One thing that I absolutely hate is flawed statements and generalizations. If I find a trace of it in a summary, you can bet your ass I'm not going to read it. Check this one out:
1. Dead Without You by JadeSeraph
? ? Everyone has someone they would die for. Harry Potter would have died for any of his friends. But what happens when they ask him to live for them too? PostWar, and a HG love story.
? ? Complete - Fiction Rated: M - English - Romance/Drama - Chapters: 23 - Words: 152,321 - Reviews: 220 - Updated: 5-12-07 - Published: 2-18-07
What was that? Everyone has someone they would die for? It quite obvious that this person didn't bother to think things through when they wrote that. I mean really, this is a Harry Potter fanfic. You would think that he would at least consider Voldemort and his crew of masked zealots when making such a statement.
But no, he obviously forgot about the many examples that invalidate his assertion(in the book alone). Tom Riddle, Bellatrix and of course, the poster boy himself, Wormtail.
I know some of you may not consider this a good enough reason to avoid a fic, but summaries typically say much about the author. If the author doesn't know or understand what he's talking about, nothing he writes will ever interest me. Since logical people generally don't make illogical statements, I can safely assume that the author is somewhat illogical.
There are some exceptions(there always are), but those are so few that searching by summaries works pretty well regardless.
Another thing, using quantifiers such as 'every' and 'none' when dealing with human beings is a recipe for failure, especially when dealing with desire. Everyone may need the same things, but wanting them is something else entirely. Phobias and psychoses are odd like that. (I mean really. How can someone be scared of air? Of water?)
...I'm bored. Someone give me a link to a good fic. In exchange I offer you this:
The Chimera: More Snake than Lion
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2820770/1/
In a word, insightful.
P.S.
Sorry about the long, bitchy post. This just happens to be one of my pet peeves.