Misc recs
More miscellaneous than usual, with the usual mix of old & older. Including my favourites from Night on a Fic Mountain 2014 & Not Prime Time 2013.
Chalion series
Life, stripped of all luxuries, by Keerawa
'Moved by some obscure impulse, Cazaril rummaged through his saddle bags and pulled out the volume of classic Brajarn verse he'd carried with him for the past two decades. Its well-thumbed pages held many fond memories. And the potential for scores of fire arrows.' The careful structure of this vignette counterpoints the increasing chaos of life during the siege of Gotorget, and Keerawa's affection for the characters helps to keep the grimness at bay
Doctor Who
The Red Maw and the Blue Box, by Lindenharp
'You would have laughed to see him. He belonged to one of those nearly-bald species that have no proper pelt, just a patch of fur on top of the head. His face was as pale as wet sand, and his hair mud-coloured. His eyes were brown, though no one who looked into them would dare call them mud-coloured.' Lindenharp expands a throwaway line from canon and gives a chilling outsider's perspective on the Doctor
Hamlet/Lovecraft
Dagon's Bargain, by Gehayi
'It has a certain stark beauty-even now, I can see that-but it is no spun-sugar castle from the dreams of maidens and southern poets. It is also strangely situated, hunched over a minor seaport and far from any city of military or strategic value. Yet everything about it, even the shape of the walls and the placement of the towers, says that it was built and fortified for wars beyond imagining.' Hamlet lends itself to Lovecraftian horror. This retelling, seen through the eyes of a Claudius who might be innocent after all, is an enthralling example [locked on AO3; WBM copy]
Harry Potter
Subversive, by Kelly Chambliss
'"Griselda" is not what all goblins call her, of course. To many of my people, she is, as we say in Gobbledygook, a haga-maga -- a witch-bitch. Or a wand-stealer. A greens-eater. A short-finger.' This unusual love story creates an interesting original goblin to explore their society and goblin-human relations
Narnian Chronicles
Out of Season, by Elizabeth Culmer
'She didn't remember being that foolish. But then, she had grown up in the palace as milk-sister to Prince Rabadash and granddaughter to Axartha Tarkaan, the Grand Vizier. She had danced with snakes since before she could speak. That made a difference.' Elizabeth creates a vivid, detailed picture of Calormene society based on Mughal India from Lewis's blank canvas, complete with religious complexity & plenty of political infighting. The central OC is well drawn, with a believable worldview very different from Narnian & human characters
Norse mythology
The Tale of Hljod the Giant's Daughter, by Zdenka
'"If the Norns have decreed it," Hljod replied, "then no one can prevent it; but I do not think that any man will take me to wife against my will. King Rerir’s son will surely be a great warrior -- so the raven-god has told me."' An original take on the Volsung saga that weaves so deftly into the source it's hard to tell where the seams lie
Pride & Prejudice
The Pine-Apple of Discord, by A T Rain
'There are certain married couples who are in the habit of speaking without words, whose mutual sympathy is so deep that every glance carries a world of meaning. Mr. and Mrs. Collins were not, ordinarily, one of those couples.' An unusually sympathetic look at the Collins' marriage, with spot-on characterisations of both Charlotte & her husband
The Silmarillion
Leaving Bliss, by Penknife
'Grandpa Finny (and if you're confusing him already with Uncle Fenny and his brothers Fin and Little Finny, you aren't from Bliss yourself) was always keen on having sons. Definitely sons plural; he had his heart set on populating our little corner of Bliss all by himself.' Southern Gothic retelling of The Silmarillion, with Galadriel as a small-town Southern girl. It works amazingly well
Torchwood
The Face of God (or, Ianto Hears a Who), by Alex
'To the naked eye, the jar looked like it held nothing more than a light coating of dust, concentrated on the bottom of the jar, but also clinging to the lower reaches of the sides. But under high magnification, the “dust” resolved into fantastic structures--office buildings and blocks of flats, shops, even a bridge, thin as a strand of spider silk, spanning the diameter of the jar.' An unusual Torchwood story, with a feel of Star Trek. Sweet & heartwarming
Watership Down
Captain Holly's Last Command, by Edonohana
'Darnel smelled like primroses and oak-roots and moist black earth. In this land of tall spindly weeds and crumbling brown dirt, he still smelled like Sandleford. He was at once as familiar and alien to Holly as the words of a native tongue long since abandoned by its speaker for the language of some foreign shore.' A slow-moving piece, perfectly in tune with the original, with a well-realised OC. To say more would spoil it
Crossposted from Dreamwidth (with
replies). Reply wherever you prefer
Chalion series
Life, stripped of all luxuries, by Keerawa
'Moved by some obscure impulse, Cazaril rummaged through his saddle bags and pulled out the volume of classic Brajarn verse he'd carried with him for the past two decades. Its well-thumbed pages held many fond memories. And the potential for scores of fire arrows.' The careful structure of this vignette counterpoints the increasing chaos of life during the siege of Gotorget, and Keerawa's affection for the characters helps to keep the grimness at bay
Doctor Who
The Red Maw and the Blue Box, by Lindenharp
'You would have laughed to see him. He belonged to one of those nearly-bald species that have no proper pelt, just a patch of fur on top of the head. His face was as pale as wet sand, and his hair mud-coloured. His eyes were brown, though no one who looked into them would dare call them mud-coloured.' Lindenharp expands a throwaway line from canon and gives a chilling outsider's perspective on the Doctor
Hamlet/Lovecraft
Dagon's Bargain, by Gehayi
'It has a certain stark beauty-even now, I can see that-but it is no spun-sugar castle from the dreams of maidens and southern poets. It is also strangely situated, hunched over a minor seaport and far from any city of military or strategic value. Yet everything about it, even the shape of the walls and the placement of the towers, says that it was built and fortified for wars beyond imagining.' Hamlet lends itself to Lovecraftian horror. This retelling, seen through the eyes of a Claudius who might be innocent after all, is an enthralling example [locked on AO3; WBM copy]
Harry Potter
Subversive, by Kelly Chambliss
'"Griselda" is not what all goblins call her, of course. To many of my people, she is, as we say in Gobbledygook, a haga-maga -- a witch-bitch. Or a wand-stealer. A greens-eater. A short-finger.' This unusual love story creates an interesting original goblin to explore their society and goblin-human relations
Narnian Chronicles
Out of Season, by Elizabeth Culmer
'She didn't remember being that foolish. But then, she had grown up in the palace as milk-sister to Prince Rabadash and granddaughter to Axartha Tarkaan, the Grand Vizier. She had danced with snakes since before she could speak. That made a difference.' Elizabeth creates a vivid, detailed picture of Calormene society based on Mughal India from Lewis's blank canvas, complete with religious complexity & plenty of political infighting. The central OC is well drawn, with a believable worldview very different from Narnian & human characters
Norse mythology
The Tale of Hljod the Giant's Daughter, by Zdenka
'"If the Norns have decreed it," Hljod replied, "then no one can prevent it; but I do not think that any man will take me to wife against my will. King Rerir’s son will surely be a great warrior -- so the raven-god has told me."' An original take on the Volsung saga that weaves so deftly into the source it's hard to tell where the seams lie
Pride & Prejudice
The Pine-Apple of Discord, by A T Rain
'There are certain married couples who are in the habit of speaking without words, whose mutual sympathy is so deep that every glance carries a world of meaning. Mr. and Mrs. Collins were not, ordinarily, one of those couples.' An unusually sympathetic look at the Collins' marriage, with spot-on characterisations of both Charlotte & her husband
The Silmarillion
Leaving Bliss, by Penknife
'Grandpa Finny (and if you're confusing him already with Uncle Fenny and his brothers Fin and Little Finny, you aren't from Bliss yourself) was always keen on having sons. Definitely sons plural; he had his heart set on populating our little corner of Bliss all by himself.' Southern Gothic retelling of The Silmarillion, with Galadriel as a small-town Southern girl. It works amazingly well
Torchwood
The Face of God (or, Ianto Hears a Who), by Alex
'To the naked eye, the jar looked like it held nothing more than a light coating of dust, concentrated on the bottom of the jar, but also clinging to the lower reaches of the sides. But under high magnification, the “dust” resolved into fantastic structures--office buildings and blocks of flats, shops, even a bridge, thin as a strand of spider silk, spanning the diameter of the jar.' An unusual Torchwood story, with a feel of Star Trek. Sweet & heartwarming
Watership Down
Captain Holly's Last Command, by Edonohana
'Darnel smelled like primroses and oak-roots and moist black earth. In this land of tall spindly weeds and crumbling brown dirt, he still smelled like Sandleford. He was at once as familiar and alien to Holly as the words of a native tongue long since abandoned by its speaker for the language of some foreign shore.' A slow-moving piece, perfectly in tune with the original, with a well-realised OC. To say more would spoil it
Crossposted from Dreamwidth (with
replies). Reply wherever you prefer