Welcome to the heart, soul, and only point of this site: The Review. But by now, you'll know all about it, won't you? So here are the last few things you need before you can get to the best fan fiction around, my rating system, and the reviews themselves.
The System
Here is my system for reviewing sites and stories:
http://www.notreal.com/notthere/imaginary/
The Link to the site
Show: Hector's Treehouse
The subject matter(s) of the Archive
Lobby:
The front page of the site - what you see when you first get there. The impact on the final score is negligible, and is here because some people don't like visiting graphic intensive sites (and vice versa).
Site:
What is the actual site like? Is it just a repository for fan fiction, or are there writing guides, information on the subject matter, etc? Is the site pleasing to the eye? Is there a good selection of relative links?
Fiction:
How much fiction is on the site? Is there much variety? What form (story, script, etc) does the fiction take? Are there many authors, or is this the work of one person?
Access:
How easy is the site to navigate, and how easy are the stories to get at? Is it an extremely slow site? Are there a lot of dead links?
Reviewed Stories:
The list of stories I've read from this particular archive, with links to each review.
Final Verdict:
What I thought of the site as a whole, good points, bad points, best stories and a mark out of three (*not* ten, as previously stated). Note that a low mark indicates that this is *not* a great place to get fiction. While the content may be excellent, if the site is small and unwieldy, it won't score highly. Tiny sites won't be getting [3/3]s, but if a huge site is poorly laid out, it may get a [2/3].
When reviewing fanfic, the points I look for are good grammar, plot, characterization, spelling, originality, and above all, that spark which tells you that this is a great story. The length of the review will usually correspond to the length of a piece, meaning you won't find me writing page after page of criticism about a page long poem. I choose the stories randomly, trying to get a good mix of fanfics. To start with, I'll read five, and make a judgement based on these and these alone, but I'll continue reading and reviewing stories from the site, no matter how bad, and if my opinions change, then the final verdict score of the archive will be upped, (or lowered) accordingly. With the marks out of five, stories rating three and up are worth seeking out.Those with a five are instant must-reads. If a story's rating has a ".5" tacked on to it, it means that there are only a few elements needed to attain the next level
© Dan Ness, 1998. So you want to redistribute this, huh? Well tough! This is my work, and it stays here. Link to the title page.
Get your own Free Homepage