gensplosion!

FANDOM: Blake’s 7
FIC LINK: On the Far Shore
AUTHOR LINK: Clocketpatch
RATING/WARNING(S): PG | References to death, the afterlife, spoilers
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 4126
MAIN CHARACTERS: Oleg Gan, Zen, Slave, Jenna Stannis, Cally, Vila Restal, Roj Blake, Del Tarrant, Dayna Mellanby, Soolin, Servalan

FIC SUMMARY: Nothing is needed but good company

RECCER'S NOTES: This is a hauntingly unusual and beautiful post-series fic (so, if you don't know B7, beware, spoilers ahoy). The evocative descriptions of the setting, the way it slowly unfolds as to what this is, and the author’s characterisations, particularly of Zen and Slave in unfamiliar forms is wonderful. It does have some brief mentions of two marriages, but that’s not the focus of the fic at all, and it really is too good to omit.

FANDOM: Doctor Who
FIC LINK: Nine Hours, Give or Take
AUTHOR LINK: Bad Dickens
RATING/WARNING(S): All ages | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 2457
MAIN CHARACTERS: Donna Noble, Tenth Doctor

FIC SUMMARY: Donna in the toilet, the Doctor in the broom cupboard. Exciting? Oh, yes.

RECCER'S NOTES: During Partners in Crime, Donna and the Doctor spent about nine hours in their respective hiding places. Nine hours. Donna and Ten. Yes . . . How exactly did they pass the time? Bad Dickens has the answer here, and the result is far more entertaining than a tale of a toilet and a broom cupboard has any right to be.

FANDOM: Doctor Who
FIC LINK: The Spartans
AUTHOR LINK: JJPOR
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Violence, Slavery
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 69,883
MAIN CHARACTERS: Second Doctor, Polly Wright, Jamie McCrimmon, Ben Jackson

FIC SUMMARY: Greece, 480 BC: As the vast armies of the King of Kings prepare to battle the outnumbered defenders of the Hot Gates, the Doctor and his friends find themselves where they often find themselves at times like this – caught in the middle.

RECCER'S NOTES: As I’ve said, I have a weakness for Doctor Who historicals, and this is one of the very best. The author is amazing (consider this also an author rec: JJ is an incredible fanfic writer and pretty much never puts out a duff fic) and also has a clear love of history, which shines through. It’s an all-out action-adventure piece at novel length, although that’s not to say there’s not some great characterisation, with the TARDIS team being split up (as ever) but into two lesser-explored combinations, which allows for some lovely development between the still-new group, as Polly and the Doctor have to work together while Ben and Jamie find themselves in some surprising situations, not always easy for a 20th century English seaman and an 18th C Scottish Jacobite.

(There’s a tiny bit of canon-typical Ben/Polly at the end, and a little bit of slightly more unexpected Ben/Jamie along the way because of plot, but nothing to render it non-gen.)

Anyway, it’s long, fabulous, enthralling, and novel-style (and length) enough to be read on its own strengths if you’re not all that familiar with this TARDIS team (who have after all been especially unfairly hit by burnination).

FANDOM: Doctor Who/RPF
FIC LINK: A Spy Unmasked
AUTHOR LINK: JohnAmendAll
RATING/WARNING(S): G | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 778
MAIN CHARACTERS: Kate Stewart, Frobisher, Sir David Attenborough

FIC SUMMARY: Sir David Attenborough's latest documentary has produced some unusual footage.

RECCER'S NOTES: Where to begin? In the audios & comics sometimes the Doctor travels with a Whifferdil called Frobisher – a shapeshifting private eye who tends to default to Penguin. Sir David Attenborough makes nature documentaries on many things, including penguins. Kate Stewart has weird in her job description. You might begin to see where this is going, yes? It’s a hugely fun ficlet, with a great punchline, and I don’t think you need to know any more than those three things to enjoy it. Also, penguins.

FANDOM: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
FIC LINK: Of Five Adventures That Occurred During The Reign Of The Raven Barista
AUTHOR LINK: lannamichaels
RATING/WARNING(S): G | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 1224
MAIN CHARACTERS: Gilbert Norrell, The Raven King, William of Lanchester, Catherine of Winchester, Jonathan Strange, John Childermass, Arabella Strange, Emma Pole, Martin Pale, Thomas of Dundale

FIC SUMMARY: Cracky coffee shop AU with magic!

RECCER'S NOTES: This is one of those AUs that you'd imagine couldn’t and shouldn’t be done - until someone pulls it off like this, and it’s completely brilliant. It shouldn't work, but it's clever and funny and wonderful, and it does. I don’t know where to start – Norrell coming early not to buy coffee, Jonathan’s Tumblr tags, the Raven Barista . . . just go read it!

FANDOM: Sapphire and Steel
FIC LINK: Daisy Bell
AUTHOR LINK: usernamegoeshere
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Canon-typical horror, ghosts, death
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 32,278 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Sapphire, Steel, Silver, Diamond, Radium, Original Characters

FIC SUMMARY: In 1979, Sapphire and Steel arrive at the Howard Street Hospital to investigate a time break. They have a chance encounter with the receptionist, Daisy. In 1999, Diamond, Radium, and Silver arrive at the Howard Street Hospital to investigate a time break. They have a chance encounter with the receptionist, Daisy.

RECCER'S NOTES: Sapphire and Steel is the most beautifully weird TV show I have ever encountered (as one TV guidebook described it: “There are many ways of holding a TV audience... Total lack of explanation is not supposed to be one of them.”) and also one of the most interesting fandoms for fic, as authors each try in their own way to interpret those mysteries and transpose that sense of otherness in the mundane to their writing, and nobody does it quite the same way, so I’m hoping to rec some more S&S before I’m done here.

Anyway, this fic one of the best examples - it’s marvellous, long, plotty, completely true to canon-weirdness (if you can say such a thing) and sharply characterised, with every bit of Sapphire-Steel-Silver interaction a delight. Plus – always a huge bonus for me – not only does it include Silver but it brings in some additional ‘operators’ from the opening credits, and explores just how strange they might be. And if you don’t know the series, but you like exploring the weirdness of time or enjoy ghost stories, why not give it a try? It’s a glorious fic and you really won’t know any less than those of us who have watched the canon, honest…

FANDOM: Doctor Who
FIC LINK: Planes, Trains and Horseless Carriages (Among Other Conveyances)
AUTHOR LINK: nam_jai
RATING/WARNING(S): G | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 2111
MAIN CHARACTERS: First Doctor, Steven Taylor, Vicki

FIC SUMMARY: The Doctor, Vicki and Steven journey over land and sea to make a date with history.

RECCER'S NOTES: This fic is such a gem – it’s a beautiful little historical/team TARDIS piece, with the Doctor, Vicki, and Steven in a race against time to see history in the making. The use of these (too-rarely written) characters as opposed to any other TARDIS crew is just perfect, too. Old-school historical fics are one of the joys of Doctor Who fandom when they’re done well, and this one definitely is.

FANDOM: Doctor Who
FIC LINK: To The Rescue
AUTHOR LINK: dbskyler
RATING/WARNING(S): All ages | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 1381 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Sarah Jane Smith, Jack Harkness, K9, Romana II, Jo Grant, Harry Sullivan.

FIC SUMMARY: Sarah Jane is in Aberdeen! Help is on the way.

RECCER'S NOTES: After Sarah Jane made her reappearance back in 2006 (can it really be that long ago?), there was a spate of fanfic fixits, hastening to rescue her from being stranded in Aberdeen. Dbskyler’s delightfully funny fic challenges a few fandom cliches and points out that a woman who’s travelled the universe and fought monsters can probably handle getting home from Scotland without falling apart. Except, much to her bemusement, her would-be rescuers are just queuing up – that is, apart from the one person she thought might try to lend a hand…

FANDOM: Doctor Who
FIC LINK: With A Little Illumination
AUTHOR LINK: st_aurafina
RATING/WARNING(S): PG | Mild canon-type violence
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 6244
MAIN CHARACTERS: Jo Grant, Third Doctor, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

FIC SUMMARY: When an opera critic is torn limb from limb, the Brigadier suspects that more than just bruised egos are at play.

RECCER'S NOTES: It’s like the UNIT-era squared, and it’s utterly wonderful. The Brigadier has crossword experts looking for the Master! The Doctor has blown up the lab (again)! Jo’s on an undercover mission (with an unexpected ‘date’), the Master has an improbable villainous plan, and it all goes a little bit Phantom of the Opera. Fabulous missing adventure fic.

FANDOM: Once Upon a Time
FIC LINK: Made and Unmade
AUTHOR LINK: Selena
RATING/WARNING(S): G | Mentions of death & violence, Spoilers through the end of S2
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 4556
MAIN CHARACTERS: Mary Margaret Blanchard, Regina Mills, Cora, David Nolan, Ruby

FIC SUMMARY: Snow had given her heart to Regina a long time ago. Snow White and Regina, from the beginning to the end and back again.

RECCER'S NOTES: Absolutely gorgeous, thoughtful and sharp exploration of one of the show’s fundamental relationships - that of Snow & Regina, with all their contradictions and complexities. It’s one that’s too rarely covered in fic, and almost never as well done as this.