We Won!!
Best BtVS Story
"Very long and very enjoyable." " This was a really good piece. All of the parts flowed well together.
The characters all seemed every much like they do on the show. I liked the new characters, the were well thought out."
Hey you phenoms:
I just spent the last 3 hours reading “Dark Alchemy” and words fail me. What an incredible undertaking. A gripping story with terrific new characters and true-to-BtVS regulars. The plot is complex and riveting, the fight scenes graphic and well-choreographed, and the writing really superb. Kudos to all of you for an incredible group effort.
Cheers - Julia
Finished it not long ago, at work, and actually cried at my desk. (Not full-blown sobbing, I do have some self-control! But I had tears.) I had to shut the browser window and go do something else before coming back to finish the story. Thank you! :) - L., ATPoBtVS
Before I get into my comments, I'd like to say that I'm someone who dislikes fanfic. It's usually a reflection of what someone wants the show to be like, not what the show really is. As a purist to the official BtVS/AtS writer's vision of the show, I can barely ever get past the first couple paragraphs of fan fic.
But Dark Alchemy is a wonderful exception to that. The characters seem true to their television counterparts and the metaphysics is Right On, very clean, very believable. And the writing is amazing for a short summer project.
I'm somewhere in chapter 21, and the plot is thickening! Great plotting, guys.
Great all around! - M., ATPoBtVS
"WOW.
That was truly amazing. Great characterization, a very complex but engaging story, vivid decriptions. And better writing than most fanfic out there.
Congrats--this is some achievement. Took me three nights to finish it, but it was worth every minute of my non-sleeping life. - C., jamesmarsters.com
“I spent all day at work reading it because I
just couldn't stop once I'd started. Utterly brilliant! I was on the edge of my seat right up until the climax.
It's tough to add an original character to an existing line up without
coming off all Mary Sue but you guys pulled it off spectacularly.
Love the way you handled the relationship between Spike and Buffy and the
way you developed Tara's character was really great. I teared up for Dawn at
the end. Thanks for writing such a wonderful piece of fiction.” - E., James Marsters official site
“That's the way uh huh uh huh we like it uh huh uh huh. I like
shopkeeping Anya... she's well written.” - F., The Essence of
Amber
“Hats off to the ATPoBtVS writers! This is
impressive stuff.” - A., Cross & Stake Spoiler Board
“I loved this story, absolutely loved
it! I couldn't stop reading, once I started I had to keep reading until
all 29 chapters were finished. This is one of the first fanfics that I
have read that actually had a storyline that I believed could happen in Buffyverse. Most fanfics are
stories or if you will fantasies of fans of things that they would like
to happen in buffyverse (like Spike/Angel and Buffy happy endings) but
would never actually happen in Whedon's Buffyverse. The writers nailed
ALL of the characters... You managed to write a great story without
relying on cross-overs or ... "Angel ex machina" storylines... I also
think it was great that the names of the writers were mentioned next to
each part that they wrote. Also the pictures were a really nice extra...
I hope you do this again sometime, for your readers' pleasure. To end
with, I want to thank all the writers.” - I., ATPoBtVS
Forum
“...Very impressive work.” - O.M., via email
“Better that some of the FanFictions I've seen
in book stores! Congrats to the writers.” - M., Cross & Stake
Spoiler Board
“[After reading the draft version]
I complained Spike might be too nice. That violent little encounter
with the demon lady was just what the doctor ordered. It was funny yet
sexy, and had some well written action to boot. I just wanted to
say again that you all have really found the voice of each character. In
fact, IMHO, you've improved on Tara's character by making her sort of a
wise earth-mother type. This is something the show hints at, but
inconsistently. She's still hesitant, but in her sphere she seems
competent. I don't read much fanfic, but I've really enjoyed this
story... Thanks for providing us with a great deal of entertainment.”
- D., ATPoBtVS Forum
“A welcome diversion from all of the other
craziness. Dark Alchemy has been a bright spot in an otherwise dark
couple of
days. I typically don't like to read fan
fiction at all, but I've been blown away by how well done
this story is. Y'all managed to keep me hungry for the next part all
the way through the postings of the final version, and kept me
continually surprised and interested right through the end. ... Overall,
the characterization in this bit of Fanfic is better than at least one
of the Buffy novels I've read! Again, kudos on a great piece of work.
Can't wait to read next summer's story.” - R.T., ATPoBtVS Forum
“This certainly is a good read. Someone gave me a
published Buffy novel, and I think this is quite a bit more developed in
the relationships between the characters, but what would you expect from
a collaboration from ATPoBtVS site?” - B., via email
“ So did not
see [the ending]. Unexpected pain is best for surprises in a story. Two
thumbs up!” - V.R., ATPoBtVS Forum
“About halfway through Part I, the story really
started flowing for me, and I had to read the rest of it. No matter how
long it took. What I am the most impressed by is that the story flows no
matter whose name is beside the paragraph. Usually when you get this
many cooks stirring the broth, the stew ends up tasting like dishwater.
Not you guys.” - J.B., ATPoBtVS
Forum