Yuletide Recs A-E
Last set. There's still a lot I haven't looked at, but I've read most of the fandoms I'm familiar with. Looking forward to the reveal tomorrow.
Five Have An Indoor Adventure (Enid Blyton, Famous Five) - it took me a few paragraphs to twig, but I was crying with laughter by the end.
Big Sister's Footsteps (Enid Blyton, Malory Towers) - I really liked this. It captured both the anxiety of growing up and some of the innocence of the genre. Nice story.
Fairest and Fallen (Diane Duane, Young Wizards) - The Lone Power wears many faces. Chilling and clever.
There's Something Out There and It's Laughing At Us (Diana Wynne Jones, The Ogre Downstairs) - this isn't my favourite DWJ book, but I adored this fic and it made me go and reread the book with new appreciation. More hijinks with one of the most dysfunctional step-families in children's fiction, this time with a surprisingly hot slashy edge. Fab.
The Long Dance (Diana Wynne Jones, Dogsbody) - Kathleen, afterwards. There's a lot of Kathleen fic this year, and I love this one for the way it draws on the mythological aspects of the book. Beautiful, strange and satisfying.
Allow For Inflation (Diana Wynne Jones, Dalemark) - I was also glad to see lots of Maewen fic this year. She and Kathleen have a lot in common, and they're both rather cheated out of a happy ending. This piece shows how she grows up and reminded me how much I like her, because she's sensible and intelligent and patient.
La Familia (Diana Wynne Jones, Chrestomanci) - recced everywhere and deservedly. The story itself is cleverly done, but I loved this for all the character details, especially the interaction between Cat and Conrad and Marianne's brief cameo.
Three Crosspatches and Cat (Diana Wynne Jones, Chrestomanci) - set right after the main events of Conrad's Fate, with Conrad, Millie and Christopher at loggerheads. Sweet with excellent characterisation.
Five Lesson on the Pandion Order (David Eddings, EleniumTamuli) - Firstly, this is Berit/Khalad, which is somehow gleefully transgressive. Secondly, it's a perfect use of Edding's characteristic style and character interaction, from the opening ride into Cimmura to Aphrael's interference. And, well, Eddings!slash! *snickers like she was still the age she was last time she read these books*
A Swallow and Amazon Ashore (Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons) - John and Nancy, not quite grown up. A lovely combination of adventure and a more adult awareness of the world.
Five Have An Indoor Adventure (Enid Blyton, Famous Five) - it took me a few paragraphs to twig, but I was crying with laughter by the end.
Big Sister's Footsteps (Enid Blyton, Malory Towers) - I really liked this. It captured both the anxiety of growing up and some of the innocence of the genre. Nice story.
Fairest and Fallen (Diane Duane, Young Wizards) - The Lone Power wears many faces. Chilling and clever.
There's Something Out There and It's Laughing At Us (Diana Wynne Jones, The Ogre Downstairs) - this isn't my favourite DWJ book, but I adored this fic and it made me go and reread the book with new appreciation. More hijinks with one of the most dysfunctional step-families in children's fiction, this time with a surprisingly hot slashy edge. Fab.
The Long Dance (Diana Wynne Jones, Dogsbody) - Kathleen, afterwards. There's a lot of Kathleen fic this year, and I love this one for the way it draws on the mythological aspects of the book. Beautiful, strange and satisfying.
Allow For Inflation (Diana Wynne Jones, Dalemark) - I was also glad to see lots of Maewen fic this year. She and Kathleen have a lot in common, and they're both rather cheated out of a happy ending. This piece shows how she grows up and reminded me how much I like her, because she's sensible and intelligent and patient.
La Familia (Diana Wynne Jones, Chrestomanci) - recced everywhere and deservedly. The story itself is cleverly done, but I loved this for all the character details, especially the interaction between Cat and Conrad and Marianne's brief cameo.
Three Crosspatches and Cat (Diana Wynne Jones, Chrestomanci) - set right after the main events of Conrad's Fate, with Conrad, Millie and Christopher at loggerheads. Sweet with excellent characterisation.
Five Lesson on the Pandion Order (David Eddings, EleniumTamuli) - Firstly, this is Berit/Khalad, which is somehow gleefully transgressive. Secondly, it's a perfect use of Edding's characteristic style and character interaction, from the opening ride into Cimmura to Aphrael's interference. And, well, Eddings!slash! *snickers like she was still the age she was last time she read these books*
A Swallow and Amazon Ashore (Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons) - John and Nancy, not quite grown up. A lovely combination of adventure and a more adult awareness of the world.