Today on the Star Wars Fanon wiki, my short story Star Wars: The Tragedy received featured work status! A featured work on that wiki is defined as a “work of fan-fiction, in narrative or graphic form, that exemplifies quality.” Stories need to receive at least two out of four votes from the Archivists, the review board in charge of maintaining the featured works, and five additional votes, whether they be from other Archivists or non-Archivists. Featured works are displayed for at least one month on the Star Wars Fanon main page (though it can be longer if there are no new featured works available, which is often the case), and they are denoted by a featured works icon on their article’s.
Voters who reviewed The Tragedy described it with comments such as “Brilliant,” “Excellent,” “Really good,” and a “sure bet for FW status.” One longer review came from Atarumaster88, a member of the Archivists and the creator of the featured works program. Giving The Tragedy his support, Ataru said:
The Tragedy is possibly the shortest fan work you’ll ever read by veteran author Brandon Rhea, and yet it sticks to the tried and true philosophies that have long-governed the works-in-progress that Rhea is writing. The focus is on the characterization, with a deep and introspective look into the mind of a Sith Lord who isn’t obsessed with power or conquest. Instead, in an “alternative” perspective, the Sith Lord is less concerned with galactic conquest and the destruction of the Jedi Order and is more resigned to his fate. It’s an interesting take to see how a Sith could be so resigned to his fate, and it’s certainly contradictory to many of the portraits of Sith characters that have been painted in canon. However, this is fanon and so I digress.
Fans of the Alternative Star Wars Saga will enjoy the tie-ins with one of the central (and longest-lived) characters while those who prefer their Sith Lords more subdued and less pure evil will appreciate the melancholy nature of Plagueis. The descriptions are well-constructed, the characterization is fairly deep for a story of its size, and the plot keeps the reader interested, and certainly doesn’t disappoint with various twists. The main complaint is that some of the dialogue is reminiscent of some of the cheesiest Star Wars cliches, though whether these are intentional homages or not will be up to the reader to decide. Aside from a few other minor technical issues and a bit of forgivable melodrama, this is a good story. 4 out of 5 narrative, 4 out of 5 technical.
I really appreciate all of the enthusiasm and support this story has received. Ussej Padric Bac, one of the central characters in the story and, indeed, the Alternative Saga, was the first character I created, all the way back in 2005. As a role-playing character, he interacted a lot with Damien Nightblade, so being able to write this story and having it so well-received means a lot. Thanks to everyone who voted to make this happen.
Click here for more information about the story, and here to read the story itself. Also be sure to check the Star Wars Fanon main page throughout the month of April to see the story featured there!
