longlivehumour: 7. do you always want what you think you want? (maurice sendak)
[personal profile] longlivehumour
FANDOM: Star Wars (Prequels)
FIC LINK: What Is My Heritage? and Coming Home
AUTHOR LINK: [archiveofourown.org profile] Potboy
RATING/WARNING(S): G | violence, brief references to sexual violence
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 7,700 and 18,300 respectively
MAIN CHARACTERS: Qui-Gon Jinn, Yoda, Dooku

FIC SUMMARY: Two stories focusing on Qui-Gon Jinn as a young padawan, never quite able to fit in. In the first, Qui-Gon asks to be sent home to figure out where he belongs. In the second, Dooku enters the game and Yoda meddles.
Best read together.

RECCER'S NOTES: I rarely read "character as a Youth" stories, since the child protagonists are too often depicted as smaller, blander versions of their adult selves, but this story proves me wrong. Qui-Gon is remarkably well-written: he feels like a real person (who happens to be a child) and the essence of his character shines through every thought and action, in his choices and the way he reacts to events. He is himself, forty-odd years earlier, fundamentally different but lacking nothing. Dooku, too, is not-himself yet himself. There's no hidden seed of darkness: the darkness is right there in the open, yet he's a Jedi and a firmly moral person, albeit one whose morals do not necessarily agree with yours.

Excellent characterisation which does justice to all three main characters, some very sharp criticism/examination of the Jedi Order and finally, a stonking good adventure story. (Also a very satisfying answer to the question of who the hell was Qui-Gon's master: both, of course.) I love it, I love it, I love it.

Eight hundred years of Jedi experience, Yoda thought, and he was not prepared for this. So many Masters and Padawans, taking the same routes, making the same responses to the same problems, and after a while you no longer saw the faces. Only the process, only the Order itself in its monumental evolving beauty.

How had this boy happened now? A thousand years ago there had been Jedi like this - obeying the Force in their own way, and obeying nothing else. Strange, wild, uncomfortable beings, untameable, splendid, chaotic. A thousand years ago they had been needed, to fight the Sith. But the Sith were dead, and what the galaxy required now was Jedi who could bring order, and exist in order.
longlivehumour: Roses are red / antiplastic is blue / bananas are fantastic / and so are you (ninth doctor)
[personal profile] longlivehumour
FANDOM: Fake News (The Daily Show and The Colbert Report)
FIC LINK: Ye Merrie Olde Adventures of Duke Stephen (and His Knights)
AUTHOR LINK: [archiveofourown.org profile] PlotDohOh
RATING/WARNING(S): PG
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 14,700 (3,300 + 11,100)
MAIN CHARACTERS: (the fake personas of) Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, all the correspondents and a number of quasi-political figures whose names I don't feel like typing out right now.

FIC SUMMARY: It all started when the new young Duke, Lord Stephen de Colbert, finally got around to arresting that loudmouthed troubadour — the one who wouldn't stop badmouthing him all over the Duchy of Newest York.

RECCER'S NOTES: Because sometimes you want a dark and serious deconstruction, and sometimes you just want puns. A very funny, very silly fairy-tale AU set in the land of Amurrica. There are swords! There are bears! There is multivariate statistical analysis! There are, most of all, clever, clever puns!
Trust me on this one.

Also: it turns out there are no fanfics beginning with X.
Also also: looks like Photobucket has decided to ransom off its hosting. Thus beginneth the migration...
longlivehumour: Grey heron (heron)
[personal profile] longlivehumour
FANDOM: MCU / Thor
FIC LINK: Road to Nowhere
AUTHOR LINK: [archiveofourown.org profile] Lise
RATING/WARNING(S): PG | spoilers for Thor: The Dark World
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 27,700
MAIN CHARACTERS: Loki, Thor, Frigga

FIC SUMMARY: When Loki turns up demanding Thor's help on a quest to retrieve the All-Mother from Valhalla, Thor isn't about to say no. But that doesn't mean he's forgotten anything, and what better time than a road trip through the backwaters of the universe for trying to talk things out?

RECCER'S NOTES: Loki and Thor are both very well written - Loki a genuinely twisty bitter bastard, albeit one who loves his mum, and Thor rather more intelligent than many people give him credit for, especially when it comes to his brother. The worlds they pass through are sometimes harmless, often horrifying, and always weird. Hopping across worlds like stepping stones on the way to Hel, and there is, as always in these stories, a catch...
dirty_diana: model Zhenya Katava wears a crown (Iris)
[personal profile] dirty_diana
FANDOM: The Flash with Arrow cameos
FIC LINK: Zero-Sum Game
AUTHOR LINK: [archiveofourown.org profile] Rokesmith
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen
WIP?/WORD COUNT: complete / 67 000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Barry Allen, Iris West, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, Joe West

FIC SUMMARY: Three months after the singularity, a wave of impossible robberies strikes Central City, and there is one obvious suspect: the Flash. But as Barry and his friends unite to track down the real culprit, they find themselves facing a dangerous new enemy in a pursuit that may cost them everything.

Post season 1.

RECCER'S NOTES: An epic, plotty imagining of what might have happened after the season one finale. If you spent the summer hoping Iris would finally get to be part of the gang, or wondering what DCU villains might make an appearance, this is the fic to scratch that itch. Plus: friendship and teamwork! So many feels.
dirty_diana: model Zhenya Katava wears a crown (Default)
[personal profile] dirty_diana
FANDOM: Jupiter Ascending
FIC LINK: To Be Sure of You
AUTHOR LINK: [archiveofourown.org profile] splash_the_cat [dreamwidth.org profile] splash_the_cat
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen
WIP?/WORD COUNT: complete / 5000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Vladie Bolotnikov, Caine Wise

FIC SUMMARY: Vladie is sure Jupiter is caught up in something, maybe something bad, and he's bound and determined to... Well, okay, let's be honest, he's probably going make it so much worse.

RECCER'S NOTES: Adorable and fun odd couple fic, and a chance to see Jupiter's outrageous world and hot/terrifying boyfriend from the point of view of a newcomer: Jupiter's cousin Vladie, who manages to get himself tangled up in the latest plot against Jupiter's life.
thisbluespirit: (dw - brig/liz)
[personal profile] thisbluespirit
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).
dirty_diana: Hawkeye and Black Widow in Avengers film (clintasha)
[personal profile] dirty_diana
FANDOM: Marvel Cinematic Universe/Avengers
FIC LINK: Parting Shot
AUTHOR LINK: [archiveofourown.org profile] ratherastory [livejournal.com profile] ratherastory
RATING/WARNING(S): G / canon-typical violence
WIP?/WORD COUNT: complete / 20 700 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Clint Barton, OCs

FIC SUMMARY: Two years after the events of New York, Clint Barton is deep undercover in Bulgaria. When the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier reveal his identity to the organised crime syndicate he's infiltrated, he finds himself stranded in Varna with no allies and no resources. Moreover, the local mafia are about to enact a plan that could put the entire region at risk. With Hydra hot on his heels, Clint must rely on his wits and a few local friends to put an end to the plot and get out alive.

RECCER'S NOTES: Wondering what Clint was up to during Captain America: The Winter Soldier? This story shows us a plausible, action-packed explanation. Thematically inspired by the Fraction/Aja comic in an interesting way, as the daunting situations of the MCU meet an extremely human Clint. Contains one of my favourite MCU specific tropes, Deaf/Hard of Hearing Clint. Who we should get more of in canon, anyway.
dirty_diana: (kirk/mccoy)
[personal profile] dirty_diana
FANDOM: Star Trek TOS
FIC LINK: Equilibrium
AUTHOR LINK: [fanfiction.net profile] PSW
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen / adult themes (prison camps, riots, etc)
WIP?/WORD COUNT: complete / 158 700 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Leonard McCoy, Spock, James T Kirk, OCs

FIC SUMMARY: McCoy's transport is destroyed in what is thought to be an accidental containment field explosion. No major character deaths.

RECCER'S NOTES: I try to always be honest about who a rec is meant for, so I will admit that if you feel like there is never a reason for a story to be over 100 000 words? This is not the fic that is going to change your mind. If, on the other hand, you love a good rollicking space adventure? Vulcans, Romulans, intergalactic politics, daring escapes, and the crew of the Enterprise being good at what they're good at? Then this is the fic for you. Fascinating examination of some of the Big Themes that come with Roddenberry's take on space exploration, and lovely characterisation of the classic triumvirate.
dirty_diana: (kirk/mccoy)
[personal profile] dirty_diana
FANDOM: Star Trek TOS
FIC LINK: Expanding the Oecumene
AUTHOR LINK: [fanfiction.net profile] AAmuse
RATING/WARNING(S): none / K+
WIP?/WORD COUNT: complete / 48 500 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Spock, Pike, Number One, OCs

FIC SUMMARY: The events taking place during Spock’s final year at Starfleet Academy continue to shape him into the person and officer he will become. A tale about friendship and adventure.

RECCER'S NOTES: A tale of Spock's first, dangerous trip on the Enterprise with mentor-to-be Captain Pike. Plotty character explorations are always great. However it is easy for an author who loves a character (as we all do) to fall into the trap of only exploring the positives, or of doing a little fannish revisionist history. This story of what Spock's Academy days might have looked like never loses sight of the fact that Spock of Vulcan, later saviour of the known world, could also be a bit of a rebellious brat.
thady: (Kiki  -  Kiki)
[personal profile] thady
FANDOM: Harry Potter
FIC LINK: Dudley Dursley and the New Normal (fanfiction.net) | Dudley Dursley and the New Normal (dreamwidth)
AUTHOR LINK: [fanfiction.net profile] alikat522 | [livejournal.com profile] straydog733
RATING/WARNING(S): PG-13/R warnings under this cut )
WIP?/WORD COUNT: novel | ~ 53,200 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Dudley Dursley; canon character, OCs

FIC SUMMARY: Bad things happen. Life gets strange. Dudley tries to carve out a little bit of normality in a world that has gone mad around him.

RECCER'S NOTES:

This is a wonderful character and plot driven story. Both character development and plot and finely balanced and complement each other. Love all the supporting characters too.

thady: (GK  -  RayRay)
[personal profile] thady
FANDOM: Torchwood
FIC LINK: The Thing with Feathers That Perches in the Soul
AUTHOR LINK: [livejournal.com profile] blue_fjords
RATING/WARNING(S): PG-13 | mentions of canon pairings
WIP?/WORD COUNT: novelette | ~ 20,000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Toshiko Sato, Team; mentions of canon pairings

FIC SUMMARY: Torchwood has to deal with threats from an alien species and Myfanwy has gone missing. Plus, it is time for Tosh's five-year review by UNIT, and things do not go well. Takes place a few days before Season 2's 'Fragments'.

RECCER'S NOTES:

This story might be best described as a Tosh-centric team fic. It actually reads like an episode. It's extremely well written, fast paced with wonderful character moments not only for Tosh, but for all the characters. A wonderful entertaining read.

thady: (Anastasia  -  Anastasia)
[personal profile] thady
FANDOM: The Sarah Jane Adventures/Doctor Who
FIC LINK: Du Liebes Kind, Komm, Geh Mit Mir
AUTHOR LINK: Lyricwritesprose / [livejournal.com profile] lyricwrites
RATING/WARNING(S): PG/PG-13
WIP?/WORD COUNT: multi-chaptered | ~ 12,000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Maria Jackson, Sarah Jane Smith, The Doctor (4th)

FIC SUMMARY: Some time after she moves to America, Maria Jackson gets wrapped up in mysterious temporal events and Sarah Jane's past.

RECCER'S NOTES: This is a great adventure story featuring Maria. I really love her here. Her view on Sarah Jane and the Doctor is very interesting. The story could have easily featured on the show.

thady: (GK  -  Doc)
[personal profile] thady
FANDOM: Stargate: Atlantis
FIC LINK: The Killing Frost
AUTHOR LINK: [personal profile] sholio
RATING/WARNING(S): PG-13
WIP?/WORD COUNT: novel | ~ 100,000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: team, with emphasis on McKay, Sheppard, Caldwell

FIC SUMMARY: A scientific mission gone wrong leaves the Daedalus stranded on an ice planet with Atlantis's top scientists and a ruthless saboteur. Will rescue come before injuries and the elements take their toll? General (mostly vague) spoilers for Season 2 plus one mild one for "McKay & Mrs. Miller".

RECCER'S NOTES: This is a great suspense/mystery/action/adventure team story. I love the characters here, and how they interact, and the plot is intriguing and tense. At times I could feel the cold and was glad I was warm and safe.

ozqueen: (tv: my little pony)
[personal profile] ozqueen
FANDOM: How to Train Your Dragon
FIC LINK: Blinded by the Sun
AUTHOR LINK: [archiveofourown.org profile] akamine_chan
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 1867
MAIN CHARACTERS: Hiccup, Toothless

FIC SUMMARY: He'd been offered the honor of killing a dragon, and it turned his stomach. He couldn't do it, and the only choice he had left was to leave his home.

At least he still had Toothless.

RECCER'S NOTES:

A feel-good road trip fic about a boy and his dragon. This isn't a very long fic, but it builds the world outside of Berk up beautifully, and the interwoven paragraphs from Hiccup's dragon manual are a great touch.



thady: (SM  -  Ami & Minako)
[personal profile] thady
FANDOM: Harry Potter
FIC LINK: Cho Chang & the Jasmine Code
AUTHOR LINK: [livejournal.com profile] xenokattz
RATING/WARNING(S): PG-13 (for strong language & violence)
WIP?/WORD COUNT: one-shot | ~ 5,400 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Cho Chang

FIC SUMMARY: (Set between Half-Blood Prince & Deathly Hallows) Before returning to help her former schoolmates in the Battle of Hogwarts, Cho Chang fought against Voldemort & his follows in a more covert manner.

RECCER'S NOTES: Cho doesn't get much love in the books or in fandom, so it's always a great treat to find a Cho-centric story. Especially when it's so interesting and well-written as this one is.

I love the glimpse we're allowed into her life during the seventh book. She's fully fledged out here, and I'd just love to meet this Cho. 

thady: (LotR  -  Eowyn)
[personal profile] thady
FANDOM: Harry Potter
FIC LINK: A Heart Bright and True
AUTHOR LINK: [livejournal.com profile] lyras
RATING/WARNING(S): R
WORD COUNT: ~ 15,800
MAIN CHARACTERS: Ron Weasley; ensemble, including Cho Chang, Harry Potter, George Weasley, Angelina Johnson; mentions of canon pairings

FIC SUMMARY: Ron is struggling with his identity after leaving the Aurors and setting up a detective agency. A woman needs his help but seems reluctant for him to learn the truth. To complicate matters, Fenrir Greyback is on the loose, and Ron must face the Forbidden Forest and his own fears if he is to unravel the mystery.

RECCER'S NOTES: This is a really great case!fic and character study. The mystery was well thought out and the case engaging. I loved all the little details, how they make the characters and their world rich and real. Ron's struggle felt very true to canon, at the same time we can see him growing up.

thady: (Totoro  -)
[personal profile] thady
FANDOM: Stargate: Atlantis
FIC LINK: Empty Vessels (or on their website)
AUTHOR LINK: [profile] rhymer23
RATING/WARNING(S): PG
WORD COUNT: 32,400
MAIN CHARACTERS: team; Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, Rodney McKay, John Sheppard

FIC SUMMARY: Four people awake separately in the darkness with no memory of who they are, and there is something in the darkness, and it wants them.

RECCER'S NOTES: How much of our personality is learned, how much is innate? It's not easy to write amnesiac people. rhymer23 manages to balance this. It's an intriguing view on people we know, or we think we know. The voices of each of the team members is very distinctive, so the reader knows who each person is even though they don't know themselves. I love the insight we gather.

Beside this, the story is very well plotted, very engaging. I couldn't stop reading even though it was way past my bed time. 

redsnake05: Art by Audrey Kawasaki (Default)
[personal profile] redsnake05
FANDOM: Chronicles of Narnia (The Silver Chair)
FIC LINK: Revisionary History
AUTHOR LINK: [archiveofourown.org profile] cofax
RATING/WARNING(S): G, no warnings
WORD COUNT:5555
MAIN CHARACTERS: Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Puddleglum

FIC SUMMARY: Pole and Scrubb accomplished rather more during their quest for the lost prince than anyone ever truly understood

RECCER'S NOTES: One of the things I love most about Narnia stories is when the author gets into worldbuilding. This story tells a tale of Jill, Eustace and Puddleglum from a couple of very different perspectives, and we get to see Jill finding her feet in an unfamiliar world on one hand, and some historical versions of Rilian's disenchantement on the other.
ozqueen: (tv: supernatural: impala)
[personal profile] ozqueen
FANDOM: Doctor Who, Supernatural
FIC LINK: Past Tense
AUTHOR LINK: [archiveofourown.org profile] try2catchme
RATING/WARNING(S): T
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 6,851
MAIN CHARACTERS: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, The Doctor (Ten)

FIC SUMMARY: "This grin was brand new. It promised danger and excitement and probably epic stupidity under the guise of genius, but most of all it promised fun in the midst of it."

RECCER'S NOTES:

Because Dean's suspicion and angst and natural wariness combined with the Doctor's boundless enthusiasm makes for such fun reading! I can't possibly not rec this.



ozqueen: (tv: futurama: this week in the universe)
[personal profile] ozqueen
FANDOM: Doctor Who, Firefly
FIC LINK: The Man With No Name (ffn) | The Man With No Name (whofic.com)
AUTHOR LINK: [fanfiction.net profile] frostfyre7 | frostfyre
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Canon level violence, spoilers for both canons up to and including Serenity and The Runaway Bride.
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 106,000 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Tenth Doctor, Malcolm Reynolds, River Tam, Kaylee Frye, Jayne Cobb, Zoe Washburne, Simon Tam, Inara Serra

FIC SUMMARY: He hadn't really counted on getting into a pub brawl over the color of his coat on some speck of a planet, or signing up with a crew of petty criminals. Still, he'd always wondered what really happened to those Lost Colonists from Earth...

RECCER'S NOTES:

I will admit it took me some time to agree with the Doctor's voice in this one, but the further I read, the more right it became, and the more I realised just how very broken he is in canon at this point. He is also Rude and Not Ginger.

The Serenity crew are also broken after the events of The Big Damn Movie, and together they and the Doctor begin to rebuild themselves, putting together the pieces of their existence, fighting common enemies and forging wonderful bonds.

This is a great, lengthy fic that hits my 'found family' buttons in all the right ways. I especially love the way Mal reacts to the Doctor, and the slow, steady build of trust and respect between them (after a bit of a rocky start).