On Strong Blood
###############

:date: 2019-01-15T12:00:56
:status: draft
:category: faith
:tags: review, HarryPotter, blogComment

(my comments on “`Strong Blood`_” by CooLibrarian)

This is really interesting and very uncommon (which is meant as 
a compliment). Couple of things to note:

1. Too long and too convoluted. We are in the chapter 39 and it 
   feels like the proper plot line of story starts only now. 
   Previous chapters were nice reading, but there was still that 
   feeling “And what’s the point of this story?”. Also, it seems 
   like you made your families and relationships so convoluted 
   that aside from people using complicated computer programs 
   just to keep afloat in the endless stream of names and 
   relationships, you himself feel like giving up, and the last 
   couple of changes there is no proper story (with dialogs, 
   situations, etc.), but just a summary of the plot. As with 
   almost every fanfiction severe cutting down would be helpful.

2. I am a practising Christian myself, so I always enjoy 
   fanfiction stories where heroes are believers themselves. So, 
   it is lovely to see all those families of faithful Orthodox 
   believers. Except, this is classical example of “show, don’t 
   tell”. How does their faith presents themselves to the world, 
   aside from all baptisms and funerals? Is it something more 
   than that? Why to introduce all that concept of everybody 
   being Orthodox (and it is possible for all Russian family), 
   when it plays no role in the story itself?
   
   Since I first read Sirius Black was a godfather of Harry, 
   I couldn’t loose from my mind an image of Sirius in the 
   medieval church of Saint Jerome in Godric’s Hollow. Seems 
   a bit surreal. Perhaps it was just very formal and unfeeling 
   ceremony for Potters, but what if it wasn’t? Lily praying for 
   the God’s protection from Voldemort? Or would she rather pray 
   for strength to do what’s right and not just what’s easy? It 
   seems like Lily Potter was very thoughtful and honest person, 
   would she submit to doing just formal ceremony for the sake of 
   being “as others are”? That feels more like Petunia, doesn’t 
   it? All those Christians, did they ever feel remorse, ask for 
   forgiveness, forgiving? It would be interesting.
   
   And no, I truly don’t ask for copy of “Hogwarts School of 
   Prayer and Miracles”, that is an abomination!

.. _`Strong Blood`:
    https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7211094