Something I've kept meaning to post...
I've mentioned to a number of you in real-life conversation that I've lately been hooked on the works of a web novelist by the name of Alexandra Erin. And I keep telling people I'll post the links to her various ongoing tales (four of them that are at least semi-regularly updated) here one of these days.
Well, this evening she mentioned in the latest update to my favourite, Tribe, might be in jeopardy if it doesn't start attracting more readers, but if it does, might start being updated more often. So this seems to be as good a time as any to finally post those links:
With any of these, BTW, I would recommend starting from the beginning. Don't just dive in wherever the story's at now -- you'll just get confused. The first three are all short enough that you can get caught up in a few days -- Tales of MU, having upwards of 200 chapters thus far, will likely take you a wee bit longer.
Happy reading...
Well, this evening she mentioned in the latest update to my favourite, Tribe, might be in jeopardy if it doesn't start attracting more readers, but if it does, might start being updated more often. So this seems to be as good a time as any to finally post those links:
- Tribe: Fantasy in Miniature. As mentioned above, this one is my favourite. It's kind of a gritty inner-city dark fantasy with some really interesting ideas about magic, and a similar feel to some of Neil Gaiman's work. The "in miniature" of the title refers to the fact that it's an "experiment in serial micro fiction", in that it's made up of mini-chapters that are each 333 words in length. This is not as annoying as it sounds, because the story is so compelling (to me, at least).
I would like it even more if it were actually updated more often, which is why I am doing my part to try and promote it... Read, comment, let her know if you like it! Please!
- Void Dogs. This one's more science fiction than fantasy, although it has elements of both. It's pretty much a space opera, with a somewhat Firefly-ish feel, except that the ships are powered by alchemy and there are other magical elements here and there. It's got some really interesting, quirky characters, and a fair bit of humour in it. I should probably mention that some parts here and there are somewhat NSFW, though, for those who care about such things.
You can get updates on your friends page by adding void_dogs.
- The Three Seas is more classic, sword-and-sorcery-ish fantasy, though like most of her work it's still got its own quirks and is anything but generic. It's also probably the most G-rated of the lot, being less dark than Tribe and without the sexual elements of Void Dogs or...
- Tales of MU (Magisterius University). Last but definitely not least, this is by far her most popular and most frequently updated story. The popularity may be in large part accounted for because a lot of it is, not to put too fine a point on it, porn. But not all, and those who start reading it looking just for that will probably end up disappointed by the amount of the story that's actually devoted to thinks like plot and character development, which is what makes it actually interesting.
It's about a university for magicians, but this is definitely not just Harry Potter in a slightly older age group (except for the last April Fool's Day update). It's set in the university's one residence for non-human students, and gets into a lot of interesting social dynamics regarding the treatment of nonhumans of various types by the dominant human society and by each other. There are also a lot of satirical digs at the fantasy genre in general and role-playing games in particular. And, as mentioned above, copious amounts of sex, most of it queer and/or kinky.
In the beginning I actually found Tales of MU kind of annoying because some of the characters came across as kind of shallow and stereotypical, but as the story progresses, they all develop depth and complexity. Highly unlikable characters end up displaying redeeming features, likable ones turn out to have major flaws, and sometimes it seems like almost the entire cast needs about 20 years of therapy (the author definitely doesn't shy away from dealing with disturbing issues, or making her characters intriguingly fucked up), but it's always interesting, and rarely predictable.
You can get updates on your friends page by adding talesofmu.
With any of these, BTW, I would recommend starting from the beginning. Don't just dive in wherever the story's at now -- you'll just get confused. The first three are all short enough that you can get caught up in a few days -- Tales of MU, having upwards of 200 chapters thus far, will likely take you a wee bit longer.
Happy reading...