Rough Magic by Jackie Thomas (PG-13)
Title: Rough Magic by Jackie Thomas
Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: Josh/Sam
Categories: Romance, adventure, AU
Length: Long (approx. 22,000 words)
Warning: None
Rating: PG-13
Author on LJ: Unknown
Website: Wayfinding and also archived on The Big Block of Cheese
Summary: Mandy disappeared on the day they shot Josh. Then Sam just vanished, leaving Josh lost and desolate. Josh had always put it down to the curse of the Bartlet Administration, but was there more to it than that?
Review: What we have here is one of the few pieces of fan fiction to make any serious attempt to explain the disappearance of Mandy Hampton between Series 1 and 2 of The West Wing, and to do it in the context of a Josh/Sam romance no less. In fact, Sam also vanished, shortly after Mandy, only to turn up in mysterious circumstances some years later in London.
Naturally the two cases are connected; so is the subsequent disappearance of Josh's friend CIA agent Mike Casper, and so is the murder of the Amaran Ambassador. There are secrets concealed here that some unscrupulous people will go to a great deal of trouble to protect - and Josh's and Sam's lives are therefore in considerable danger.
There is something incredibly appealing about Josh and Sam bungling their way haphazardly through a sub-James Bond-type spy adventure they are absolutely unequipped to cope with, yet as is so often the way of these things their rushing in where angels fear to tread provides the solution to the mystery and brings Leo crashing to their rescue like the entire Seventh Cavalry all rolled into one. Along the way there are some beautifully-imagined and described scenes and characters - Sam's house-mate Vic, for example, who takes it all in his stride - and the overall impression is incredibly satisfying.
If I'm being really picky, the story could have done with the services of a beta who knew the difference between 'passed' and 'past', 'draw' and 'drawer', 'mac' and 'Mac', and that 'Democrat' and 'Republican' take capital letters; such slips let the side down a bit, when the quality of the rest is of a high order. One good edit would have fixed all these, and it's a shame it didn't happen. This story, however, demonstrates yet again that most of the best West Wing fiction appeared in the very early days, when the relationship between Josh and Sam still looked as if it might be going somewhere. Rough Magic manages to retain that initial optimism, and to build on it to very good effect; it's an excellent tale, from one of the founder members of a very strong fandom, and I totally recommend it.
Link: Rough Magic
Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: Josh/Sam
Categories: Romance, adventure, AU
Length: Long (approx. 22,000 words)
Warning: None
Rating: PG-13
Author on LJ: Unknown
Website: Wayfinding and also archived on The Big Block of Cheese
Summary: Mandy disappeared on the day they shot Josh. Then Sam just vanished, leaving Josh lost and desolate. Josh had always put it down to the curse of the Bartlet Administration, but was there more to it than that?
Review: What we have here is one of the few pieces of fan fiction to make any serious attempt to explain the disappearance of Mandy Hampton between Series 1 and 2 of The West Wing, and to do it in the context of a Josh/Sam romance no less. In fact, Sam also vanished, shortly after Mandy, only to turn up in mysterious circumstances some years later in London.
Naturally the two cases are connected; so is the subsequent disappearance of Josh's friend CIA agent Mike Casper, and so is the murder of the Amaran Ambassador. There are secrets concealed here that some unscrupulous people will go to a great deal of trouble to protect - and Josh's and Sam's lives are therefore in considerable danger.
There is something incredibly appealing about Josh and Sam bungling their way haphazardly through a sub-James Bond-type spy adventure they are absolutely unequipped to cope with, yet as is so often the way of these things their rushing in where angels fear to tread provides the solution to the mystery and brings Leo crashing to their rescue like the entire Seventh Cavalry all rolled into one. Along the way there are some beautifully-imagined and described scenes and characters - Sam's house-mate Vic, for example, who takes it all in his stride - and the overall impression is incredibly satisfying.
If I'm being really picky, the story could have done with the services of a beta who knew the difference between 'passed' and 'past', 'draw' and 'drawer', 'mac' and 'Mac', and that 'Democrat' and 'Republican' take capital letters; such slips let the side down a bit, when the quality of the rest is of a high order. One good edit would have fixed all these, and it's a shame it didn't happen. This story, however, demonstrates yet again that most of the best West Wing fiction appeared in the very early days, when the relationship between Josh and Sam still looked as if it might be going somewhere. Rough Magic manages to retain that initial optimism, and to build on it to very good effect; it's an excellent tale, from one of the founder members of a very strong fandom, and I totally recommend it.
Link: Rough Magic