1. DLP Flash Christmas Competition + Writing Marathon 2024!

    Competition topic: Magical New Year!

    Marathon goal? Crank out words!

    Check the marathon thread or competition thread for details.

    Dismiss Notice
  2. Hi there, Guest

    Only registered users can really experience what DLP has to offer. Many forums are only accessible if you have an account. Why don't you register?
    Dismiss Notice
  3. Introducing for your Perusing Pleasure

    New Thread Thursday
    +
    Shit Post Sunday

    READ ME
    Dismiss Notice

Which fanfic classics have aged well and which haven't?

Discussion in 'Fanfic Discussion' started by Sorrows, May 16, 2018.

  1. Sorrows

    Sorrows Queen of the Flamingos Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2008
    Messages:
    2,986
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Edinburgh
    So I re-read Altered Destinies by DobbyElfLord the other day. Overall it still holds up reasonably well though there were some minor irritants like Harry's two animigus forms and the Pheonix Foundation and that he went with 'James Evens' as a name. Though to be fair, James Evens might have been a trend he started.

    It still is one of the better timetravel fics out there though overall the storyline is kind of boring and lacks tension. The WW2 spy stuff still holds up, it was obviously well researched, but Grindalward and his arguments are unconvincing, Toms dip into evil is resolved dumbly Harry's family is annoying and there is a ticking clock element that never gets utilized properly.

    It made me wonder which great stories you enjoyed in the past hold up when you re-read them? If they didn't why? Is it because their ideas have become cliches, the writing seems juvenile, the relationships seem problematic? etc etc
     
  2. Tasoli

    Tasoli Minister of Magic

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2008
    Messages:
    1,242
    Location:
    Behind the keyboard
    I am scared to re-read Denarian series. I remember it being good but I also remember Harry in that story actually acting like very clishê Indy Harry only with much better writing with his shoulder angel.
     
  3. Sorrows

    Sorrows Queen of the Flamingos Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2008
    Messages:
    2,986
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Edinburgh

    Yeah I too have put off re-reading them. They were great at the time and are still probably pretty awesome but I think there are definite elements of Harry's character that would have me rolling my eyes at this point in my life.

    The again I did read A Black Comedy not so long ago and though the snark could get grating at times it pretty much still holds together, I laughed out loud at points.
     
  4. Genghiz Khan

    Genghiz Khan Headmaster

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2011
    Messages:
    1,157
    Location:
    Darujistan
    While there's quite a bit that hasn't aged well, JBern's The Lie I've Lived is definitely a fic one can re-read. I have, in fact, done it once this year when I had too much time on my hands. The Sorting Hat is unique to say the least, and while Harry Potter reads a bit like Harry Dresden in both his luck with women and the situations he keeps getting into, I've managed to suspend critiquing the story and just enjoyed it flow. Everything, from Harry dredging up his parents' sex lives in intimate detail to Peter Pettigrew taking the marauders out to a gay discotheque made me chuckle.

    I suppose Barb's Psychic Serpent trilogy is something I'm afraid to tackle again. I don't know why, I just... don't want to.
     
  5. H_A_Greene

    H_A_Greene Unspeakable –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2009
    Messages:
    715
    High Score:
    4,492
    I've been meaning to re-read The Lie I've Lived again and see how it holds up now. I liked it the past few times but I haven't opened it in about four years.

    I noticed this as well. When I was younger I thought it was great, but I reread the story a couple of months back and I had to just skip some of the conversations between everyone as it progressed. Not perfect but on the whole it does hold up.
     
  6. Zombie

    Zombie Black Philip Moderator DLP Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2007
    Messages:
    6,036
    I was just talking about this with @Sauce Bauss the other day. Nonjon's work has held up a lot better than many other fics that are "classics." Its kinda weird, but it shows a flair and polish for the time frame that the humor was well structured and not something that was on the fly.
     
  7. Hymnsicality

    Hymnsicality Seventh Year

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2014
    Messages:
    265
    Location:
    On the wild plains of Africa
    Year's Of Rebellion has aged really well IMO. Some of the ideas in it are still really fresh. Ron's depiction is really well done, Harry and Hermione are solid and the Romance is understated but still feels fresh. IIRC the complaints about it were that Harry wasn't bamf enough which isn't really the point of the story.

    Also the phoenix and the serpent is as indomitable as ever.
     
  8. Anarchy

    Anarchy Half-Blood Prince DLP Supporter

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2009
    Messages:
    3,679
    Location:
    NJ
    I feel like it's the comedy elements of the story. It didn't take itself seriously to begin with, and that doesn't really change with time. And the elements that were absurd back then (such as Harry's phoenix-hand thing in Browncoat) are still absurd now.

    Anyways, I'm not going to comment on TLIL other to say that I didn't like it when it first came out, and a decade of time passing has not made it more palatable.

    One story that has aged remarkable well is the Death Arch trilogy. Maybe it's even better now than it was back then. One of people's main sticking points is how the first few chapters were from Ginny's perspective and people would rather just shut the fic down and complain about it instead of actually reading it, so maybe these days some people will see it as the 5 star fic that it actually is. It's one of those fics that when I first read, I was excited for people to try and take some of the ideas in it and do their own epic versions but it just hasn't happened. 12 years later and it's still relatively unique.

    On the other hand, Make A Wish has not aged well at all. But, TBH, I'm not sure if it was actually good to begin with, but it is one of those fics people have put into the "classic" folder.
     
  9. ScottPress

    ScottPress The Horny Sovereign –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2013
    Messages:
    37
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    The Holy Moose Empire
    High Score:
    6900
    I read the Ring of Gold on your recommendation and while it had some interesting ideas, the execution is boring as fuck. It's not about Ginny's POV--it's that the author stretched it by 50k words and on top of that, writing is flavorless. Take the first chapter--an overwrought, over-detailed flashback, a goddamn chore to read. I cannot fathom how anyone could sit through that twice more.
     
  10. Crownworthy

    Crownworthy Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2011
    Messages:
    63
    Location:
    Norway
    The Denarian Series is a lot more nuanced than your typical indie fic. Though Harry has his disagreements with Dumbledore, there are no signs of Dumbledore bashing, and in many of the cases, Dumbledore is shown to be in the right.

    I can understand being annoyed at Harry's attitude to an extent, though I don't have any issues with it personally. There isn't a sudden transition from cannon Harry to this sarcastic, more aggressive version. Unlike in bad indie fics, his character changes over time, as a result of his changing situation and the influence of being raised by Meciel. Does Harry have his character flaws? Sure, but that is essential in any story to keep it from getting bland and uninteresting. And the plot has seldom been equaled in the fandom, before or since. All in all, it's still probably my favourite fic.
     
  11. shadowdragonis

    shadowdragonis Muggle

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2016
    Messages:
    3
    High Score:
    0
    Almost all of nonjon's work aged great. I can still reread some of his stories like A Black Comedy and Where in the World is Harry Potter to get a laugh.

    Not quite sure I'd call them classics, but I'd definitely strongly recommend basically all of them.
     
  12. Shinysavage

    Shinysavage Madman With A Box ~ Prestige ~

    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2009
    Messages:
    2,059
    Location:
    UK
    High Score:
    2,296
    YMMV on its classic status, but every time I read it I find more about the Sacrifices Arc that I don't like.
     
  13. TheLazyReader

    TheLazyReader Groundskeeper

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2018
    Messages:
    308
    Alexandra Quick series should still be a great read I think.
     
  14. ScottPress

    ScottPress The Horny Sovereign –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2013
    Messages:
    37
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    The Holy Moose Empire
    High Score:
    6900
    I'm rereading Wastelands right now and I'll say that Joe's style is a little, um, heavy-handed here. From Unfound Door on, he really polished his prose.

    The story still holds up though, at least as far as I can tell a third of the way through. Less perhaps as a HP fanfic because it's so different than anything else in the fandom, but certainly as an epic adventure story. It's kind of amazing how Joe was writing a canon-ish Dumbledore in the era of the Indy!Harry bashfests.
     
  15. Zombie

    Zombie Black Philip Moderator DLP Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2007
    Messages:
    6,036
    That the one with the Harry/Draco pairing?

    If so, that fic wasn't ever really a classic for anything other than the fact that it had so many words. It was the epitome of the WBWL/Living Parents, Asshole!Twin category. Also the descriptions of magic ruined other fics for a long time afterwards as people attempted to imitate it.
     
  16. Hawkin

    Hawkin Chief Warlock

    Joined:
    Apr 20, 2011
    Messages:
    1,453
    Location:
    QC, Canada
    I think Timely Error has aged pretty well actually considering it was written in 2008-2009. Same for Prince of a Dark Kingdom which was first started in 2007, although it is incomplete.
     
  17. Dresden11

    Dresden11 Fifth Year

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2014
    Messages:
    152
    Harry Potter and the Boy Who Lived still holds up as one of the best. Santi truly is one of the best writers to ever do it in the HP fandom to me.
     
  18. Zombie

    Zombie Black Philip Moderator DLP Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2007
    Messages:
    6,036
    He's dead man. Its never going to be finished, its never coming back. Just gone. Even Santi hates his own work.
     
  19. Genghiz Khan

    Genghiz Khan Headmaster

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2011
    Messages:
    1,157
    Location:
    Darujistan
    It’s kinda amazing how that fic took so long to be mentioned, come to think of it. Wasn’t DLP inundated with new accounts just to read it?
     
  20. Dresden11

    Dresden11 Fifth Year

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2014
    Messages:
    152
    I hold out hope, Scott! Considering I was one of those accounts that came just to read Santi's work, I have to have at least the tiniest bit of hope. Though I ended up staying because the better views on different characters that can be found here.
     
Loading...