SF recs
Five sf recs, mostly long satisfying stories with an emphasis on original/minor characters & worldbuilding....
Hainish Cycle
The First Train to Brotherhood, by Arrogantemu
'The first train to Brotherhood arrived in the middle of the night, with the moon high and mottled overhead. Brotherhood did not, technically, exist yet, except as the terminus of the line...' Insightful story about the earliest settlers of Anarres, and the way that language shapes thought
Star Trek
T'naehm series, by Sixbeforelunch
'T'Nirin's office was not decorated in a Vulcan style. It was first of all colored in shades of blue and gray, like everything that Starfleet Medical designed. It was also soft, with chairs that offered no proper support. The art work on the wall was what was called watercolor. Many species appeared to find it soothing. Veral found the indistinct shapes and blurred lines difficult to look at for very long.' Sixbeforelunch employs richly textured OCs to explore the effects of the Dominion War on Vulcan. The world building in both parts is impeccable, and the second forms a moving meditation on the costs of war even to non-combatants
Vorkosigan series
Captain Vorpatril's Plotbunnies (I), by Bracketyjack
'It was serendipity that her garden abutted an area of sulphides and oxides whose dull but determined colours she found pleasing, and chance that a cowbane spore could blow so far west and take root just where its lustrous ochre should so complement the oxide. But it was also beautiful, a conjunction only South Continent could produce...' Bracketyjack creates a strong voice for the unnamed mosaic maker in this tale of how Miles 'practically kidnapped' her. The strongest of four missing scenes from Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
Lilies of the Field, by Raven
'"What sort of scale of problem did you have in mind? The problem of why three of the Residence wait staff have taken their annual holiday at the same time, causing, I am informed, no end of trouble for the kitchens? Or the problem of why the Komarran soletta array has possibly, we're not sure, been sabotaged?"' A quiet piece in which Cordelia does women's work, with a little help from Alys. Reads like a missing fragment from the lighter parts of canon, with believable OCs. Delightful
On a Cold Planet, by A T Rain
'Byerly Vorrutyer was heartily sick of lichen. / It grew on the south sides of buildings on Jackson’s Whole. It crept in at the window frames, coated the door hinges, covered the roofs and choked the gutters. It became slick and slimy at the slightest touch, smearing clothing, ruining paint jobs.' A satisfying novella that unpacks the meagre information the CVA epilogue provides on House Cordonah's re-establishment, with strong worldbuilding about Jackson Whole and its denizens' values
And a small milestone for Espresso Recs: 900 recs!
Crossposted from Dreamwidth (with
replies). Reply wherever you prefer
Hainish Cycle
The First Train to Brotherhood, by Arrogantemu
'The first train to Brotherhood arrived in the middle of the night, with the moon high and mottled overhead. Brotherhood did not, technically, exist yet, except as the terminus of the line...' Insightful story about the earliest settlers of Anarres, and the way that language shapes thought
Star Trek
T'naehm series, by Sixbeforelunch
'T'Nirin's office was not decorated in a Vulcan style. It was first of all colored in shades of blue and gray, like everything that Starfleet Medical designed. It was also soft, with chairs that offered no proper support. The art work on the wall was what was called watercolor. Many species appeared to find it soothing. Veral found the indistinct shapes and blurred lines difficult to look at for very long.' Sixbeforelunch employs richly textured OCs to explore the effects of the Dominion War on Vulcan. The world building in both parts is impeccable, and the second forms a moving meditation on the costs of war even to non-combatants
Vorkosigan series
Captain Vorpatril's Plotbunnies (I), by Bracketyjack
'It was serendipity that her garden abutted an area of sulphides and oxides whose dull but determined colours she found pleasing, and chance that a cowbane spore could blow so far west and take root just where its lustrous ochre should so complement the oxide. But it was also beautiful, a conjunction only South Continent could produce...' Bracketyjack creates a strong voice for the unnamed mosaic maker in this tale of how Miles 'practically kidnapped' her. The strongest of four missing scenes from Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
Lilies of the Field, by Raven
'"What sort of scale of problem did you have in mind? The problem of why three of the Residence wait staff have taken their annual holiday at the same time, causing, I am informed, no end of trouble for the kitchens? Or the problem of why the Komarran soletta array has possibly, we're not sure, been sabotaged?"' A quiet piece in which Cordelia does women's work, with a little help from Alys. Reads like a missing fragment from the lighter parts of canon, with believable OCs. Delightful
On a Cold Planet, by A T Rain
'Byerly Vorrutyer was heartily sick of lichen. / It grew on the south sides of buildings on Jackson’s Whole. It crept in at the window frames, coated the door hinges, covered the roofs and choked the gutters. It became slick and slimy at the slightest touch, smearing clothing, ruining paint jobs.' A satisfying novella that unpacks the meagre information the CVA epilogue provides on House Cordonah's re-establishment, with strong worldbuilding about Jackson Whole and its denizens' values
And a small milestone for Espresso Recs: 900 recs!
Crossposted from Dreamwidth (with
replies). Reply wherever you prefer