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: 08:40:23 04/13/03 Sun
Author: Molloch
Author Host/IP: NoHost / 203.55.173.3
Subject: Re: Review: "A Long Time" by Mad Poetess
In reply to: morgain 's message, "Review: "A Long Time" by Mad Poetess" on 08:59:32 04/07/03 Mon

Now let me say that this was my first slash piece. I haven't read any slash fic that's out there and I was a bit wary as to whether i'd like it or not. Well I loved it! It was just so different. The ideas were new and refreshing. Xander has never had any luck with women, even demon women (hey even Cordy's a demon now!) and so trying him with a demon man seems to work.
The piece is built on recognisable elements in the Buffyverse but then goes off into it's own story which works really well. The writer has a strong knowledge of the characters. Xander and Spike seem right on the money. Their voices and the way they acted seemed perfectly real for me. The story is very original and while it hasn't happened in the show it seems like it could have. The story is seemless and moves along at a good pace. I really thought the ending was great. It left me with wanting more but happy with the way the whole thing turned out.
My heart really felt for Xander and Spike too at the end and I want to read more of Mad Poetess's work. I would recommend this to anyone wanting slash or something a little different.


97

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

Replies:

[> Re: Review: "A Long Time" by Mad Poetess -- Kelso, 18:16:44 04/13/03 Sun (c66.190.39.48.fdl.wi.charter.com/66.190.39.48)

I had a mixed reaction to this story. I've read other works by The Mad Poetess and liked them better, because I feel they did a better job of establishing the Xander/Spike relationship. So my first problem with this fic was, why did Xander and Spike get together in the first place? I didn't buy how easily and "naturally" it happened. I mean, look at canon: These two have never liked each other, and did not at the time this story was set! Give me a decent reason to buy them together, and I can do it. Just tell us they get together (apparently merely because the author thinks they make a good couple) and the entire basis of the story is wobbly.

Another thing that bothered me was, the early parts contained way too narration and not enough description. Interesting scenes (or what *should* have been scenes) were skimmed over in a sentence or two. For instance: "Eventually, there was Buffy catching us in a full-on tonsil-hockey session behind a mausoleum on patrol. Yeah, fights, screaming, shouting, recriminations, the usual happy Scooby life, and the Hellmouth nights went on around us." Well, I would have liked to have actually "seen" the night when Buffy caught them together, and *felt* her reaction, rather than having it glossed over so hollowly.

Finally, the solution for Xander being able to leave the Hellmouth was overly familiar. That is, when Willow translated the soul curse to use on Angel, the happiness clause wasn't included, so of course Spike could turn Xander and he could then be cursed and go off with Spike. Do you have any idea how many B/A stories use that screwed-up translation method as, basically, a cop out so Buffy and Angel can conveniently be together without having to worry about him losing his soul? It's about as common as B/A CWC fics, which are also too heavy on the ground. Now, I find it used in a Spike/Xander story, which I never thought would happen. Noooooo! A little more creativity, please!

All of this is not to say I didn't enjoy large parts of the story. It's always good to find a slash fic that has a plot instead of just sex. I liked how Xander was trapped on the Hellmouth. I liked the fact that Spike did not want to stay. The latter parts of the story contained the dialogue and specific scenes I feel the whole thing should have had. It did build up to a nice, emotional ending, and I generally liked the characterization quite well. I also found the fewest grammar and spelling errors of any story on the reading list up to this point. So I do recommend it, but not whole-heartedly.

Rating: 83.


[ 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.