So, I just sat down and, with no prior exposure to the Fallout: Equestria multiverse, binge-read my way through Project: Horizons. I can definitely see why this is a fic that you either love or hate, with most being inclined to "hate". Firstly, let's get this out of the way: this fic is HUGE, being the textual equivalent of playing a complete, all-DLC-installed run of Fallout: New Vegas, and that either adds to its epic feel or makes it more of a slog to get through.
Let's start with the flaws. Perhaps the second greatest weakness of this story is that it wants to simultaneously be a companion piece to the original Fallout: Equestria and tell its own tale, which leads to internal contradictions and contributes to the "bloated" feeling of the fic - it would have been far better off sticking to one angle or the other.
The greatest weakness is the repetitiveness of the narrative; so much of the fic is just a cycle of "Blackjack does a thing, it becomes a Pyrrhic Victory, Blackjack has a breakdown, somebody builds her back up" that it becomes repetitive. I don't know if the author was trying to emphasize Blackjack's "Luck Stat 1" nature, promoting the fic's Darker and Edgier nature, or was just really bad at thinking of new stuff to do. As ridiculous as the final third of the fic can get, at least it largely has Blackjack actually getting to do some pretty awesome things... even if it does lead right to a Bittersweet Ending.
The excessive grimdarkness is also a major flaw, because a lot of the time it detracts from the story — why did Blackjack need to have personally wronged P-21 in the manners that she did, given the end result was to make them become so strongly connected to each other? It just strains suspension of disbelief.
Speaking personally, I also felt it was a strike against the fic when it started become more sexualised. I'm not one of those prudes who objects to erotica, but Blackjack's sexual appetites become so much more emphasized after chapter 50 that she feels like a completely different mare. The fact it takes until chapter 50 to spell out Stable 99's approach to sexuality also detracts, as it makes it feel less organically set up and more just rammed in.
Characterization is... well, it's a matter of taste. I personally never found the characters too unlikable, even I can definitely understand the frustration with Blackjack's "I'm not an executioner!" ideology.
And then there's the Goldenblood character. This character was a bad idea. As fun as the idea of exploring how and why Luna and the Ministries devolved to what they did was, creating a secret mastermind behind everything just felt cheap and lazy.
As for what this fic does right? Personally, I really enjoy the worldbuilding. I love the variety of crazy experiments, because it makes sense and it homages the multitude of evil experiments from the Fallout games very well. The emphasis on the magic keeps the fic feeling grounded in its FiM roots. The decision to focus on the more cosmic horror elements also gives the fic a very unique feel, even if it does ruin the "companion piece" angle the author was going for because it completely contradicts some rather important lore in FO:E.
All in all... I can't say I'd recommend this story unless you have a high tolerance for grimdark, struggling heroes and bittersweet endings, or you're a massive Fallout: Equestria fan.
Ambitious, But Highly Flawed
So, I just sat down and, with no prior exposure to the Fallout: Equestria multiverse, binge-read my way through Project: Horizons. I can definitely see why this is a fic that you either love or hate, with most being inclined to "hate". Firstly, let's get this out of the way: this fic is HUGE, being the textual equivalent of playing a complete, all-DLC-installed run of Fallout: New Vegas, and that either adds to its epic feel or makes it more of a slog to get through.
Let's start with the flaws. Perhaps the second greatest weakness of this story is that it wants to simultaneously be a companion piece to the original Fallout: Equestria and tell its own tale, which leads to internal contradictions and contributes to the "bloated" feeling of the fic - it would have been far better off sticking to one angle or the other.
The greatest weakness is the repetitiveness of the narrative; so much of the fic is just a cycle of "Blackjack does a thing, it becomes a Pyrrhic Victory, Blackjack has a breakdown, somebody builds her back up" that it becomes repetitive. I don't know if the author was trying to emphasize Blackjack's "Luck Stat 1" nature, promoting the fic's Darker and Edgier nature, or was just really bad at thinking of new stuff to do. As ridiculous as the final third of the fic can get, at least it largely has Blackjack actually getting to do some pretty awesome things... even if it does lead right to a Bittersweet Ending.
The excessive grimdarkness is also a major flaw, because a lot of the time it detracts from the story — why did Blackjack need to have personally wronged P-21 in the manners that she did, given the end result was to make them become so strongly connected to each other? It just strains suspension of disbelief.
Speaking personally, I also felt it was a strike against the fic when it started become more sexualised. I'm not one of those prudes who objects to erotica, but Blackjack's sexual appetites become so much more emphasized after chapter 50 that she feels like a completely different mare. The fact it takes until chapter 50 to spell out Stable 99's approach to sexuality also detracts, as it makes it feel less organically set up and more just rammed in.
Characterization is... well, it's a matter of taste. I personally never found the characters too unlikable, even I can definitely understand the frustration with Blackjack's "I'm not an executioner!" ideology.
And then there's the Goldenblood character. This character was a bad idea. As fun as the idea of exploring how and why Luna and the Ministries devolved to what they did was, creating a secret mastermind behind everything just felt cheap and lazy.
As for what this fic does right? Personally, I really enjoy the worldbuilding. I love the variety of crazy experiments, because it makes sense and it homages the multitude of evil experiments from the Fallout games very well. The emphasis on the magic keeps the fic feeling grounded in its FiM roots. The decision to focus on the more cosmic horror elements also gives the fic a very unique feel, even if it does ruin the "companion piece" angle the author was going for because it completely contradicts some rather important lore in FO:E.
All in all... I can't say I'd recommend this story unless you have a high tolerance for grimdark, struggling heroes and bittersweet endings, or you're a massive Fallout: Equestria fan.