Hello :) I'm sorry I'm so late with my feedback! (
I'm a fan of A Thousand Beautiful Things, and I was thrilled to discover you've written a sequel. It did not disappoint. I'm sure I'll be reiterating a lot of what others have said, but let me go on anyway ♥
The original character of Daniel was funny. By giving us his insights and details over a his bad break-up you provided the readers with an interesting, fleshed-out person. In fact, my favorite lines in the whole fic were his thoughts: He'd have to try out the new epithet on Jeremy. That dognapping, greedy, cheap, heartless, mudblood prick. It's hard for me to explain WHY that was so effective. It was shocking in a delightful kind of way, you know what I mean? Because we know what mudblood means, and then to see someone try it on for size who doesn't know was just a great use of canon jargon. I hope something close to sense came across there!
Draco here, as Draco in ATBT was just heartbreaking. He's SO insecure, and so lonely, and just so . . . oh I want to give him a hug and tell him everything is going to be fine. His scenes with Harry at the beginning with both of them completely misunderstanding the other was brilliantly done. It was so full of tension and sadness and mistaken assumptions.
I know it sounds awful but I loved the device of using Draco as a whore for for the side of Light. I can almost imagine Moody coming up with the idea, but I'd like to think that Dumbledore had misgivings.
Your pscyho auror was, well, a psycho. He made me want to punch him, which is only a sign of great writing :) The interrogation scene was effective and scary. I loved it!
I also enjoyed the Snape and Hermione interaction. Getting two smart people together is always a joy! The scene in the restaurant where Snape gets the sister of the auror to confess was a fast-paced enjoyable read.
I appreciate a well thought-out plot, fleshed out characters, and good writing. You obviously put a lot of time and effort into this, and I'm grateful you write fanfic for HP :) I look forward to more of your work. AND btw, I don't think I left a review, SHAME ON ME, but 'At the Round Earth's Imagined Corners' is my favorite piece.
Wow! thanks so much for all these great comments - I appreciate you spending time telling me exactly what worked for you.
I see Draco as losing his anchor when he turned from his father, and he's still trying to find another. Harry's too young, too damaged himself (although he's getting better), and too much of a guy to be Draco's sole replacement. But he's a huge help! Snape is another, Sully, too, in an odd way, and now to have a friend like Daniel, where up 'til now he's not had a friend will take him a long way, I think.
I have this image, truthfully, that Dumbledore was not aware of what Draco was asked to do. I think he focused on Harry to a fault and was a bit blind when it came to the other members of the Order, some of whom could have benefitted from a little attention. I think we see that in canon quite a bit - he should have seen the state Sirius was in in book 5, for example. I envision some Ministry war-planner desk jockey thinking the whole thing up, and it just got passed along and never questioned too hard. Because it was enormously successful, and the only one who paid the price were Draco and Snape, who had no voice at that time.
I did put a lot of time into this, and had to rewrite it extensively. Snape and Hermione came in on draft #2, and they were an interesting pair together. I liked how they ended up. Hermione isn't one of my favorite characters to write, but I needed her.
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Better late than not at all, I say!
Date: 2005-06-03 06:26 pm (UTC)I'm a fan of A Thousand Beautiful Things, and I was thrilled to discover you've written a sequel. It did not disappoint. I'm sure I'll be reiterating a lot of what others have said, but let me go on anyway ♥
The original character of Daniel was funny. By giving us his insights and details over a his bad break-up you provided the readers with an interesting, fleshed-out person. In fact, my favorite lines in the whole fic were his thoughts: He'd have to try out the new epithet on Jeremy. That dognapping, greedy, cheap, heartless, mudblood prick. It's hard for me to explain WHY that was so effective. It was shocking in a delightful kind of way, you know what I mean? Because we know what mudblood means, and then to see someone try it on for size who doesn't know was just a great use of canon jargon. I hope something close to sense came across there!
Draco here, as Draco in ATBT was just heartbreaking. He's SO insecure, and so lonely, and just so . . . oh I want to give him a hug and tell him everything is going to be fine. His scenes with Harry at the beginning with both of them completely misunderstanding the other was brilliantly done. It was so full of tension and sadness and mistaken assumptions.
I know it sounds awful but I loved the device of using Draco as a whore for for the side of Light. I can almost imagine Moody coming up with the idea, but I'd like to think that Dumbledore had misgivings.
Your pscyho auror was, well, a psycho. He made me want to punch him, which is only a sign of great writing :) The interrogation scene was effective and scary. I loved it!
I also enjoyed the Snape and Hermione interaction. Getting two smart people together is always a joy! The scene in the restaurant where Snape gets the sister of the auror to confess was a fast-paced enjoyable read.
I appreciate a well thought-out plot, fleshed out characters, and good writing. You obviously put a lot of time and effort into this, and I'm grateful you write fanfic for HP :) I look forward to more of your work. AND btw, I don't think I left a review, SHAME ON ME, but 'At the Round Earth's Imagined Corners' is my favorite piece.
Re: Better late than not at all, I say!
Date: 2005-06-06 04:57 am (UTC)I see Draco as losing his anchor when he turned from his father, and he's still trying to find another. Harry's too young, too damaged himself (although he's getting better), and too much of a guy to be Draco's sole replacement. But he's a huge help! Snape is another, Sully, too, in an odd way, and now to have a friend like Daniel, where up 'til now he's not had a friend will take him a long way, I think.
I have this image, truthfully, that Dumbledore was not aware of what Draco was asked to do. I think he focused on Harry to a fault and was a bit blind when it came to the other members of the Order, some of whom could have benefitted from a little attention. I think we see that in canon quite a bit - he should have seen the state Sirius was in in book 5, for example. I envision some Ministry war-planner desk jockey thinking the whole thing up, and it just got passed along and never questioned too hard. Because it was enormously successful, and the only one who paid the price were Draco and Snape, who had no voice at that time.
I did put a lot of time into this, and had to rewrite it extensively. Snape and Hermione came in on draft #2, and they were an interesting pair together. I liked how they ended up. Hermione isn't one of my favorite characters to write, but I needed her.
Anyway, thanks again!