FanFic Wow . . . just wow
I rarely in my long days of scouring the Internet for good fanfics, find one that at least meet the standards to be a good tribute to the original inspiration. Rarely, thanks to Sturgeon's Law, is there ever a fanfic that is good enough to warrant any amount of hype or even a lot of hype.
The Crown of Thorns is to fanfiction, the same type of undertaking that Lord of the Rings is to the entire fantasy genre.
In all my days of looking for good fanfiction I have only ever found one fanfic that quite possibly beats this one for only length ("Babylon 5: A Dark Distorted Mirror") and I have only read the first part of that. This fanfic is the best example of a long story that wants to flesh out the world and the characters.
The Characters: This fanfic is phenomenal in that instead of using just one origin story, it uses them all. All the characters that we could choose in the game show up here and become a rugged band of misfits. The writer is a genius in how the characters are handled, each and every one is given character development and screentime. The other characters that we know and love, such as Alistair, Morrigan, and so forth are all there as well and are given the same amount of care and attention that the writer gives to the OC's. The Characters will fulfill all your expectations and then some.
This fic also probably contains the best example you could ever find of a character who is almost a God-Mode-Sue and IS DONE RIGHT!!! Seriously, I cannot stress how awesome the Character of Raonar is and yet the author never makes it seem unrealistic that he has so much power right at his fingertips.
The Story: Boy howdy is this one a doozy. It follows the story of the game, but it doesn't let that restrict it whatsoever. The sheer amount of detail and added content that works is a wonder to behold. Every character has their own personal demons to face and they fit the storyline like they were always there, waiting to be used.
All in all, read this fanfic. I'm serious, READ IT!!! Don't let the length fool you into thinking that it's a bore. It's nowhere near a bore, it is a one-of-a-kind fanfic that you will rarely, if ever, come across.
Score 10/10 I would put it higher if I could.
I cannot express just how awesome this fanfic is, if you have the time READ IT!!!
FanFic An awesome story spoiled by author
The Crown of Thorns is a rare thing. A fanfic which not only takes a interesting take on cannon and looks on it in a new way but also does so in a excellent way. The story is interesting and all characters, both canon ones and the OC:s, are well developed and full of depth. Unfortunately there is one, big exception: Raonar Aeducan. The author is clearly in love with his protagonist and want everyone else, including the other characters(except those he don't like, but we'll get back to them), to feel the same. What Karmic Acumen sets out to do is admirable: having a Warden who isn't a complete idiot and justifying a dwarven spirit warrior, but unfortunately it falls short. Instead we get a character that plays circles around everyone, wins all confrontations without bigger effort and when he does not unleashes his psuedo-magical skill to save everyone in a way the gives everyone a chance to angst over the risks he takes.
But this I could have tolerated if it where not for all the Author Tract that spews out every other chapter, directed towards the characters that Karmic does not quite like. The worst recipient are Isolde (a horrible, evil bitch who destroyed Alisters life and doesn't deserve to be a mother) and Bhelen. Bhelen is an interesting example; instead of the Well-Intentioned Extremist Evil Prince who by questionable means forces dwarves society to evolve we get a pathetic little SOB who couldn't plot himself to breakfast and only does all the unspeakable evil things (so unspeakable that we never really get to hear about them) because daddy didn't love him (or something like that). In fact, this is the way Bhelen is supposed to be written, Bioware just got it wrong, atleast that is the impression we get from the several thousand words Author note that takes up half a chapter.