gensplosion!

FANDOM: Tolkien
FIC LINK: River-Mother and River-Daughter
AUTHOR LINK: Zdenka
RATING/WARNING(S): ~PG | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | ~3500 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Goldberry, Melian

FIC SUMMARY: Before the Sun or Moon rose, the River-mother sang to the waters and they awoke.

RECCER'S NOTES:

An origin story for Goldberry: her awakening and coming of age -- to the background of the events of The Silmarillion -- in lovely lyrical prose. Written for Rare Women, the story foregrounds friendship between women, as Goldberry encounters Melian & an original Maiar. The ending is perfect (though gen purists might like to note that Bombadil makes his appearance).

FANDOM: The Lord of the Rings
FIC LINK: The Strange Case of the House at Hollinport (rtf download)
AUTHOR LINK: The Burping Troll
RATING/WARNING(S): Unrated | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | ~13,500 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Original characters, [mystery]

FIC SUMMARY: From his hospital bed, a man recalls inheriting his uncle's house in the town of Hollinport. Taking up residence was only the first step of a dark and terrifying journey. A Gothic encounter with Shadow that is not, after all, quite vanquished from the world ... A classic horror must-read!

RECCER'S NOTES: Set in the Fourth Age, the story kicks off from the quotation 'There are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world.' It's written in a very convincing pastiche of a Poe or Lovecraft short story, yet eventually comes to mesh perfectly with Tolkien's canon. Russ has a gift for atmosphere, and there's great slow-building tension as the mystery unfolds. I wrote back in 2004 that this is 'one of the most unusual LotR-inspired fiction I've ever encountered,' and it stands up very well to rereading a decade later.