Comments | xf_book_club: Story 228: "Original Sin" by Syntax6

wendelah1 in xf_book_club

Story 228: "Original Sin" by Syntax6

Aug 13, 2013 09:26

She's back. "Original Sin" is syntax6's long unfinished WIP, abandoned in 2008 after six gripping chapters. To my surprise and delight, she has returned to fandom, and over the past few weeks, posted the remainder of the story. She updated her website, too, adding a half dozen or more stories in a new fandom. It looks good.

It's post Fight the Future, ( Read more... )

mulder/other, fight the future, season 6, season 5, casefile, nc-17, scully/other, msr

Comments 46

newo_fic August 13 2013, 21:15:40 UTC

For whatever reason, this was one of the few syntax stories that I never read back in the day when I discovered her work. Maybe because it was a wip? Not sure. But I happened to be navigating her site recently and, poof, it had changed and updated! Was a nice surprise! So when I saw her comments about this story, I jumped right in ( ... )

wendelah1 August 21 2013, 01:26:28 UTC

I agree, the ending felt a bit rushed. But it was a good, engrossing read nonetheless.

I liked the Scully/Fowley interactions, definitely. I kind of hate ship them a little bit. Don't tell anyone, okay? Syntax6 writes a very measured Diana Fowley: fair to the character, never over the top, which I think helps keep Scully's reactions in check.

mosinging1986 August 14 2013, 00:42:04 UTC

Oh, goodness, I loved her writing back in the day! I'll have to check out the site when I get a chance. Thanks for the heads up.

This fandom ain't dead yet!

wendelah1 August 18 2013, 02:39:14 UTC

You're welcome.

dasku August 14 2013, 13:49:05 UTC

!!!!

I never thought she'd be back!! Fantastic news!

*off to read*

wendelah1 August 18 2013, 02:39:53 UTC

Come back when you're done. I'm curious to know what you thought.

echynoderm August 16 2013, 06:01:12 UTC

I really enjoyed this fic, Syntax is a great writer :)

wendelah1 August 18 2013, 02:40:47 UTC

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the story. Anything in particular that you liked?

echynoderm August 20 2013, 10:29:57 UTC

I liked the 'ordinary', if you can call it that, way that Samantha was found. I thought the way cloning etc was played out was also very plausible and canon. Mulder is always chasing after one Samantha or another (and simultaneously one truth or the other) but never knows for sure who or what is real.

Syntax puts Mulder in a particularly difficult position in the end, and although cruel, I like to see how characters respond in tough situations as I believe this reveals a lot about them. In this case, Mulder is forced to accept that he has in fact lost his sister, something he has arguably been in denial about for most of his life, and move forward.

Other stuff too, but it's a start :) words are failing me... :p

wendelah1 August 20 2013, 14:37:22 UTC

Syntax6 writes good mysteries/police procedurals. If you like that genre and haven't read it, try "Scavenger," which she just put back up after, gosh, five years plus. It's very well-crafted, as are all of her fic.

Syntax puts Mulder in a particularly difficult position in the end, and although cruel, I like to see how characters respond in tough situations as I believe this reveals a lot about them. In this case, Mulder is forced to accept that he has in fact lost his sister, something he has arguably been in denial about for most of his life, and move forward.

I guess I'm too tender-hearted with the characters. I have a tough time with stories that add additional misery to their lives.

Thread 9

estella_c August 17 2013, 13:06:27 UTC

Wow, Syntax6 is back! Guess I must come back too.

This is a good, powerful story with great ideas and some pacing flaws, IMO. I'm not ready to say much more. Digesting.

One memory that fell over me while reading was that sense of iron-hard Greek tragedy achieved so successfully in "To Carthage Then I Came." How many Samanthas? How many warped compulsions? Will Mulder ever be free? This is a softer, kinder story but those twins: food there for confusion and argument.

It was nice to see CSM bleeding on the floor.

wendelah1 August 18 2013, 02:51:08 UTC

A softer, kinder story? To whom?

Both Samantha and her twin/clone end up dead in this story, one by Mulder's hand, which is a pretty cruel ending, imho. Way worse than mine. Worse even than "Closure," which was problematic at best.

As much as I love Scully, I wasn't sure I wanted Mulder to pull the trigger. I found myself resenting Scully for getting captured, and resenting syntax6 for putting Mulder in that position in the first place.

I have other issues, too, but I'll put them in a separate comment. But I agree, this is a good and powerful story, despite some flaws.

estella_c August 20 2013, 13:11:51 UTC

It may be reader's burnout, to which I am subject after twenty years of obsession, but I found OS a bit overly long and the ending, in particular, was oddly and hesitantly paced. Still, Scully and Mulder do end up together. And they have sex, twice, which I suppose is what I meant by "softer, kinder." But you must admit that anything would have been softer and kinder than FCTIC. Which is actually a fantastic story, but sheer horror ( ... )

wendelah1 August 20 2013, 15:35:37 UTC

The twin Samanthas were a great twist. I think they have to be clones, albeit ones that had been allowed to become adults without being subjected to the experimentation that made them into hybrids. We know the consortium made multiples of her, used them for many different purposes. It's creepy to think CSM raised one and then married her. She must be the one Mulder met after he found the chip for Scully? It's hard to understand what happened to the Samantha who ended up in the system. How did the Consortium let that happen? Was it a social experiment of some sort? There were many questions left unanswered, but this is The X-Files. The answers always lead to more questions ( ... )

Thread 10