VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: [1], 2, 3, 4 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 14:33:14 04/01/03 Tue
Author: Gwynevere1
Author Host/IP: dhcp0228.hrn.resnet.group.upenn.edu / 165.123.185.122
Subject: Review of "Purgatory" by Michael T.

The Good:

In general, there was good characterization; all the characters held true to their own distinct voices. Especially, I always love a good Snyder. The dialogue was quippy and original. There was nothing confusing about the plotting. There were no *major* violations of canon. The action is realistic; no character had powers beyond his or her capabilities at that point. There are no blatant spelling or grammatical errors, except when the author is making the conscious decision to reflect the characters' way of speaking, e.g. how the writer explaining "Buffy Speak" in that Season 3 DVD featurette. Therefore, these are positive aspects of the writing, not negative.
Almost to my surprise, I found the background about Cooper's past truly affecting, and a nice parallel to Buffy's situation. Making bad choices. Seeking redemption. Isn't that what this show is all about?


The Bad:

There is a lot of post-"Becoming, Part II" fic out there, and this piece really suffers by comparison. There was a great deal of long, drawn out passages describing details that the reader, who is naturally a fan of the show, would already know. For instance, always describing the clothes and other aspects of the characters' appearance when they served no purpose to the overall story. Maybe for homeless Buffy it was necessary, but the reader knows how Old School Willow dressed. I, personally, prefer crisp, tight narratives. There were too many times when I found myself saying, "Alright, I get it. Do we have to chat about it all day?"
There were a few too many continuity errors, albeit minor ones, that just bothered me. Why would Cordelia have gone up to the Girls Formally Known As Cordettes by the beginning of Season 3, anyway? Her association with them ended in "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered." Dingoes Ate My Baby should not have been considered good by the rest of the group. It was a running gag that the band was BAD. I don't think there is really AP Renaissance History (Does anyone know? I apologize if I'm wrong there). Also, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe? Not even close. Doug Petrie's original draft of the intervention scene in "Revelations," maybe, but that? Willow would have known better.
There were no new insights into the characters. I also felt that the story came across as emotionally hollow.
In addition, it had way too many similarities with "Anne": the duel storyline; the activities in Sunnydale; the homeless shelter; the frightened, shy girl Buffy had to rescue; Buffy's choice of pseudonym. Although this story had no date that I saw, it had to have been written after "Anne" if we knew Buffy's middle name even was Anne and if we knew that Oz's full name was Daniel Osborne. I prefer stories that do not use existing episodes as a crutch.

Conclusion: I noticed that this was Part One in a series. Although the story didn't have me wishing I could sleep with my eyes open, I have no interest in reading the next parts. Basically, this was not a bad story, but I've read so much better.

Overall Score: 83

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> Re: Review of "Purgatory" by Michael T. -- Chani, 10:24:59 04/03/03 Thu (curie.noos.net/212.198.0.93)

Ok quickly. Good characterization, the dialogues are plausible, the story is easy to read...The "plot" is well followed.
The only error in the narration IMO is about the Cordelia/Cordettes ship here. It doesn't make sense.

But something is missing! I don't know what, it's just I was left wanting more...Actions, romance...anything! This story didn't catch my breath, it didn't catch my interest either. It wasn't very long but it was rather long given the lack of stuff. Besides I haven't been convinced by the character of Cooper.

Maybe I'm rather into Hell or Heaven than Purgatory....

75/100


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: Review of "Purgatory" by Michael T. -- Robin, 03:15:11 04/05/03 Sat (h24-70-225-237.hn.shawcable.net/24.70.225.237)

I read this story today. It's a good story. The characterization is pretty much spot on (there's a slight bit of Oz-assassination, but for the most part, Oz is on, too. Just one line really threw that off for me). The dialogue is good. The story flows, it's realiztic for the characters and the situation.

However, it is quite obviously the first in a series, and that makes it a little harder to enjoy. The story just kind of...stopped. Reading this as a standalone piece, it's just not active enough. Stuff happened, but it wasn't as interesting as it could be.

But I did like the story. It was just kinda...there.

80/100.


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: Review of "Purgatory" by Michael T. -- Kelso, 14:44:07 04/05/03 Sat (c66.190.39.48.fdl.wi.charter.com/66.190.39.48)

I can't really think of a lot to say about this story. It was technically competent and the characterization was solid. But it didn't grab my attention at any time. I kept plugging along, hoping some plot point would really interest me, and it never happened. The author didn't make any big mistakes, but he also didn't take any creative risks.

As Gwynevere1 said, the story was too similar to the "Anne" episode. And like Chani said, I felt like something was missing. I was relieved when I got to the end of the piece. It's crucial that the first part of a series be the "hook," because if it fails, who will want to read the rest? Not me, for one. Still, this story was adequate or somewhat better in most basic areas, so I'll give it a score in the middle of the "average" area.

Rating: 75.


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: Review of "Purgatory" by Michael T. -- PJzallday, 23:47:18 04/06/03 Sun (px1so.cg.shawcable.net/24.71.223.140)

I thought this was a reasonably good post-season 3 fic.

The existing characters seemed fairly close to their TV personae and the plot was plausible. I did find Buffy's storyline more interesting than that of the rest of the gang though.

Although the story does lean a bit toward the "Anne" idea, I think the author made enough changes to give the story a different feel. Buffy's situation seemed more dire, more dark and she seemed much less interested in getting help/helping others than in the actual TV story. (I was a bit disappointed by the "higher power"-type intervention that gave Buffy a "push in the right direction", but I guess something had to???)


73/100


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: Review of "Purgatory" by Michael T. -- Molloch, 23:22:56 04/07/03 Mon (NoHost/203.55.173.3)

Okay, well like the other reviewers I felt that this fic was very close to "Anne" and therefore I found it too similar to what I have seen.
The piece is very recognizable, too recognizable for my liking. It just didn't seem different enough for me. With fic I want it to be similar to the show but with twists or surprises that don't follow what actually happened. The writer certainly has a strong knowledge of characters. Especially Snyder. He seemed spot on. But Oz seemed to have alot to say in this piece. This seemed slightly off in my view. And Cooper seemed so similar to that guy in "ANne" that I expected him to be evil. And while he wasn't it just didn't sit right with the fact that the rest of the piece was so similar to the show.

It is a good story but not original enough. I didn't hate it but there is not enough there for me to recomend it to anyone.

77


[ Edit | View ]


[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-5
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.