thisbluespirit: (pg - lynda)
[personal profile] thisbluespirit
FANDOM: Press Gang
FIC LINK: End of the World News
AUTHOR LINK: [fanfiction.net profile] unoriginal-elizabeth
RATING/WARNING(S): K+/Teen | Apocalypse, No spoilers (AU for post-S3, I think)
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 5478
MAIN CHARACTERS: Lynda Day, Kenny Phillips, Colin Mathews, Frazz Davis, Sarah Jackson

FIC SUMMARY: It's the end of the world, AND it's a Monday - but people still show up for work.

RECCER'S NOTES: Where to start? So, it’s Press Gang fic. Perfectly characterised Press Gang fic. Lynda won’t give up and go home, and neither will anyone else, till they’ve done what they came to do. It’s got all the mix of distinctive characterisation, humour, and unexpected blows to the heart that you get in the very best Press Gang episodes. There’s Lynda being Lynda, even at the end of the world, Colin refusing to give up his love affair with money, and briefly, but brilliantly, glimpses of the Sarah-Lynda dynamic and the way that has always shaped the Junior Gazette. And it’s also, always, about the friendship between Lynda Day, the Junior Gazette’s resident dictator megalomaniac fearless editor and Kenny “so nice that teddy bears sneer at me” Phillips. Right to the end of the world, because where else would they be?

Press Gang's a small fandom (a 1990s UK teen drama that's still without equal), but I think this is well-written and powerful enough that it could be read without canon knowledge, as a group of young people facing the unimaginable in their own unique way.

(There’s a background understanding of the Spike/Lynda relationship running through the fic as per canon, but nothing overt.)
thady: (Priness Tutu  -  Ahiru curtain)
[personal profile] thady
FANDOM: Stargate SG-1/Stargate: Atlantis
FIC LINK: Stepping Down from the Sky
AUTHOR LINK: [livejournal.com profile] skieswideopen
RATING/WARNING(S): PG-13
WIP?/WORD COUNT: novelette | ~ 11,500 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Cameron Mitchell, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay

FIC SUMMARY: Six months after aliens take over Earth, John and Rodney show up on Cam's doorstep with a plan to get rid of the invaders.

RECCER'S NOTES:

This is a very chilling story about an alien invasion. This is also a very chilling story about human nature, about making the difficult decisions and about living with them.

The story had me hooked 'till the very end and even after I've finished I couldn't stop thinking about it.

isabelquinn: (Stock - shadow)
[personal profile] isabelquinn
FANDOM: Lost, The West Wing
FIC LINK: Seven Tomorrows
AUTHOR LINK: [livejournal.com profile] falseeyelashes
RATING/WARNING(S): R (character death, dark themes, brief sexual content). Spoilers through to the end of season 2 of Lost, no specific West Wing spoilers.
WORD COUNT: 7991
MAIN CHARACTERS: Jed Bartlet, Leo McGarry, Josh Lyman, CJ Cregg, Donna Moss, Toby Ziegler, Sam Seabourne, Jack Shepherd, Kate Austen, Ben Linus, James Ford, Mr Eko, Sayid Jarrah, John Locke… more, probably.

FIC SUMMARY: It took seven days to shape the world. There are seven seals of the apocalypse. And it takes seven, seven events, seven days, seven years, seven, to bring the world to its knees. Planes are meant to crash and nukes are meant to detonate. Men are meant to kill and buildings are meant to fall. Fate is real, fate is a religion and a man not named Henry Gale is its only prophet. He's counting to seven.

RECCER'S NOTES: This fic is very dark and very angsty and very, very well done. The writing style has a hypnotic sort of lilt to it, which feels appropriately dreamlike as the world becomes more and more nightmarish. The descent into darkness and despair is beautifully paced.

It was posted in August 2006, back when the bulk of Lost hadn't yet aired, so it goes 100% AU from the season 2 finale onwards. It also has some background het ships, but they are in absolutely no way a major part the fic.
isabelquinn: (Stock - yellow stars)
[personal profile] isabelquinn
FANDOM: War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells / Dracula - Bram Stoker / Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
FIC LINK: Chances
AUTHOR LINK: [archiveofourown.org profile] TheFierceBeast
RATING/WARNING(S): General / No AO3 warnings apply
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete / 2118
MAIN CHARACTERS: Mina Harker, Jonathan Harker, Alice (Alice in Wonderland), Martians (War of the Worlds)

FIC SUMMARY:
Original prompt: 
The only characters I nominated are the Narrator and the Martians, but feel free to write about any of the others if you like. I'd love to read anything at all! The only thing I'll beg for is this: please don't "fix" the science with modern knowledge. Old sci-fi is so fascinating to me because yes they're some great stories but also because they're so firmly of their time, they're like glorious little time capsules of every stage of recent scientific discovery and imagination. I'd love to see something in keeping with Wells' era of more limited knowledge but limitless possibility.

Also - so much potential for amazing crossovers! How do Mina and Jonathan/Sherlock and Watson/grown up Alice or Jim Hawkins/Oscar Wilde(?!) fare with the Martians? If you want to write a crossover/fusion type thing I would be all over that. I'm familiar with a lot of Victorian literature, and plenty of modern stuff set around the same time, but even if I don't know your other fandom I'd still be interested in a crossover if there's something you want to write - I get sci-fi disaster fic AND a new fandom, double win :D

RECCER'S NOTES: This fic is amazzziiinnnggg <3 of the three books, the only one I haven't read is War of the Worlds, so I can't comment on that element of it, but I can say that the vocal and turns of phrase in Mina's journal entries felt exactly right, and the whole thing was such a joy to read. Alice's cameo was wonderful too, her little Alice-esque comments felt perfectly Alice without detracting from the seriousness of what's happening to them all. Loved it! <3
isabelquinn: (Stock - pink flower)
[personal profile] isabelquinn
FANDOM: Gilmore Girls
FIC LINK: Strange Love
AUTHOR LINK: [livejournal.com profile] fourteenlines
RATING/WARNING(S): PG13
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete/4500
MAIN CHARACTERS: Lane Kim, Lorelai Gilmore, Luke Danes

FIC SUMMARY: Every day is like Sunday.

RECCER'S NOTES: I am an absolute sucker for AUs when the canon is realism/drama. I have a lot of love for these characters, and seeing them in extreme AU scenarios still being them is one of my favourite things. This is Gilmore Girls apocafic, and it's fantastic. The Lane POV is dead-on, Lorelai is amazing and competent but not to a point where it's unrealistic (ie exactly right!), and the atmosphere is heartbreaking. Absolutely love it <3