story that certainly was your best effort in these awards.
Name of Fanfiction: Is it right?
Rating: 6/10
Review: This fic had a good idea and it was very interesting to see Littlefoot and the others think about this rather fundamental change in their viewpoints. As has been stated many times before, the change of tone between the first and second films is extremely profound and the issue presented here is one of those many questions. It was pretty nice to see the Gang earning their families’ acceptance after everything they went through.
The reasons for the lower rating are largely because of how brief this fic was as well as certain thematic choices. in this fic. There were certain unfitting word choices and the contrast between the Gang and their families was a bit too profound. The shortness of the chapter, on the other hand, forced the latter part of this story to be handled a bit too quickly which prevented the full impact of this tale to be utilized.
Now, this was a decent short story and one that addressed an important detail in the Land Before Time lore but some of the themes and the apparent lack of ambition made it difficult for me to really like it. I don’t want to sound too negative but this wasn’t my favorite story of the year even if it still held most of the nice dialogue of your other stories. While this story wasn’t perfect, I truly hope you’ll return next year stronger than ever.
Name of Fanfiction: Mender’s Tale
Rating: 9,5/10
Review: I’ve quite liked how this story has developed over the past year. The situation has escalated rather dramatically and there have been many memorable and dramatic
scenes and sequences lately that have continued to make this story even more interesting than before. It is clear that there is still a lot that’ll happen before the end but for now, it’s certain there will be monumental events in the horizon.
The change to reciting only the modern-day storylines has made this fic easier to follow and it also allowed this story to become more coherent than before. It is also simpler to get
interested in all of the plots this way so I’ve liked quite a lot about the changes since the last awards. Of the events themselves, the most memorable ones were Mender’s near-death as well as Penol’s adventures in Wrok’s herd. Though the first one’s resolution was a bit too obvious, it was nonetheless a pair of chapters that made me worried for a while.
As for Penol, I’ve voiced my liking to her arc before due to the clear danger she’s in as well as the way she tries to navigate herself through it while also wondering what she wants. Overall, all of the plotlines are moving forward really smoothly. Even if there seems to be a large-scale attack on Wrok in the horizon, it’s very apparent at this point that it will only open more possibilities, possibly after Questor’s intervention.
All in all, this story has continued to develop very well and in fact, in some ways I’d say this has been MT’S strongest year. Even then, I’d still want to see something more that can make this story truly shine as its predecessor did. I just hope there won’t be any major hiatuses coming to this story as I’m sure there will be a lot of amazing stuff still to come in Mender’s Tale.
Name of Fanfiction: The Pursuit of Endless Day
Rating: 9/10
Review: Despite its rather modest progression this year, this story has been really interesting to follow. Even if the premise was a bit simple at first, you’ve managed to build more and more stuff around it which has made the fic much more interesting than I thought it would be. Then again, I shouldn’t have expected no less from an author like you and this fic has real potential to reach great heights.
As I said first, the basic idea, while intriguing, didn’t offer a whole lot suspense but as we learned just how much has happened in Petrie’s life lately, it was clear just how much truly is at stake here. Petrie is not simply willing to do the Pursuit because of some misguided pride or ambition but as a way to atone for the death of Zagar even if Petrie didn’t do anything wrong in that situation. It was a great idea to make this stem from an accident as it makes the morals and motives of any story that much more complex.
You did very well by keeping these underlying motives as a mystery in the start and even now, Petrie’s own thoughts seem more than complex at the moment and right now, we have very little idea how this fic will proceed from this point on. Judging by the conclusion of the latest chapter, it is very unlikely anything good is waiting for Petrie and considering how you’ve built this fic thus far, I’m sure you have many amazing ideas in story. Even then, the missing point is because of this uncertainty as the zeniths of this story are still waiting in the future.
These two stories have been rather phenomenal and your writing has been extremely solid during the past year. Still, it has been a bit sad that these have been your only fics since the last awards but I do understand that you have very little time for all this. I can just advise you to keep up with what your doing as these two stories hold very good potential to one day earn the perfect scores from me.
