Only one review today. My latest job, though great, does sap allot of my
energy, so I've only had time for one fic this week. Enjoy.
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Rendezvous with Fate
Written by: iCe <o8oiCe@netscape.net>
Posted to: http://ice.esmartdesign.com/rend_main.htm
HomerScore: 495 (New best score! Previous best score: 412 for �Binding
Changes� <http://www.megorga.com/>)
Rank: **** (4 out of 5 stars)
Genre: Historical fiction/drama
Altiverse
Maturity: R (For violence, some suggestive scenes)
Fruit Flavor: Orange
Main characters: Akane, Ranma, Nabiki
Synopsis:
Hmmm... where to start?
OK, take the whole Ranma situation, the curse, fiance's, wackiness, and
all, but set it in 17th century Japan. But we're not there yet, this
isn't another retelling. Now, take Ryoga and Akane out of the picture
entirely. In fact, the Tendo's aren't even a factor until much later.
Nabiki is Ranma's sister, and in Akane's place is another Amazon named
Rian, cousin to Shampoo, who's still after Ranma. Make the curses a
state secret, and mix.
Not there yet, bear with me.
Now, marry Ranma to Kodachi. A Kodachi, further, who has no mental stop
to keep her from becoming a killer, and let sit for roughly 10 years.
Almost there, but not quite.
Now, in the 20th century, Akane is happily married to Ryoga and they are
expecting their first child together. Akane is driving to the doctor's
office when her car is creamed by a truck, killing her and her child
instantly. Oddly enough, she doesn't go to the spirit world, but is
thrust back in time into the body of Kodachi, who's just broken her neck
in a bad fall from a horse.
/Now/ I've finished the synopsis, and I've only covered the Prologue and
Chapter 1.
HomerNet's review <homernet_tm@yahoo.com>:
Newbie's perspective:
This story is excellent in that you only have to be moderately familiar
with the basic concepts of Ranma � to get what's going on. It is a very
well written Altiverse fic that just about anybody can pick up if
they've read the first volume of Ranma � and watched a little of the
anime. It's also very definitely worth a read, as the author does a very
good job of painting a medieval Japan in all it's glory and frailty.
Intermediate reader's perspective:
This is a great story to get away from the grind, i.e. - Redhead and
panda show up, misunderstandings abound, hilarity ensues. This story is
grim and gritty in places, and in others leaves you laughing out loud
since you know more about what is /really/ happening than the
characters. What is particularly amusing about this piece is watching
the main characters treat an Akane we are familiar with like a deadly,
ravenous viper that they're not allowed to kill.
Rabid Ranmafic Lover's perspective:
I don't think there has ever been a fic quite like this one. Sure,
there've been body-swap fics, there've been time displacement fics,
there've been altiverses in which one character or another is a viscous
killer, but none combine them, and none so well. This fic is also rather
off the beaten path. To my knowledge, it's never appeared on FFML, it's
difficult to find on FF.net, and it's never been posted to R.A.A.C. I've
also never seen it on www.rakhal.com, though it's database entry may
simply not have been updated. It's unlikely that you've read this fic
unless you generally only scan through several pages of Google search
results for the obscure fanfic. Worth the read, check it out.
HomerScore breakdown:
Grammatic Errors � minor: -5
Formatted for Fanfiction.net: +50
Descriptive chapter titles on FF.net; +20
Clearly identifiable main characters: +20
Consistent growth (i.e. - proper response to stimulus): +10
Character shows gain/loss by end of story: +10
Chapter length: (unknown � Bad formatting for printing) -10
Pre-readers used: +50
Errors found after proofing: -10
In character: +100
Different genre crossover (i.e. - horror, suspense, etc.): +20
Posted to more than one location: +5
Posted to personal website: +20
Minimal HTML used: +20
Intelligent chapter layout: +25
Convert all text conventions to HTML code: +10
Mailing list for updates: +5
Good front page: +10
Other character is cursed: +25
Ranma deals with curse � Acceptance: +5
Marriage creates more problems than it solves: +30
Ranma's career � Martial arts (or related): +10
Ranma becomes amazon: +10
Bad line breaks: -10
Includes elements of Japanese culture: +20
Explains obscure Japanese references: +10
Accurately reflects size and layout of environment: +15
Emotional impact � Mediocre: +20
Good style sheet: +10