Aelita posted a comment on Thursday 21st February 2008 10:04pm

Wow, I cannot wait until he gets to Hogwarts...Thanks

Lady_Mear posted a comment on Monday 18th February 2008 1:24pm

Nosferatum,

I liked your last one better then mine though I'm not sure what you thought my thought-process was - I read the names listed on Wikipedia and that was what came to mind plus the image of Harry trying to explain to Snape that he was talking to a spaceship called Don't Piss into the Wind! made me giggle for about 5 minutes.

Since I didn't intend my review to start a mud-slinging match and am not willing to start a discussion about HG's character here, is there anyway of getting it down?

Nosferatum posted a comment on Sunday 17th February 2008 8:20am

Lady_Mear
I'm no author, but I just wanted to make a comment on your opinion about Hermione. If you remember the first book, it's be quite obvious that all her attitude and personality issues come from two simple things: inferiority complex (no frends, the whole new world, no knoledge about magic - remember?) and the great lack of experience in any kind of social life.

BTW - to continue your train of thought, ship name:
Still trying to spit on the ceiling :)

And more:
Don't make a clever face - it doesn't suite the color of the boots

Thoughts, sinuous as a gastrointestinal tract

Lady_Mear posted a comment on Saturday 16th February 2008 10:30am

I like this. I've had to go and buy the books though since I've never read anything about this 'Culture' before. Apologies if I miss something because of that.

I'm quite curious to see how much the technology can get around magic and to see how Harry and Sma are going to handle Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall. Going off of canon!McGonagall, I can imagine her having a very hard time dealing with Harry. I also can’t imagine this Harry taking Snape’s abuse.

Manipulative!Dumbledore is a character I do enjoy reading, though I have to wonder if using him in this context won't just cause problems. Either Harry will be intuitive enough (or smart enough) to figure out what is going on (and thus cause the story to diverge rapidly from canon) or there will be an inexplicable and unbelievable plot hole right in the middle of the story. Your Authors Notes say that the story will deviate from canon in year 2, but even 7 months will push the belief in him not noticing based on earlier chapters.

In a crossover story, this version of Dumbledore give the impression of lazy writing (sorry) and a quick way of ticking boxes in the one of the story lines. As you have made the point that this story is set after the last of the Culture books, it seems even more so because you won’t have to actively hit the plot events in one of the series’. I’m hoping there is a reason for your choice that does have some point in the plot and I’m just being over critical here.

Next, Manipulative!Dumbledore often seems to lead to an almost Deus Ex Machina attitude from authors, something again that doesn't fit with the basis of what seems to be a very complicated story so far. I had originally considered the 'Minds' for that roll, and had been considering not finishing the story, but you managed to pull up short of it rather well. I’m glad I decided to read the last chapter you had posted.

I also find is a bit strange that Dumbledore didn’t notice that, in the days running up to the start of term, the pendulum that shows Harry’s distance from Hogwarts didn’t alert him to the fact that he was nowhere close. If Dumbledore just assumed that it was malfunctioning, why has he continued to check it? Surely a glance at it before he takes the sorting hat down to the great hall would have told him Harry was not on the train.

I'm a bit surprised that you think Hermione would get on with this version of Harry and would like to know your reasoning? Until I read the notes at the end of this chapter, I had assumed you had plans for them to clash. Hermione, in year 1, is very arrogant and very superior in her attitudes to others. I find it far easier to see her hating someone who can beat her at what she thinks of as her area, then her even trying to befriend them. I also can’t see this Harry putting up with her constant questions, unwillingness to accept she doesn’t have a right to know something and her inability to stay out of other people’s business. A lot of authors change Harry’s relationship to Ron, but leave Hermione’s the same, something I really don’t understand. For all Ron’s faults, I find it far easier to see him as Harry’s friend, then Hermione.

Anyway, I’m going to go and read these books now, so next time I review I might actually know what’s going on in the other half of the story. As for the ship names-
Don't Piss into the Wind!

Lady_Mear

GinnyLover posted a comment on Wednesday 13th February 2008 12:46am

LOL! I would think Hermione would have an orgasm when she finds out how much Harry knows :)

Hell most Ravenclaws, males or females too :)

Maxtaf posted a comment on Tuesday 12th February 2008 12:14am

This may be one of the funniest fics I've read in quite a while. I can't wait to read more of it. And I really appreciate the introduction to Banks' Culture novels, as I had never heard of them before.

pfeil posted a comment on Saturday 9th February 2008 6:25pm

I look forward to Harry's first meeting with Hermione. I'm worried about what's happening at Hogwarts, though, since she could be getting her head bashed in by the troll...

Although I suppose that's not until supper, so he could still meet her before then. He certainly knows enough to keep up a conversation with her, and she'll love picking his brain -- if he can explain it down at terran level.

And with the knife missiles and such, he's no reason to bring along Ron to help her, so with luck Harry won't join up with Ron. I'd be surprised if he did, given that Harry's somewhat mature and Ron completely isn't.

pfeil posted a comment on Saturday 9th February 2008 5:45pm

Oops, somehow I managed to miss this chapter.

The bit with Chomba is touching, especially as you pointed out the likelihood of their meeting again. And I sure wouldn't mind a romp on (or, I suppose, over) one of those beds.

Changing the number of arms is a fun idea, too. It's good to see it being portrayed as a perfectly normal idea, worth about the same amount of consideration as a piercing.

Having the wizards completely miss the (to the reader) very obvious signs of what's going on is good, too.

FrequencyQueen posted a comment on Saturday 9th February 2008 2:30pm

Great story! Harry is going to go bonkers when he gets to Hogwarts - the illogic will drive him nuts. I hope you let his little 'helpers' take care of a few problems?

impatientuser posted a comment on Saturday 9th February 2008 8:12am

Very interesting... though I have no idea what the xover is. Writing and dialogue are superb as usual. Thanks for writing =)

bonzi posted a comment on Saturday 9th February 2008 8:08am

I haven’t been able to find any clues as to when the events of Player of Games and Use of Weapons take place.

Use of Weapons contains a poem Dizzy wrote about Zak, Slight Mechanical Destruction. It was dated in terms of Khmer Rouge calendar, Cambodian killing fields having left lasting impression on then young CS member (and probably pushing her to become a SC operative). I think the date was a bit over a century after Year Zero, so it would be sometimes around the end of this century.

FWTW, I enjoyed this quite a bit :)

Thwaaack posted a comment on Saturday 9th February 2008 3:17am

I should add.....I think poor floppy (or whatever you want to call the sorting hat) is going to spontaneously combust the instant he touches Harry's head. I think I am looking forward to that + the sorting more than the meeting with Dumbles.

Thwaaack posted a comment on Saturday 9th February 2008 3:04am

Excellent. Dumbledore's men have no idea how lucky they are. I also like that you are providing more background into the Culture as well. I really got a kick out of Petunia's response to Harry. I'm looking forward to your next update, especially how the confrontation you left us hanging with pans out.

rune1806 posted a comment on Friday 8th February 2008 5:26am

A very interesting update, I have never read Banks but I think now I will.

Evan Mayerle posted a comment on Friday 8th February 2008 12:37am

Well, it seems Albus clearly misfigured travel times; I'd have thought the power/distance relationships for that ritual would've made him consider a *very* great distance, but apparently his worldview is still way too planet bound.

So now the Culture and Wizarding Britain meet and I daresay both are going to be quite affected, though I suspect the Culture will weather the effects much better.

This is definitely a most enjoyable and different crossover and I'm looking forward to the results of this confrontation.

Jizzle posted a comment on Thursday 7th February 2008 6:43pm

Love, absolutely love your portrayal of Dumbledore. Really perfect. I just finished reading the latest chapter of Power of the Press, and their "Beat you about the head and shoulder with a hammer" style of character development was really grating on my nerves. Lines about like "his chair, his throne" and his ruminations about how Harry could use a little "adversity" at school showed exactly what kind of person Dumbledore is without telling. Thanks for the subtlety. I was in dire need.

And great chapter overall. I'm looking forward to seeing Harry shake things up at Hogwarts.

cmatbmed posted a comment on Thursday 7th February 2008 5:29pm

I have never read banks but am looking into the books they sound interesting. That being said I have really enjoyed this harry and look forward to more.

Thanks for sharing.

Meteoricshipyards posted a comment on Thursday 7th February 2008 4:27pm

Loved the Star Trek/Star Wars (with a Space Ball thrown in) stuff. Very funny. The reaction of Petunia didn't make sense until I realized that she thought Harry was his father. How big is he, anyway?

The Headmaster falling into depression was novel. Him setting up the Stone as a test is something I've wondered about.

Like the cat and the owl without a personality.

Thanks for the update.

Tom A.

Infin1x posted a comment on Thursday 7th February 2008 9:31am

Very cool/interesting, though there will be one large change in the Harry/Hermione dynamics, Canon Hermione was always the more mature one and never quite saw Harry as an equal.

DC posted a comment on Wednesday 6th February 2008 9:44pm

Great story, but a question- fic writers love Hermione way too much, and I notice that in AUs where you would think the different Harry could never get along with her, and they eventually have them become friends despite all of the differences between them that most real eleven year olds would never get past.

I hope you do things a little more realistically in this and not make the Trio come together unless you can put a new spin on it.