The story is well written and Pan, the star of the story, is an excellently constructed character with hidden depths that one may not expect. It also deviates from the standard norm of changeling stories and thus, is a fresh sight for sore eyes. Pan's co-conspirators like Celestia and Luna are portrayed in canon, and Pan's band of Crystal pony allies,and allies are very well crafted original characters, all of which create a marvelous cast to work with. Bucking Nonsense is also rather good with creating a story with intrigue and the story constantly surprises the reader with unexpected twists and turns. That being said, sometimes the twists seem to be sprung upon the reader without warning and foreshadowing, which can be frustrating in this reviewer's opinion. Moreover, Bucking Nonsense's cast is rather large and he has inserted several newer characters into the story of late and it's difficult to keep track of all of them, not to mention this creates several exposition dump moments. The villains are also... lacking. Pan is a bit overpowered as he comes up with solutions not even Celestia and Luna could think of and while this is explained, it is a bit strange. Thus, while the villains are evil and endangering him, given Pan is such a charismatic character with a great set of abilities, there's not much of a real danger to Pan... as there is to the rest of the cast.
All in all, The King is Dead Long Live the Emperor is definitely worth the read. It's entertaining and a fresh look at the changeling in Equestria sub-genre. But it does come with its own pet problems.
Review by Vren55
The story is well written and Pan, the star of the story, is an excellently constructed character with hidden depths that one may not expect. It also deviates from the standard norm of changeling stories and thus, is a fresh sight for sore eyes. Pan's co-conspirators like Celestia and Luna are portrayed in canon, and Pan's band of Crystal pony allies,and allies are very well crafted original characters, all of which create a marvelous cast to work with. Bucking Nonsense is also rather good with creating a story with intrigue and the story constantly surprises the reader with unexpected twists and turns. That being said, sometimes the twists seem to be sprung upon the reader without warning and foreshadowing, which can be frustrating in this reviewer's opinion. Moreover, Bucking Nonsense's cast is rather large and he has inserted several newer characters into the story of late and it's difficult to keep track of all of them, not to mention this creates several exposition dump moments. The villains are also... lacking. Pan is a bit overpowered as he comes up with solutions not even Celestia and Luna could think of and while this is explained, it is a bit strange. Thus, while the villains are evil and endangering him, given Pan is such a charismatic character with a great set of abilities, there's not much of a real danger to Pan... as there is to the rest of the cast.
All in all, The King is Dead Long Live the Emperor is definitely worth the read. It's entertaining and a fresh look at the changeling in Equestria sub-genre. But it does come with its own pet problems.