Review Guide

✩Grim✩

✮Judge: @jpsuchecki
✮Book: Grim by @shortywolf20

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✮Written Review:

"Grim" is a fanfiction book that largely follows J.K. Rowling's third Harry Potter book: "Prisoner of Azkaban." For those familiar with Rowling's work, they will see how the main story here closely follows those events. For those who are not, the plot may be largely confusing. The title of the book makes clever use of the phrase "Grim," which is a repetitive theme in Rowling's book, but in this particular version, it largely gets left by the wayside.

Before going forward, I must mention that it is hard to review fanfiction. By its very nature, it can't stand on its own. It has to be looked at in the context of the original because most of the world-building and story are taken from the original. In this reviewer's opinion, that automatically puts it at a disadvantage. As such, when the question came about rating its originality, I can say, "Well, it's not original," even though the story goes out of its way to make sure the non-original elements shine. Here, I believe it does good work.

Though the plot is familiar, the perspective is unique. The author has created at least four new characters, telling the story from the viewpoint of two of them: Zenith and Cressida Black (children of Sirius Black). Often, there is confusion regarding which one is telling the story (no tags are provided), but once the reader finds their bearings, it's easy to stay on track.

The twins themselves are split into two houses in what I imagine to be a Parvati and Padma Patil moment. Zenith finds himself in Gryffindor and Cressida in Slytherin. Some noted changes are made in the beginning about the Blacks not being related to the Malfoys and Hermione and Ron not being an item. In this reviewer's opinion, this is designed to ship these characters later to the OCs, but as of the final posted chapter of the book, that has not happened.

Of the two, Zenith is the more original character. Largely attached to Ron, he has a similar personality. He sleeps late, doesn't seem to take things seriously (at least not until it seriously affects him), and has trouble working out his feelings. Cressida, on the other hand, could be Hermione. She comes across as softer, but just as intelligent. She might as well be "the brightest witch of her age."

For those who care about staying true to canon, they will find themselves largely disappointed. The ending is completely changed (though events largely play out in the same way). The final scenes of saving Buckbeak and Sirius largely remove the golden trio, and in the great rewind, take them out altogether. If, however, you read fanfiction just to stay immersed in the world of Harry Potter and do not care about any major changes, you might enjoy what happens next. I won't share what that is here, but I will say it's the most original thing the book has to offer as far as the plot is concerned.

As someone who reads HP fanfiction, I've noticed it's pretty well written. Some parts are confusing and make some assumptions a reader might not grasp. There are spacing issues between sentences, and the author doesn't seem to know if they want to indent or not, but these issues are largely cosmetic.

The only issue a reader might have with the way the book is written is the dialogue. The book is very dialogue-driven. Save for a few action-packed Quidditch scenes (in my opinion, the best parts of the book), the reader will almost always find themselves in a conversation between two or more people (often without proper tags). So much dialogue slows down the pace considerably. Often, I would find myself getting bored because there was nothing to paint a picture. Even though the Harry Potter universe is very rich in its background and lore, it largely gets ignored here. A reader reads to escape and immerse. This book does not provide for that outlet.

With all that said, I want to say it's a decent Harry Potter fanfiction. It's not something I'm likely to read again, but it's not something I regret having read. Of the Harry Potter fanfiction I have read, I would put it above most. It does the job of getting me my Harry Potter fix while still having something to offer. While 'Grim' may not be perfect, it offers enough originality and charm to satisfy any Harry Potter fan looking for a new prospective on a familiar adventure.

-Jpsuchecki