I hear people talk of an anti-Bhelen rant at the end of chapter 48, but I can't find it.
"What's out there? What's waiting for me?"
Huh, weird. The thing can also be read here: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/47/index/7143905/1
As you can notice his name at the bioware forum is the same as his characters.
Huh, weird. The thing can also be read here: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/47/index/7143905/1
As you can notice his name at the bioware forum is the same as his characters.
Wow. That was very wow. He goes on a huge want, cursing a lot, capitalizing every third word, and insulting huge groups of the fandom for having opinions that are different from his. Even worse, he tries to cover his ass by saying that he's just "imitating" other people.
This is the same guy who's so insecure in his writing that he has a chapter going "My character is so totally not a Marty Stu" before the story even starts. The same character he named his screenname after, mind you. At one point, he has a short intermission where he smugly intones that he has "won" a fight that only exists in his head. This guy is such a pompous ass.
"What's out there? What's waiting for me?"
Yes, thank you! Finally someone who agrees. :) It's kinda sad actually, his writing would be awesome if it weren't for those issues. Now I only wait for the invitetibal moment he sees this review and goes to attack. And see it he will, the man is apparently a troper and I suspect he stod behind a fair share of this page.
I agree very much with this review.
Same. The actual writing and flow is pretty good. But the main character is a massive mary sue.
I agree with this review to an extent, but also I found 'Crown of Thorns' to be unreadably boring and badly written. I'd heard so many people recommend this fic that I persevered for about 20 chapters, but... ehh, it wasn't worth it.
Well, to be fair, he does raises a few good points in his rants; it's true Bhelen isn't exactly subtle at some points. Now true, he is rude (the writer not Bhelen) and conveniently negletcs mentionning things like the fact Bhelen is Nice to the Waiter (which is the whole reason he is popular in-universe to begin with), but you have to admit he does raise some good points, and actually bothers giving arguments to justify his point of view.
He also insults anyone that disagrees with him, and would rather let Harrowmont run Orrzamar into the ground then let Bhelen save it.
I can't say I blame him. I mean, I always has a hard time with this choice when I play. Harrowmont is just such a nice guy, it always feels sad to see him executed at the end.
The choice is easy to make if you want Orzammar to be better off(Bhelen) or worse than when it started(Harrowmont). Doesn't justify Raonor's ego. Good thing he disappeared from the fandom.
Well I didn't read the fic (at least not fully) so I can't say for Raonor's ego. But my point is, it's not that simple: Sure Bhelen saves the city but he also becomes quite a dictator in the process, making you wonder if it was Worth It. I think the writers intended to make the choice morally ambiguous, and frankly I consider them genius for that. Too bad there isn't an option to convince Bhelen to at least spare Harrowmont, or some similar middle ground.
It really is that simple though, but I suggest we take this discussion to the dragon age thread instead of cluttering the review with comments.
As you wish.
I remember this fic. I also remember the author repeatedly editing Dragon Age Origins's character sheet on this very wiki to reflect his views on Bhelen.
Did he ? Just curious what did he change ?
He kept removing The Exremist Was Right (although it was And It Worked back then) and other tropes that put Bhelen in a positive light. It happened long enough ago that the edit history no longer records it.
O. Then I do see how his opinion about this is exaggerated. Bhelen might be a sociopath, it's undeniable that his methods did work in the end.
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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.