gensplosion | Entries tagged with rarelit

FANDOM: Midnight Is A Place – Joan Aiken
FIC LINK: The Curse of the Blue-Eyed Tiger
AUTHOR LINK:

usernamegoeshere
RATING/WARNING(S): G | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 2707
MAIN CHARACTERS: Lucas Bell, Anna-Marie Murgatroyd, Julian Oakapple, Eulalia Murgatroyd

FIC SUMMARY: Anna-Marie's new friend stirs up unhappy memories for Lucas.

RECCER'S NOTES: This has just the right feel for an Aiken fic, which is no small achievement in itself – full of small, vivid details, and the things they reveal, and the power of a story that explores some of the sadness of these characters’ past (in this case, particularly Lucas), together with the humour of Anna-Marie’s endless pragmatism, and their unconventional new life together as a found family, post-book. It’s lovely.

thisbluespirit

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!

thisbluespirit

FANDOM: Chalet School Series – Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
FIC LINK: The Avenues of Time
AUTHOR LINK:

thankyouturtle
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Ghosts
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 4343
MAIN CHARACTERS: Mary-Lou Trelawney, Verity-Ann Carey

FIC SUMMARY:

RECCER'S NOTES: A Yuletide or two ago, I idly asked for a Chalet School story about Mary-Lou that either dealt with her relationship with her stepsister Verity, or had her having Indiana Jones-style archaeological adventures, and I got this, which has both, and is marvellous.

It’s mainly a story of Mary-Lou encountering a self-pitying ghost (“again!” ♥) while trapped underground and how she deals with it in the way only a Chalet School girl could (with plenty of brisk common sense, although not without compassion) with elements of her relationship with Verity-Ann wound into it, including a plausible reason for why they always insisted that they weren’t stepsisters but sisters-by-marriage. And don't you just want to know what happened in Peru?

thisbluespirit

FIC LINK: Turnabout
AUTHOR LINK:

roseveare
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Blood, Injury, Guns
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 6419 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Sid Halley, Charles Roland, Marina Halley

FIC SUMMARY: 'I'd been held at gunpoint before, but it was one area that experience didn't make any less daunting.' Set a few months after 'Under Orders'.

RECCER'S NOTES: The great thing about both these fics is the relationship they focus on, which is an unusual and appealing one – Sid’s a private detective and ex-jockey while Admiral Charles Roland is his father-in-law, except that his friendship with Charles outlasted his marriage.

You don’t need to know the fandom (I didn’t the first time), as this fic is not only beautifully written but also helpfully covers the development of their relationship from initial dislike to the point now where Sid regards Charles as the person he values most in the world – just as he’s in danger of losing him. It's all deftly done, and true to canon, where the depth of the emotion always remains unspoken but understood between them.

FANDOM: Sid Halley series – Dick Francis
FIC LINK: Unbreakable
AUTHOR LINK:

edonohana
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Violence
WIP?/WORD COUNT: 2401
MAIN CHARACTERS: Sid Halley, Charles Roland

FIC SUMMARY: Sid never meant to bring trouble back to Aynsford.

RECCER'S NOTES: Whereas the other fic covers the whole of Sid & Charles’s relationship, this one snapshots a moment in which (again) Sid’s detective work brings trouble to Aynsford and Charles, but the unspoken understanding they have between them is enough to enable them to turn the tables on a criminal.

espresso_addict

FANDOM: The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff (Eagle of the Ninth series)
FIC LINK: A Siren Call
AUTHOR LINK:

Riventhorn
RATING/WARNING(S): PG | none
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | ~4,600 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Honoria

FIC SUMMARY: Helping her great-nephews, Flavius and Justin, recalls a winter twelve years before when Honoria also found herself caught up in a rebellion.

RECCER'S NOTES:

The Silver Branch is the sequel to the better-known Eagle of the Ninth, following Marcus Aquila's descendants in Roman Britain. Honoria is one of several vivid minor characters, the elderly & idiosyncratic matriarch of the Aquila family. Riventhorn's characterisation of her is perfect, shrewd, proud, brusque yet loyal & loving in her own inimitable fashion, with a lovely dry humour. The story foregrounds friendships between women & the behind-the-scenes networking of Romano-Britain. There's an interesting & realistic original character, and she & all the major characters are women who have left their youth behind. Subjects touched upon include female aging & that fanfiction taboo the menopause -- without the slightest hint of issuefic. Apart from the frame, the story is set more than a decade before the novel opens, during an uprising against Rome's rule, and gives a window into a part of Romano-British history that Sutcliff doesn't cover. No canon knowledge is necessary.

espresso_addict

FANDOM: Blood Feud by Rosemary Sutcliff
FIC LINK: Born in the Purple
AUTHOR LINK:

bunn
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Forced marriage
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | ~3,250 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Anna Porphyrogenita

FIC SUMMARY: To pay for the Viking army that helped the Emperor Basil defeat the Bulgars, the Princess Anna was sent to the North to marry the barbarian prince, Khan Vladimir. She wasn't happy about it.

This is not a graphic story: there's no sex and no violence. But it is a story about a woman who is forced into a marriage she doesn't want at all.

RECCER'S NOTES: Gen purists be warned, as the summary states this is all about Anna's arranged marriage to Khan Vladimir, but it's in no way a shipping story and, unlike many forced marriage stories, there's no clichéd falling in love with the partner and no rape scenes. Instead it examines the choices available to a princess being coerced into a marriage for political reasons. Bunn develops a wonderful voice for Anna, tough, clever, yet ultimately realistic about her fate. The rich world-building is a particular treat. A standout story from the excellent batch at this year's Sutcliff Swap.

Although this is set within Sutcliff's Blood Feud, afaik, Anna is a minor character in the source & I can testify that it stands alone as historical RPF (I've still not laid hands on a copy!).

espresso_addict

FANDOM: Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare)
FIC LINK: Nothing But One of Your Nine Lives
AUTHOR LINK:

russian_blue
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | Character death
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | ~1800 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Tybalt

FIC SUMMARY: Tybalt has a secret.

RECCER'S NOTES: This is a perfect example of the 'crack premise taken straight' micro-genre. Tybalt, 'Prince of Cats', inexplicably finds he can't die. His evolving reactions to his situation feel very believable, from questioning the philosophical implications to finding a reason to wish to continue living. Russian Blue uses his series of 'deaths' to paint a vivid picture of Verona before and during the play. Though the premise is dark, there's a ray of hope for him at the end that the play doesn't offer.

espresso_addict

FANDOM: Dark is Rising (Susan Cooper)
FIC LINK: Watch for the Greenwitch
AUTHOR LINK:

Selden
RATING/WARNING(S): Teen | No authorial warnings; horror
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | ~2500 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Jane Drew, Will Stanton

FIC SUMMARY: The offering to the Greenwitch always looks tangled and cold. Jane is cold, too.

RECCER'S NOTES: Dark is Rising is a series of children's novels by Susan Cooper, loosely based in Arthurian mythology. Most of the fanfiction is very ship-focused, but there are some gen gems to be found. This unusual slow-building horror story spins off Greenwitch and focuses on Jane Drew. Selden does a good job of melding the prosaic with the supernatural, in the spirit of the original, and the luscious descriptions bring the Cornish coastal setting to life. Rereading the series as an adult I found the Light characters often felt inhumanly cold, and there's an interesting ambiguity to Will's actions in this story. (Does he precipitate events, or merely foretell them?) ~~There's a slight film moment early on (Mrs Stanton's American) but don't let that put you off.~~ ETA: My mistake; see comments!

espresso_addict

FANDOM: Vorkosigan Saga (Lois McMaster Bujold)
FIC LINK: Kindred Instruments
AUTHOR LINK:

ollipop
RATING/WARNING(S): General audiences | No authorial warnings; Jackson Whole ethics
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 4500 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Lotus Durona, Lilly Durona, Vasa Luigi Bharaputra

FIC SUMMARY: They know just as much about Lotus as she knows about herself. They know her aptitudes, her weaknesses. They have tweaked the neurochemical bath on her copies, for maximum effect. They are her, improved. She is them, unedited. She hates them.

Lotus Durona: Nature or nurture?

RECCER'S NOTES: A chilling piece that unpacks Lotus's defection to House Bharaputra. Ollipop skillfully fleshes out the villain PoV to gain the reader's sympathies for Lotus, and the story also explores the complex ethics of Jackson's Whole in a much more nuanced fashion than canon. The canonical pairing of Lotus/Baron Bharaputra forms one strand, but it's not a shippy fic; coming of age as one of a set of clones in the ultimate dysfunctional family is at the heart of the story.

espresso_addict

FANDOM: The Silmarillion
FIC LINK: Across Dark Waters
AUTHOR LINK:

zimraphel
RATING/WARNING(S): General | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | ~2750 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Maeglin, Námo, [mystery]

FIC SUMMARY: A look at the passage to Mandos, based partly on Greek mythology and Gypsy folklore, in which Maeglin gets what's coming to him.

RECCER'S NOTES: Maeglin, one of The Silmarillion's nastier Bad Boys, meets his match in this unusual story. Zimraphel has a unique take on the Halls of Mandos, the Elvish afterlife, with a surprisingly successful fusion with Greek myth. Strong characterisations and crackling dialogue, sharp & meaningful, with a lovely edge of wry humour. Maeglin's final comeuppence, and his attitude to it, are simply inspired! The identity of the PoV character is cleverly concealed, with a trail of breadcrumbs enticing the reader to guess. The setting is depicted sparingly yet atmospherically.

espresso_addict

FANDOM: Earthsea (Ursula Le Guin)
FIC LINK: Mother Tongue
AUTHOR LINK:

elle_dritch
RATING/WARNING(S): General | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 6,700 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Apple, Tenar, Ged, Spark

FIC SUMMARY: The women of Earthsea: falling, flying, stealing, speaking. Post-Tehanu.

RECCER'S NOTES: Earthsea is a series of fantasy novels by Ursula Le Guin, which introduced the wizarding boarding school a good three decades before Ms Rowling, and made the main characters dark-skinned long before it was fashionable. It's one of the fandoms of my heart, and if you're interested, you can read my fandom summary & find many more recs at the late lamented

crack_van.

Le Guin revisited the rather masculine world of her original trilogy in Tehanu, a novel about the heroine, Tenar, after (most of) the adventure's over, and how to find the magic in everyday life. A lot of more recent fanfiction is set around this novel and embraces its female-centric vision of Earthsea. 'Mother Tongue' is a good example, a quiet coda that reads like the novel's missing final chapter. It focuses on Tenar's adult daughter Apple, a very minor character in the original, and brings her to life as she tries to understand her mother's unusual choices. Apple makes a wonderful outside PoV on the main characters, and elle_dritch gives her interesting thoughts on chosen vs birth families and the nature of manhood.

espresso_addict

FANDOM: Frontier Wolf (Rosemary Sutcliff)
FIC LINK: Not the Emperor's Bodyguard
AUTHOR LINK:

bunn
RATING/WARNING(S): General | None
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | ~1600 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Julius Gavros, Hilarion

FIC SUMMARY: Julius Gavros arrives at Castellum in charge of the Third Ordo Frontier Wolves. It's not really the job that he'd hoped for...

RECCER'S NOTES:

Apologies for the hiatus in my recs; I'll try to be more energetic for the remainder of the month!

Frontier Wolf is a novel in Rosemary Sutcliff's Eagle of the Ninth series about members of the Aquila family in Roman Britain. Since the film The Eagle the FW fandom's taken flight, but gen is particularly hard to find. Bunn here takes a charismatic minor character and explains how such a competent & intelligent man came to end up in a punishment posting at the back end of the Empire. The long-abandoned fort is carefully created in sight and sound and smell to imbue the piece with a wonderful sense of place. Bunn's work is always based on impeccable historical research and her author's notes make an interesting read. No canon knowledge is required to appreciate the story.

The Espresso Addict

Diary & multifandom recs

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Entries tagged with rarelit

Midnight Is A Place - Joan Aiken: The Curse of the Blue-Eyed Tiger by vanillafluffy

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: Of Five Adventures That Occurred During The Reign Of The Raven Barist

Chalet School: The Avenues of Time by thankyouturtle

Dick Francis's Sid Halley series: Turnabout by roseveare & Unbreakable by edonohana

Sutcliff's The Silver Branch: A Siren Call, by Riventhorn

Sutcliff's Blood Feud: Born in the Purple, by Bunn

Romeo and Juliet: Nothing But One of Your Nine Lives, by Russian Blue

Dark is Rising: Watch for the Greenwitch, by Selden

Vorkosigan: Kindred Instruments, by Ollipop

The Silmarillion: Across Dark Waters, by Zimraphel

Earthsea: Mother Tongue, by elle_dritch

Frontier Wolf: Not the Emperor's Bodyguard, by Bunn

The Espresso Addict