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A Review - Children of an Elder God, by John Biles and Rod M Children of an Elder God, by John Biles and Rod M., is a crossover fanfic with not an anime, but a writer. Yes indeed, CoaEG is a crossover between Neon Genesis Evangelion and the writer known as H.P. Lovecraft, a writer of horror stories which are reported to have tinges of insanity in them. They are great books, from what I hear, and with a bit of insight, their style blends well with Evangelion. Children of an Elder God is something of an alternate universe of Neon Genesis Evangelion, with a few changes, some of which are major, some of which are not. It begins at the beginning, where Shinji is brought to NERV by Misato, and an Angel is to be fought... The major differences in the story are the characterization of Rei and Asuka. Rei, for one thing, seems to develop affections for Shinji a bit more obviously for the audience, but not (thank the heavens) to the other characters. In fact, up until now, only Maya and Ritsuko know anything about Rei's "crush" on Shinji. On the flip side, Rei seems to be much more significant than she seems (much like the original story). Being a fusion with the stories of H. P. Lovecraft, there has to be some horror. Rei is hinted to embody that horror, although the audience is still very in the dark as to what Rei really is (though the dream sequences with Rei give hints). Asuka, on ther other hand, seems to have a much better attitude than she did in the series, mainly due to the fact that she seems to have coped with her past (seemingly). As a result, she's a very friendly person, except to Touji, with whom she is a rival. Shinji is actually very in character despite different circumstances. The same goes with most every other character from the series. Somehow, everything seems to work well this way. Other differences include the fact that the Angels are different. In fact, they seem to be based on something other than the Dead Sea Scrolls, meaning that Seele has a totally different agenda, and thus does NERV as well. However, the change is major only in the sense of what events take place as a result of the change. I, for one, like the change (I'm not saying it's better than the series) because the interactions between the characters, especially the pilots, are much more enjoyable because of one reason -- they last. It is unlike the series, where interaction felt nearly minimal to the point where the audience had to piece the rest of the story together (hence one reason why romance fanfics are so popular). Also, the Angels' actions are great excuses for fun events, like a play called "The King is Yellow" (no, it's not the same as the book written by Robert W. Chambers), where the Angel appears after the actors are possessed, as is the audience. I think the greatest change with the Angels is that the feeling of anticipation for the next Angel to come and leave is nonexistent. So far, Children of an Elder God is the only fanfic to do that for me. Being a crossover, there are many other changes in Children of an Elder God, but they are minor, like having the LCL resemble tar and having the Evangelions adapt with each ensuing battle. Children of an Elder God does not sport extremely eloquent writing, but there is no doubt that some planning went into the story, though the feeling that some of it is being made as it goes along exists. Some of the scenes described in CoaEG have the profound effect of a vacation, but not to the point where the plot dilly-dally's into oblivion, where everything goes awry too far off track. It's a brilliant feeling, though different from the series, where the song "Barefoot in the Park" would bring back beautiful memories of the times where the characters led near-normal lives. Instead, the feeling one receives from CoaEG is reminiscent of the exchanges that go on during a campling trip between two friends in sleeping bags, lying by a fire that has been freshly put out, listening to air, and staring at the nebulous purple sky and stars. In other words, the interaction is clear, yet dreamy; casual, but serious. What about the faults of Children of an Elder God? As a Rei fan, I'd complain first and foremost about the dragging of the inevitable confrontation she'll have to have with Shinji sooner or later. I'd also whine about how the authors seem to have a sadistic sense of fun by having Rei fans' dream interactions between her and Shinji be just that -- dreams. It's evil, and I found myself thinking about how many ways there were to kill someone (I was very surprised by all the violent vocabulary I knew). As an Asuka fan, I'd complain that she seems hung up on Kaji, and everyone knows that "it's not going to happen." Asuka does show interest in Shinji, but her actions upon the effect are minimal and unsatisfying (maybe if Kaji died? Well, that's actually a bit too extreme). The romance element in CoaEG is very tantalizing; not too much, definitely not too little. It complements the drama of this unique series rather well. Oh, and another fault: John and Rod take too damn long to write each new chapter. Seriously, however, Children of an Elder God is not without its faults. The greatest fault may be its strange theology and even stranger dream sequences. I myself cannot say for sure what either is based off of, though I can predict that the dream sequences have something to do with omens and foreshadowing. A word of caution: one may find himself skimming rather heavily through fractions of an entire chapter, though this is rare. Sometimes the feeling that the writer is writing to himself and not an audience appears, and when that occurs, one will lose interest quickly. Thankfully, however, the reader will be so interested in the rest of the story that he will continue, or so I hope, because CoaEG really is a great story. Also, as a piece of advise to the authors and all writers, not as criticism, some description of certain scenes may help dearly. Currently, the story is not completed (as of November 26, 1999), and each chapter can only be found on the fanfic's website (or at least I haven't seen it anywhere else). Each chapter has a fairly good balance in terms of how many events take place and how much depth is put in each. The style is not erratic, like say, Neon Exodus Evagelion, where the strange theology comes in late in the story, confusing the readers to an incorrigible degree. Let it be known that I do not like crossover fics because they tend to muddle the plots, characters, etc. of each individual participating story. Thankfully, Children of an Elder God is not a crossover between two stories, but between a story and a writer's style. The story is still mainly EVA, but with a touch of H.P. Lovecraft and, of course, the writer(s). Any author writing a crossover would do well to take example from this fic by having the focus center on one story rather than two, or ten. Of course, it is not impossible that a conventional crossover be a great story, but for a story like Neon Genesis Evangelion, I have yet to see one that compares to Children of an Elder God. Highly recommended. |
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