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Complete A Second Chance at Life Series by Miranda Flairgold - T/M

Discussion in 'Almost Recommended' started by ChuckDaTruck, Aug 3, 2005.

  1. Blaise

    Blaise Golden Patronus

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    Suggestion: ASK THE AUTHOR VIA PM.
     
  2. Mage

    Mage Chief Warlock DLP Supporter

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    Nah, a two month bump in a highly controversial thread is a much better solution. After all, DLP is omniscient.
     
  3. Oden1234

    Oden1234 Muggle

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    Blaise, tried that...and sent multiple e-mails...no response over the months since i've sent them...so both of you were no help at all...
     
  4. Blaise

    Blaise Golden Patronus

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    Then you've got your answer. But if you need clarification:

    ANSWER: She's not going to post a new chapter on ff.net.

    ANSWER: No, there is no site that she updates regularly.

    Hope this helps.
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2010
  5. Remmy

    Remmy Fourth Year

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    This story wasn't that bad, but it just had nothing to do with Canon whatsoever after a while. Still, compared to other stuff out there, it did hold my attention for a relatively long period of time before I completely gave up out of sheer exhaustion, but it was still an interesting read nonetheless.

    I just feel sad that so many ideas that must have been original for her have now become well-used clichés and that has a dampening effect on her story, but still, it was enjoyable at the start. Always fun to see Harry grow a backbone and do something worthwhile to prepare himself.
     
  6. Trini_Randy

    Trini_Randy Muggle

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    This is among the best ff out there, it's a shame she fell off the grid, I would love to see how it ended up, especially what that final transformation was...
     
  7. Rahkesh Asmodaeus

    Rahkesh Asmodaeus THUNDAH Bawd Admin DLP Supporter

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    Shut the fuck up you homo piece of shit.
     
  8. Skeletaure

    Skeletaure Magical Core Enthusiast ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    I think it fairly clear that his final transformation was going to be into a Mega Ultra Double Dog Dare Dragon, or whatever it was called. The ones that the elves have a copyright on.

    I think it's also fairly clear that after it happened, everyone would crow about how unique and powerful it was for a few chapters before going back to giving Namach head as he solved all their problems.
     
  9. Vira

    Vira Third Year ~ Prestige ~

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    A few weeks ago I re-read this entire series, and I'll be honest: before this particular re-read, I loved it. Yes, it wasn’t a Harry Potter story, but I saw it as an original book series. It was a fun, popcorn story I could enjoy without thinking about it.

    ‘Without thinking about it’ being the key phrase.

    Strap in, we’re going for a rant. Unmarked spoilers ahead, though I don’t think anyone cares.

    Where should I start? The Mary Sue protagonist, his Mary Sue supporting cast, the Mary Sue school, or the unapologetic character bashing? They’re all the same thing, so let’s start at the top.

    Rahkesh. The name everyone associates with this fic that is often accompanied by a snicker. I don’t care about the name change. It’s a typical teenage power fantasy choice. Who doesn’t dream about using a fake name and going to school of assassins? Who doesn’t dream about then going back to your old life and shaking your head sadly about the poor chumps left behind who you never really thought of as your friends. They’re so annoying and boring, aren’t they? They can’t measure up to your new vampire friends who you’ve known for like two months and who have never been at your back.

    I think Teenage Power Fantasy is the real title of this series. Rahkesh is perfect. He never makes a wrong decision. He approaches each choice sensibly and, backed up by the powers he was born with, slams through each threat. Everyone who likes him is an ally and a good person. Everyone who dislikes him is an enemy, obviously. This is universal, Rahkesh doesn’t make mistakes in character assessments. A bad person isn’t revealed to be good and a good person isn’t revealed to be bad. They’re all exactly what they’re introduced as.

    Unlike a lot of protagonists of this genre, Rahkesh has a significant character weakness. He hates people in his head, altering his thoughts, or doing anything like that even if it would benefit him. He reacts violently to even telepathic communication, and when he gains his first Animagus form, it becomes instinctual and uncontrollable. Despite the violent reactions against very powerful people, he never gets in trouble for this. Often, people who get hurt come apologizing to him. No grudges here, Rahkesh is always in the right.

    At the very least, Rahkesh is a harmless sort of protagonist. He doesn’t act or sprout values that are mortally repugnant outside being an assassin or anything to do with his school, which we’ll get to. He’s out-of-character when it comes to that, but as said, I don’t see this as a Harry Potter story.

    Moving on! Rahkesh’s supporting cast suffers from the same problems. They all hold the same values as him. I don’t recall any of them getting into arguments with each other. They're fairly two-dimensional with a few characteristics that never change. No character development, aside from a gradual increase in magical abilities and powers. However, they’re likeable and hold a sense of comradely that’s good for power fantasies. They feel like friends, even if there’s not much under the surface.

    Now, the school. It’s in Canada, so aside from my slight bias (CANADA!!!!), I have lots of bones to pick. Mostly on how it’s stupid and not much thought went into it. Everything is legal within this school. Students and teachers can do anything to each other, including rape and murder. While killing is illegal on the school grounds, there are a lot of loopholes around it so it’s not much of a restriction. If you tilt your head, it seems like it could work. Rahkesh claims if someone fucks with too many people they get ganged up on and killed. People with bad attitudes are killed by either students or teachers. You not only need to be talented, but be respectable. And the school has that reputation, so if you sign up for it, you know what you’re getting into. It’s your fault if you get victimized.

    But really? How is this a learning environment? A 16/17 year old at the youngest is expected to understand what they’re getting into and then task themselves so they don’t take on too much? If you get raped and you’re too magically weak to get back at your attacker, it’s your own fault for being weak? Teachers are allowed to do these things too and it’s known for them to go through students. Forget the school itself, how is the world allowing this? You send your kid to this school and if they get killed, you don’t care? No vengeance, just shrugging and saying, “Well, they knew what they were getting into!”

    I could ignore this better if rape wasn’t included because goddamn, how is this fic that stupid. You don’t bring rape into this, but that’s all I’ll say on that subject. Instead, let’s tackle the crowning pile of shit on top of this stale discount cake of a story.

    Character bashing, or “Geez Magical Britain, when did Trump become your Minister of Magic?”

    There are no good sides to Magical Britain or the people in it. The light side purists, including Ron, are walking cardboard cut outs with ‘I am stuffed with straw’ written on them in black marker. They and the Ministry decree all magical creatures and that assassin school are EVIL! They practice DARK ARTS and must be exterminated! Us British Wizards are the best and smartest and everyone will look up to us!

    If you thought my capitalization and italics were obnoxious, then you don’t know the half from reading these Ministry scenes. Hogwarts is called the 45th best magical school in the world (out of 60 schools). The ‘good’ British characters leave Britain, never to return, leaving their light side extremist family members and loved ones to die because they're irredeemable. Great Britain has the most deaths when a plague hits with nearly their entire population dying off, but don’t worry, no one who matters care because Britain deserve it.

    Here’s the part that changed the way I looked at this story.

    The way this fic bashes Magical Britain is the exact same way Magical Britain bashes Rahkesh and his supporting cast and school in-story. There's no difference. They both see those sides in one-dimension with no shades of grey. And this is what this fic is, despite its assurances. It’s a black and white world with good guys and bad guys clear cut. Good guys can do bad things, but the bad things aren't seen as such or treated much more minor than they are. Those hilarious vampires and their killing and raping antics!

    It’s a power fantasy with no self-awareness. Sometimes it tries to be something more, but more often than not, it seems satisfied with being an action-heavy magical fantasy with demons, time travel, assassins, and a magical war where everyone is exactly as they seem.

    Sometimes I want that, but this time I didn’t.

    So this concludes my rant. Thank you for reading. I see at one point in time I rated this story a 5/5. Oh, past me, you and your tastes. I’ll update it, to reflect my recent experiences and my growth into a better person.

    4/5.

    ... Shhh, I like popcorn. :(
     
  10. Captain Trips

    Captain Trips High Inquisitor

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    It was one of these stories that had that big battle with multiple basilisks in it right?
    I remember thinking, why isn't anyone conjuring a giant rooster.
     
  11. Vira

    Vira Third Year ~ Prestige ~

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    Probably because there were basilisks on both sides. Don't want to rooster your own guy to death. :p
     
  12. robin000

    robin000 Squib

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    Sorry for the necro. But, figured I'd throw my hat into the ring. I really liked this story. Obviously, the super school turns some people off. But, the exploration of new magic such as blood magic interested me. Also, the plethora of species and creatures made for a world rife with potential. The lack of angsty romance also made it a plus for me. Although this is an AU with a set of new characters, I would've liked more interaction between Harry's old life and his new one. I think more could have been made of that particular thread. Also, I would've liked to see the old crowd's reaction to a Harry throwing around lightning and being his badass self. Unless I'm very much mistaken, the third story in the trilogy remains incomplete? Which is a very sad state of affairs. So, if you don't get turned off by a super Harry, going to a super school, then I'd thoroughly recommend it.
    Do please let me know if necroing threads with posts such as mine is frowned upon? Apologies in advance if so. As I've only been exploring DLP for a few days. Despite my join date. So I'm not fully conversant on the etiquette yet.

    Anyway, enough of my blathering. I remain hopeful that despite the remote possibility, this series somehow gets concluded sometime in the future.
     
  13. Sauce Bauss

    Sauce Bauss Second Year ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Necroing is permitted in the library almost entirely, so long as the post in question is one of substance and effort. In other subforums, it is best to let dead threads lie unless something of importance or relevance has happened in reference to it. For the most part, it should be intuitive. If the post has a point, will instigate discussion, or is providing new information, then it's fine.
     
  14. Tasoli

    Tasoli Minister of Magic

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    I think saddest part about where this story ended was we never got to see the new magical world.

    I have been looking to stories which has wizardign world actually being a World but I never found one.

    Also rereading the first pages of this thread is a blast from the past. All the things we decry this tory being gulty of was highly praised backe then when this story first came out.
     
  15. HatfulofHate

    HatfulofHate Squib

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    I remember reading this "trilogy" but now that I've gotten more critical in my reading, I've noticed that this story (I just got one chapter in, most recently) does a lot of Telling and not Showing. At the time, I think this story was original, but the alternative school of magic/Mary Sue! Harry plot lines are not cutting it for me anymore.
     
  16. NorthStarUnicorn

    NorthStarUnicorn Muggle

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  17. Triliro

    Triliro Second Year

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    Could you elaborate a bit on why they’re better? A quick skim of ch.1 doesn’t really seem too promising and I don’t have the time to read a lot rn.
     
  18. NorthStarUnicorn

    NorthStarUnicorn Muggle

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    To me at least, they're basically less overblown and a bit more reasonable. They work off of more or less the same premise, but like you said, they are a little boring. They're basically something similar, but less crazy.
     
  19. Zombie

    Zombie Black Philip Moderator DLP Supporter

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    I mean generally I wouldn't say anything, but maybe you should just make a thread for your story in review instead of threadjacking this one. You've yet to give me a reason other than it's the same premise why I should read it. They're basically something similar but less crazy isn't much of a review.
     
  20. NorthStarUnicorn

    NorthStarUnicorn Muggle

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    I originally read it because it ends up more or less like how I imagined Ascal to end up. Harry transforms into X weird exotic magical creature, has Y weird thing happen, hell, it even has a time travel element. I mentioned it here because it seems as though it was inspired by Miranda's stories. (Not my story btw, I suck at writing fiction)

    My problem was that a large portion of it seems more than a bit far fetched. It starts with Hermione getting her parents to buy Harry plane tickets to a location halfway around the world. Why would someone who has met him at most, like twice? I think? and never really spent any huge amount of time around him to get to know him, go out of their way to help him flee the country.

    It gets marginally worse when he reaches America. Harry Potter is physically, very recognizable, and I don't recall any disguise theory being used. But yet, the american Aurors don't even question it? And even worse, they go out of their way to help him escape as well. Hermione and her parents is marginally plausible, but American Aurors? Why?

    Basically, if you want to see something along the lines of what I think the later bits of Changes and the early bits of A Magical World could have been, you should read this. It's slightly less trope-ey, a decent read, and actually gets to the point fairly quickly without everyone going out of their way to help Talyn/Harry.
     
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