review for Fate Is A Four Letter Word by Philo
Ok, it's been awhile since I used this thing, but a favorite author of mine doesn't have an email addy displayed, so I'm posting my thoughts here instead for her. Feel free to ignore this post, unless you'd like to read a great Harry Potter story. If so don't waste time on my spoiler filled review, read it after the 105, yes 100 and 5 chapters of Harry Potter goodness. More emphasis on story over porn, main pairing is slash, Harry/? Here's the link Now, on with the show!
Well, Philo, its been quite a long journey. The tale is told, loose ends gathered and tied off, and we’ve reached the final stop: afterglow. This is where things can get squiffy, because the consequence of telling such a magnificent story is that everyone’s afterglow is a little different, and it can be hard to deliver the final touch gracefully. Some people want the ‘where are they 20 years later’, with blow-by-blow summaries of where the characters are and the important highlights of their lives. Others perfer the ‘just a casual conversation that happens to include updates’ approach, (which happens to be one I like) that gives a little slice of life and happens to have summaries of where they are now. Or we could go the ‘important milestone happening and people are gathered together anyway so they are talking about everyone else’s important events’ route, and could include: Lucius and Nannette’s wedding day, the first ‘birthday’ remembrance of Ginny, Hannah or Hermione giving birth, one of Harry’s children marrying or having their first child, the possibilities are endless. (I like this one too!)
You could go one of the lesser-traveled roads and have instead the ‘depressing event where people gather and talk about happier memories. (are you seeing a pattern here? *grins*) Maybe Harry’s funeral and his children are gathered together talking about who of the older generation is left and what the new one is up to. Maybe have something witnessed by an outsider POV, like the house elves thinking about their owners and how happy they are that (insert summary here, ha, ha) has happened and everything’s all rosy and cozy, or the opposite side from an unfriendly POV (Theo springs to mind here) which will give the summaries and be snarky at the same time. Or you could happily surprise us and have the open-ended ending, which gives us (surprise again!) summaries, and then starts another journey that you invite us to read.
So many endless, limitless possibilities. (No pressure though. Hee hee!) But regardless of how you write your last chapter, you have done your authorial duty in full. You’ve written a story full of adventure, mystery, romance, hardship, prejudice, family love and duty. You’ve taken characters that we already love and made us love them more and in different ways. You’ve thrilled us, made us cry, laugh, gasp, and thank *god* that there are good writers who can write *romantic- realistic- hot-* porn as part of a story and not as the point of it. Your descriptions of men’s feelings, (and not just how hard their dick is) seems natural and these men in particular seem very realistic, not a combination of perfectness and ‘they all lived happily ever after’ but human and flawed as we all are. All stories have their own flow, a build up that progresses from the first event through the ups and downs and twists and turns and ends, as I said, with the loose ends (mostly) neatly tied and tucked away, leaving the reader only the proverbial ciggie, the anticipation of the last soothing touch, the final quiet sigh as the brain shuts off and rests. (Can you tell that I really hope there is a bit of romance in the last chapter? Huh, can you, can you, huh huh? *grins some more*) I really wanted to mention that you have done a very skillful job in these final chapters of bringing it back to finding Ginny’s killers, (not regardless of the *reason* she was murdered but in addition to that fact) and now we’ve found the last one, mystery solved, Scooby Doo. (you do have Scooby Doo on English TV, right?) That was the entire point and beginning of Harry’s journey in this story, and you have done an absolutely magnificent job of telling it. It’s about Harry’s life, not just his love life, but as a father, as a son-in-law, a friend, someone who wants the truth about his wife’s killers, and finally, unexpectantly, a lover. All the pieces that make a person who they are, and make a written character come to life.
As much as I loved the main story, I think what really made it all work even better were the ‘side’ stories. I admit at first I was a bit annoyed that Lucius was getting so much writing space, -I wanted Sev and Harry and Kingsley, dammit-, but the more I read his story the more I was swept away in it. It’s hard to face that you’ve been wrong, and even harder to change and resist old habits, but I have faith in him. Especially with Nan by his side! The Weasleys, both the parents and their children (and grandchildren) were just… so right and very in-character. I loved the plot threads, from Molly’s illness to Arthur’s disability to Bill’s werewolf problems. And I loved, loved, *loved* Harry’s children. They were real and not just page fillers where you think ‘oh, here’s the obligatory Harry and his children scene’ and kinda skim until the interesting parts come up again, they *were* the interesting parts. All with their own personality’s and flaws (and how perfect that you made James be prejudiced, even if it was partly influenced by drugs, it was still him being an ass!) to the point that if you write them in the future I will read it.
You’ve even written a bit of Draco’s story , which is sort of hard to do considering this is mainly influenced from Harry’s pov, and no matter how innocent Draco was of Ginny’s death, he was still her lover. If Harry and Ginny had gotten divorced, and everyone had years to adapt to each other and the changes I have no doubt it all would have mellowed, and they would have moved on. Ginny’s death prevented that process from being finished, so Harry’s kind of just lurching along, being a bigger man, doing the right thing, but it was and *is* hard, and I *got* that from your words. I really like the Draco you’ve written here, I’m a sucker for hurt/comfort stories and he is hurting about losing his lover. (My secret story wish is for Draco’s story, I’d love to have him and Gloria be lovers a while, but she eventually leaves with them being friends, and Draco will have deal with his father and how he feels about him, how he wants to handle their future relationship, and how he worries about his son who is trying in his own way to open people’s eyes about gay people, and just whatever happens from there. But… I have digressed from the point of stroking your ego to my fantasy life. *Cracks whip at self*
What I’m very long-windedly and rambling on to say is this: your story is great, your characters are great, you’ve fulfilled and exceeded my expectations, I look forward to the last chapter however you’ve written it as one last glimpse of these much beloved characters, and I dearly, dearly hope that you have another story percolating in your wonderful brain. I cannot adequately express just how much I love this story and how much I love you for thinking it, writing it, and sharing it, even at the end of these…uh… 1300 words or so of trying to do so. (Just making up for shamefully not reviewing the last, oh.. 40 or so chapters. (Whoops!) Thank you so, SO much for sharing it. I think you’ve mentioned your day job before, I have shamefully forgotten if so, but I wanted to say: if you ever think up an original story that you love with all the passion you obviously do of the Harry Potter ones, write it, sell it, and let me know so I can buy it. (No joke, really let me know, if you please.) Ok, enough ego stroking for you! *Cracks whip* Now about that Draco story….
Much love and appreciation, Christina (iluvtrees)