My holmestice rec-list

[eanor]

The holmestice gift exchange is officially over and although the list of author's has not been made public yet, I'd already like to recommend some of the amazing fics that have been produced for this exchange. I especially enjoyed the wide variation both of various Holmes's canons and of varieties of fics as such. Surely all of them provide a great read (depending on your tastes), but I'll just give you a glimpse into my favourites:

• Opportunity to feel brave.: A wonderful fic, examining the friendship between Sherlock and John, set just after The Blind Banker. In a sleepless night Sherlock's bad past experiences with Sebastian start creeping through his self-made barrier of logic and apparent lack of emotion. Of course he fights off all of John's offers to help, but he really needs him to deal with his hauntings. A very believably and beautifully executed study of why one needs friends.
• A Very Ordinary Man: a (slightly slashy) very clever case!fic, set in ACD canon. The author has taken a throw-away line about the mysterious disappearance of Mr. James Phillimore from canon and turned it into a very clever case!fic, complete with lots a of little clues and a wonderful revelation at the end! Woven into the story are different concepts of romance and what might prompt a "happily-ever-after", if at all possible.
• Touchstone: a beautiful, beautiful magic realism AU fic. In a world where people's dreams, hopes and wishes form beautiful stones and gems with magic-like abilities and their emotions show in different colours on their skin, Sherlock is the only person who is pale and colourless and cannot produce wish stones. Then he meets John... This fic is gorgeously written and features an amazing world building and perfect characterizations. Even if you skip the slashy parts, it is still worth reading!
• Theobromine: a story set in the "Great Mouse Detective" universe, dealing with chocolate addiction. This story manages to be cute and adorable (as it features mice and chocolate and is written in a Disney-like style) and quietly sad at the same time (as underneath the cuteness it deals very seriously with the problems of addiction and whether outsiders can help at all if the addict doesn't want to be helped) and is unique in every way.
• A Sort of Fairytale: this is the gift fic written for me! :D It's a story about Molly (yes, someone obviously put a lot of thought into what to write for me!!) and her interactions with Sherlock in particular. Molly is pictured perfectly here: she is so practical, honest and professional, yet very caring and compassionate at the same time. I love how she takes care of "her people" in the morgue and the different take on the Molly/Sherlock relationship (this Molly is able to handle him quite well). Go and read if you haven't yet! :-)
• The Answer is One: a very pensive fic about the weighing of lives. It features a scary and manipulative Moriarty, a Molly who is both numbed and frightened and vaguely fascinated by him and John and Sherlock whose thoughts constantly revolve around the one question: how many lives is Sherlock's worth? A very thought-provoking read indeed.
• The ABC’s of Living with Sherlock Holmes: a cute and funny little fic about Sherlock and his experiments. Constant boredom provokes the most curious and weird experiments and John has to put up with all of them. The little twist at the end is most amusing and the whole story provides a very light and enjoyable read.
• Redivivus: Groundhog Day in Sherlock style. This fic features a very creepy and evil Mycroft who tortures Sherlock by killing John over and over again every single day until Sherlock surrenders into doing a case for him. The feeling of going round in circles is captured very well as are Sherlock desperate attempts to save John. Heartbreaking in a way and it makes you quite scared of Mycroft indeed.
• When Snow Falls In London: a wonderful crossover between Dicken's A Christmas Carol and Sherlock, with very interesting additions of the Victorian Sherlock Holmes. The writing is elegant and corresponds wonderfully with the magical spirit of the story and Sherlock's so-very-logical thought processes were captured perfectly. Although Christmas is over, this is a brilliant and magical story to read.
• The Zero Hour: a very intriguing analysis of the consequences of the Pool Scene. John is struggling with how much Sherlock has enjoyed this game and needs to understand this doesn't mean Sherlock doesn't care for him. Both John and Sherlock are very much in character here (especially John in his stubbornness and his refusal to let go unpleasant questions) and the issues raised by this fic provide further food for thought (although of course all ends in happy slash here...).
• The Relevance of Goodness: a little ficlet on Sherlock Holmes meeting his old friend Victor Trevor in India during his three-year-Hiatus, set in ACD canon. Victor is a very interesting narrator, weaving in little bits of India that show he is so proud of his new home. Holmes himself is pictured precisely: his perfect composure and coldness, only shattered (but oh - how does it shatter!) once to reveal his not so absent heart. Then there is a little essay on what a "good man" must be like and how Trevor consequently imagines Watson. So many wonderful things about this fic and it's beautifully written, too!
• Some Dissembly Required: a hilarious Sherlock take on the "Case of the missing Identity" from ACD canon. The dialogue and the character voices are spot-on and incredibly funny as is the epilogue. The modernisation itself is really cleverly done and the topic of false identities is totally up to date in the age of facebook, emails and everything! A very fun read!
• bending time with Death: an eerie Lovecraft/Study in Emerald AU story (warnings: female John).The author has taken a fresh and very creative take on "The Hound of the Baskervilles" using very scary soul-eating hunting Hounds that have been tracking down Joan since the war. The universe is very carefully created, with lots of sharp corners and angles, the writing is gorgeous and there even is a surprise twist at the end. :)
• Angel Algorithm: an incredible Sherlock cyberpunk AU!!! The world building is very innovative and creative and included in lovely, small details like the mentioning of corporate wars or technical gimmicks and background information about Japan, where the story takes place, are carefully woven into the narrative. The most impressive thing, however, are the considerable differences from canon with regard to John and Sherlock and their relationship which fit the AU perfectly.
• Lists and Love Plots: a very interesting twist in Molly's and Sherlock's relationship when Sherlock returns after 3 years of absence assuming everything would be the same, when in fact everything has changed. John has a family of his own now and in his desperation Sherlock turns to Molly. I loved many things about this fic - the writing style is very elegant, the characterisations are perfect and Molly finally finds the strength to stand up to Sherlock. Just a tiny warning, though: pregnancies and children might be involved.
• Failing and Flying: a beautiful fic that uses the Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus for a in-depth character analysis of John Watson. John who follows the sun (Sherlock), although he is well aware it might burn and destroy him, but who still risks falling for having experienced greatness once. A fic with beautiful imagery and very thought-provoking ideas.

Ok, this turned out much longer than I expected... *cough* Congratulations if you managed to read all of this!
Still, even though I have tried my best to read most of the entries, some gems might have escaped me. Also, you may have noticed I have not rec'ed any art. This has simply to do with the fact that I know nothing of art and therefore do not dare to judge any of it. But there are wonderful pieces of art in the exchange!
So if you have any spare time, just go and check out all the other entries, too!

On an unrelated note: Look at my shiny new Hobbit icon!!! ^^