Rec: An Unkindness of Ravens
Story: An Unkindness of Ravens
Author: prochytes
Rating: Teen
Wordcount: 1,293
Author’s Summary: Thought and memory. In the end, they’re all that matters. (Crossover with The Avengers.)
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper
Recced because: prochytes’ work has been recced before, because the author is damned good at emotional complexity, believable settings, three-dimensional characters so real that you can, upon occasion, dislike them for many reasons, and an unwillingness to provide happy or sad endings simply because people want one or the other. The latter works well with the author’s focus on Torchwood, I think. I recommend this, somewhat shorter and breezier than many others of the author’s works, because it pushes my “does crossovers well” buttons. The plot is sketched with short, efficient sentences and the characters' dialogue is much the same, enhancing the story's kinetic feel. Architecturally and in substance, much of the story is told between the words. All of it is done with elegance and and wit, as witness the amount of thematic consistency, from title to endpoint.
A taste:
“Greatcoat - corner of the third alleyway behind us.” Clint did not bother to add “Don’t turn around”. That was superfluous, when talking to Natasha. “I made him in Boston. And Basel. And Shanghai.”
“Solo?” Six oncoming HYDRA agents became an assault-course and then a heap before Natasha resumed, “or part of a crew?”
“A double-act. There’s a woman.” Clint selected a grenade-tip and lined up a shot on the airship. “Not as easy to make - she changes clothes. They’re subtle about it, but they’re co-ordinating.”
“Are they looters? Vultures?”
“They’re scavengers. I can tell you that. But the m. o.’s smooth. Vultures are obvious, ungainly.” Clint took the shot, and watched the pilots bail. “These are ravens.”
Author: prochytes
Rating: Teen
Wordcount: 1,293
Author’s Summary: Thought and memory. In the end, they’re all that matters. (Crossover with The Avengers.)
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper
Recced because: prochytes’ work has been recced before, because the author is damned good at emotional complexity, believable settings, three-dimensional characters so real that you can, upon occasion, dislike them for many reasons, and an unwillingness to provide happy or sad endings simply because people want one or the other. The latter works well with the author’s focus on Torchwood, I think. I recommend this, somewhat shorter and breezier than many others of the author’s works, because it pushes my “does crossovers well” buttons. The plot is sketched with short, efficient sentences and the characters' dialogue is much the same, enhancing the story's kinetic feel. Architecturally and in substance, much of the story is told between the words. All of it is done with elegance and and wit, as witness the amount of thematic consistency, from title to endpoint.
A taste:
“Greatcoat - corner of the third alleyway behind us.” Clint did not bother to add “Don’t turn around”. That was superfluous, when talking to Natasha. “I made him in Boston. And Basel. And Shanghai.”
“Solo?” Six oncoming HYDRA agents became an assault-course and then a heap before Natasha resumed, “or part of a crew?”
“A double-act. There’s a woman.” Clint selected a grenade-tip and lined up a shot on the airship. “Not as easy to make - she changes clothes. They’re subtle about it, but they’re co-ordinating.”
“Are they looters? Vultures?”
“They’re scavengers. I can tell you that. But the m. o.’s smooth. Vultures are obvious, ungainly.” Clint took the shot, and watched the pilots bail. “These are ravens.”