Whispering Illusion 1 and 2
Now, this one has been in my list of reviews for a while. Not only is Whispering Illusion a nice break from the standard Family Guy fics, but it is realistic and uncensored. The story is another Meg/OC fic, but it does things differently than most other fics. Unlike Meg's Family, there is little emphasis placed on most of the Griffin Family. The story usually centers around three family members, Matthew Ryder, Jaina Ryder, and Meg Griffin/Ryder. Unlike The Spellbook, there is much more emphasis placed on off-the-wall hunor and action.
The plot starts with Meg's old friend from Elementary School, Matthew Ryder. At the start of the series, Matthew dressed in black Jeans, a blood red T shirt, and a black anarack. Of course, Meg and Matt quickly restart their friendship, it having ended after Matt had moved, and become as close as they had been. Of course, this being Bhaalspawn, Matt is killed in a gunfight trying to save Meg's life. This was later revealed that it was a plot masterminded by Stewie. Matt returns in the sequel, as Meg's Guardian Angel. Now, unlike with the Spellbook, Meg's Family, or Labours of Love, I actually sat down with Bhaal and asked him about several things he had not yet explained.
First of all, let's start with Matt's powers. Matt has unusually strong powers for a Guardian Angel, and Bhaal stated that this was due to his experimentation with them. Most Angels take the powers they start with, and run with them. Matt experimented with several different mechanics to create devastating and destructive powers, such as using telekineses to manipulate static electricity in the air to fire electricity from his fingertips. Matt also has a strange personality, the fact being that there are several. One moment he is caring and compassionate, and at other moments he can be nutty. In contrast of these two, at really intense moments he is cold and sadistic. This seems to be the Family Guy representation of Dissassociative Identity Disorder, but what the fuck right? It works and leaves plenty of options available for chapters.
Whispering Illusion is rather different from the other two Meg/OC fics, that being it's a lot more realistic. For one, there's none of the annoying (bleep) bullshit that litters Meg's Family and The Spellbook. Swear words are completley uncensored, and that can be fun at times. There are many chapters where it's good to hear the characters get off a good 'what the fuck?' Rather than 'what the f(bleep)ck?' My guess is, however, that Bhaal may censor the more serious profanity in later chapters, if there even is any. Matt seems to be the only one to swear though, or at least the one who does it most. There are many times where he will substitute 'hell' with 'fuck'.
The humor is great...at times. There are some jokes that are just priceless, but it never carries further than a cutaway, not that there's anything wrong with that. The book is good anyway, and Bhaal doesn't seem worried about making people laugh. This is the mark of a good writer who doesn't need to resort to crude humor to make an artistic statement, unlike Meg's Family, or Meg's Boyfriend, which are nothing but crude humor, but they're fun to read anyway. Bhaal's format works for his characters, though. It is mostly just a book with varying genres. Some chapters are cool and dramatic, some are lightweight and nutty, and others are action packed fight scenes (which are the best in my opinion). And there are, like I said, no annoying bleep noises...oh wait. There is one...a little one, but that's a cardinal sin...guess I have to hate it now. Yeah that works, FUCK YOU BHAALSPAWN!
I kid though...
I do have a few points to critisize. Some of the humor is just downright innapropriate, even for Family Guy. I'll pause so you can all find your socks that just blew off. Many jokes have such innuendo that it really should warrant an M rating, including, but not limited to:
"All I have to do is close my eyes and suck it from a hose!"
That was just disgusting, as well as a stolen line. While the joke itself was funny, Bhaal could have worded this differently to still be funny. The assassination joke was also a little iffy, as well as the fact that Bhaal could have been arrested for it had he been living in the United States. So while Bhaal makes good humor at times, some of his jokes are just tasteless.
One of Bhaal's gimmicks, and perhaps the most interesting, is that he has been using a spell that views the future to lay down an Stewie/Jaina pairing. While there are some people who may think that this is wrong beyond all reason (Cough-SoldierofsorrowandKarraa-COUGH), it actually works. This pairing is not one for much humor, and it seems to be simply romantic fluff that makes you say 'Awww'. One of the best things about this story is the floating Genre. Each chapter has a different genre, some are funny, some are action packed, and some are angsty dramas. And that's a winning formula. It means that you can use many diffrent plot devices and chapter ideas without going too far off the beaten path.
Whispering Illusion has only been crossed over once. In one of the later chapters of Meg's Family, Jaina was mentioned after her name was found on the speeddial of Maddie's cell phone. There was also some kind of story behind it, but it is unclear wether or not Malcolm is intending to pursue this.
All in all, Whispering Illusion looks to be the work of someone who read Meg's Family, and The Spellbook, and then wrote his own story using the best formats of both, and elaving out some of the more negative qualities. While the book has it's own faults, like the overshadowing characters and the innapropriate humor, it's actually really good. I wish the best of luck to Bhaalspawn, and hope all his chapters in the future are the same cornerstone of great storytelling that they have been so far.
Material.