Prosfic Rec Challenge Game

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

So it's been a while since we had any sort of Rec Challenge over here - we seem to have narrowed down to mostly Reading Room posts, which is fab in it's own way, but it'd be nice to have some other posts and recs again too!

This morning I was waking up over coffee, and as I often do was randoming through Circuit Archive when I came across a fic that I adored. I recced it quickly over at my own lj and then it occurred to me that it might be fun to have a Random Button Rec/Review Challenge! So...

... your mission, should you choose to accept it on this Friday, is to:

1. Pop over to The Circuit Archive and hit the Random button (fourth along in the menu bar at the top)

2. Read whatever fic you are given (if it's a really long one, and you only have a short coffee-break in which to read and play, then go back and hit Random again until one pops up that's a decent length for you!)

3. Write a quick review of the fic in a post here at CI5hq - it doesn't have to be a recommendation, you might have hated the story, but it's always good to know about things like that too!

4. If you can manage to include this header in your post, with a link to the story, then fab, but if not then just the title and author would work, and we can all find it from there for reading and comments...

I think it'd be rather good to have a flurry of Prosfic-recs(/non-recs! *g*) in our flists again... Please come and play! I shall have a go myself, in just a moment... let me find a cuppa... *g*

Comments

Dark Alleys and Nameless Faces and Little Black Book by Hamble

[probodie.livejournal.com]

http://community.livejournal.com/ci5hq/142736.html?mode=reply
and companion piece http://www.thecircuitarchive.com/tca/archive/20/littleblack.html

I've post two links because one is a companion piece to the other. A couple of short pieces I hadnt read before, but I was glad I did, although I do find myself wishing there was a third piece *g* But they work together well.

Being only short, it is hard to talk about it without giving away any spoilers, but she has written 'my boys' as I see them. There is a bit of banter, which I love, and a touch of angst in both stories and...well, I really liked it.

Re: Dark Alleys and Nameless Faces and Little Black Book by Hamble

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Ooh cool - yeay for playing! Shall go and have a read... *g*

You wouldn't consider re-posting this as a separate post to the comm, would you, just in case people miss it as a comment? I know, I'm so demanding... *g*

Re: Dark Alleys and Nameless Faces and Little Black Book by Hamble

[probodie.livejournal.com]

Done *g*

[(Anonymous)]

This is just one woman's opinion (and I realize I am writing this anonymously, further invalidating said opinion), but this "non-rec" thing seems unnecessarily mean-spirited. Especially considering this whole fanfiction thing is a not-for-profit enterprise, why not just stick with recc-ing stories one likes? In general, as much as I love a lot of the stories, I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the way this particular fandom works.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

but this "non-rec" thing seems unnecessarily mean-spirited
I don't see anything mean-spirited in giving an honest opinion about something. If I'd asked people to find stories they hated and then to list them, that I'd see as mean-spirited, but there was nothing purposefully negative about the challenge (and that would be my definition of "mean-spirited").

In actual fact I've already read a few fics from other people's rec/non-recs for this challenge that I wouldn't otherwise have read. Usually I "random", read the first few lines and if the English is bad/it reads awkwardly/I'm not drawn in I move on. In response to this challenge's praise of other parts of stories I would otherwise have moved on from, I've read the whole things, and appreciate authors a bit more. But I'd also far rather read an honest opinion of this-author's-characterisation-of-Cowley-is-poor-but-I-liked-such-and-such than one that pretends everything is wonderful about a story, and I'm far more likely to give an author a chance based on the former. Why hide problems and pretend they don't exist? They can never be fixed, that way.

Reccers for this challenge though, seem to have found something positive to say about the vast majority of fic they've "randomed", as I'd expect from most people in "this particular fandom". And Pros seems to have far fewer big blow-ups and faffs than other fandoms I hear about so... maybe a bit of honesty is a good thing. *g*