Dark disturbing tales, stories about ghosts and all the other things that inhabit the dark...
( 5 recs in classical mythology, Graveyard Book, Hinterland, Tam Lin, Watership Down )

I wrote The Emerald Band for Zaganthi, 'The Speckled Band' in the 'A Study in Emerald' universe. (SiE is Neil Gaiman's crossover of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos with Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, and if you haven't read it you should do so.)
( Read more... )

Little slices of lost canon, for when one's in the mood for more of, rather than more from, the source...

( 5 recs in Discworld, History Boys, Das Leben der Anderen, Much Ado About Nothing, Study in Emerald )

For my final set, a batch of magical stories, that incorporate magical elements and are also absolutely charming! Several of my favourites here.

( 6 recs in Chinese mythology, Discworld, Graveyard Book, How to Train Your Dragon, Smith of Wootton Major, Spirited Away, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio )

It's always a treat to see stories about very minor characters, particularly those who don't often star in fanfiction, and there are several examples here. Also well-crafted original characters who fit so well into the source that you'd think they'd been born there.

( 7 recs in DS9, Historical RPF, Neverwhere, Reservoir Dogs, Romeo and Juliet, Spirited Away, Twin Peaks )

Sometimes one is in the mood for 'more of' rather than 'more from'. Here are 6 stories that fit perfectly into canon. *** marks my top ten.

( 6 recs in American Gods, Blackadder, Lovecraft, Midsummer Night's Dream, Pan's Labyrinth, Peter Pan )

Selection of rare & not-quite-so-rare lit from Yuletide 2010, to while away the days till the 2011 collection appears... Earthsea & Vorkosigan Saga recommendations have appeared previously here & here.

American Gods

A Way Out, by Empy'Not even fair-metal hair, magically spun and crafted by dwarves could outlast the march of time and their slow ( Read more... )

A bumper collection, again from Yuletide 2009. 15 recommendations for novels, plays & poetry. For Earthsea, see my earlier post.

American Gods

Do Zla Boga, by Kangeiko'So why, astute readers may wonder, do some older gods survive?...If I tell you it is good deeds and miracles, you will know that I am lying.' A dark Gaimanesque tale, with a ( Read more... )

A long rare-lit selection. The Vorkosigan story is from an earlier year, before altariel tempted me in

( AS Byatt, Cadfael, Narnia, Dark is Rising, Diana Wynne Jones, Lord Peter Wimsey, Georgette Heyer, Shakespeare, Jane Eyre, Neil Gaiman, Vorkosigan, Watership Down )

( American Gods, Dark is Rising, Dracula, Earthsea, Jeeves & Wooster, The Name of the Rose, Narnia, Watership Down )