Five recs for September
Mostly a little more recent than my usual...
Good Omens
Managing Trouble, by Sarahsan
'Manual labor, Crawly quickly discovered, was not really his speed.' A lovely character study of Crowley, as he oversees a key moment in early human history (go_exchange 2008)
Slouching, forever, by Torch
'"He chose, well, this." Aziraphale gestured airily around the field, leading with the wrist and somehow managing to include all of Tadfield.' Torch specialises in shorts that seem to be going one way and then take a left; this is one of them
Star Trek: The Original Series/Blake's 7
Three Fates, Watching, by Kangeiko
'He is six years old, and there is a fat, squirming batch of new memories deposited into his cortex, crawling blinding through his thoughts to find room to grow and fester in the night.' The idea that the Blake's 7 & Trek Federations are mirrors of each other is widespread, but this clever & unsettling story is the first I've seen to run with the notion (TOS Mirrorverse/B7) (multiverse5000)
The Princess Bride
The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Westley and Buttercup, by Atra
'"This is True Love. It ends happily. We must believe that."' Perfect characterisations as the world spirals out of control in this anything-but-happily-ever-after ending for Westley & Buttercup. It's the frame story, though, that really makes this heartbreaking (apocalyptothon 2009)
Vorkosigan series
Do You Remember The Last Time?, by Gair
'Forty years of pure data, processed by a man with forty years' experience. Gone. Eaten by a little bug. And he was what was left on the edge of its plate, a man who couldn't beat Alys Vorpatril in six rounds of Star-tarot One-up.' Stylish writing with a spot-on voice for Illyan, but Gair's insights into the differences between eidetic & somatic memory are what really make this piece (bujold_fic Ficathon 2008)
Good Omens
Managing Trouble, by Sarahsan
'Manual labor, Crawly quickly discovered, was not really his speed.' A lovely character study of Crowley, as he oversees a key moment in early human history (go_exchange 2008)
Slouching, forever, by Torch
'"He chose, well, this." Aziraphale gestured airily around the field, leading with the wrist and somehow managing to include all of Tadfield.' Torch specialises in shorts that seem to be going one way and then take a left; this is one of them
Star Trek: The Original Series/Blake's 7
Three Fates, Watching, by Kangeiko
'He is six years old, and there is a fat, squirming batch of new memories deposited into his cortex, crawling blinding through his thoughts to find room to grow and fester in the night.' The idea that the Blake's 7 & Trek Federations are mirrors of each other is widespread, but this clever & unsettling story is the first I've seen to run with the notion (TOS Mirrorverse/B7) (multiverse5000)
The Princess Bride
The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Westley and Buttercup, by Atra
'"This is True Love. It ends happily. We must believe that."' Perfect characterisations as the world spirals out of control in this anything-but-happily-ever-after ending for Westley & Buttercup. It's the frame story, though, that really makes this heartbreaking (apocalyptothon 2009)
Vorkosigan series
Do You Remember The Last Time?, by Gair
'Forty years of pure data, processed by a man with forty years' experience. Gone. Eaten by a little bug. And he was what was left on the edge of its plate, a man who couldn't beat Alys Vorpatril in six rounds of Star-tarot One-up.' Stylish writing with a spot-on voice for Illyan, but Gair's insights into the differences between eidetic & somatic memory are what really make this piece (bujold_fic Ficathon 2008)