Never Summer [Supernatural, Sam and Dean, M]
Fandom : Supernatural
Title : Never Summer
Author : ignipes
Rating : M
Characters & Pairings : Sam and Dean, with a cast of OCs
Length : Long - 11 chapters
Warnings : In the author's words, for "violence and various nasty happenings"
Summary : A call from one of Sam's college friends brings the boys to a remote Colorado hotel in the midst of a blizzard to investigate a death, a haunting, and the detached yet majestic head of an elk.
My Rave Review : Far and away, this is my favourite - and I think the most well-done - casefic in Supernatural fandom. It has all the makings of a great scary story in the tradition of The Shining, with an isolated hotel (in this case a tuberculosis sanatorium with a violent history), some brilliantly creepy winter weather, and a healthy amount discord between the characters to ratchet up the tension. There are two mysteries at work in this story: what's at the root of this haunting, and what went so horribly wrong on an ill-fated hunt with Sam and Dean just before the story opens. It's dark, and it's clever. Here's a touch of the amazingly tense atmosphere the author builds up:
The grand piano was open, its lid held high and music pouring out, but there was nobody on the bench or anywhere else in the room.
Sam stepped into the room. The firelight grew brighter, and that's when he saw the young man. In the red-gold reflection in the window, Sam could see him sitting on the piano bench, his shoulders hunched and his head bowed over the keyboard.
Sam took another step forward, looking at the reflection rather than the empty piano bench.
The man in the reflection shifted his weight, dropped his elbows to his side. His back was to the window; Sam could see only the back of his head as he looked up, across the room, and began to rise.
Then the music stopped abruptly. The piano slammed shut, lid crashing down and keyboard cover snapping into place, and the firelight vanished from the room in an instant, leaving only the fading ringing of the music in the darkness.
The author has a keen understand of the psychology of the leads - the rapport between Sam and Dean is wonderfully done - and she produces some great OCs and a fantastic little haunting to make for an incredibly absorbing read.
But don't do what I did: don't read it with the lights out.
Title : Never Summer
Author : ignipes
Rating : M
Characters & Pairings : Sam and Dean, with a cast of OCs
Length : Long - 11 chapters
Warnings : In the author's words, for "violence and various nasty happenings"
Summary : A call from one of Sam's college friends brings the boys to a remote Colorado hotel in the midst of a blizzard to investigate a death, a haunting, and the detached yet majestic head of an elk.
My Rave Review : Far and away, this is my favourite - and I think the most well-done - casefic in Supernatural fandom. It has all the makings of a great scary story in the tradition of The Shining, with an isolated hotel (in this case a tuberculosis sanatorium with a violent history), some brilliantly creepy winter weather, and a healthy amount discord between the characters to ratchet up the tension. There are two mysteries at work in this story: what's at the root of this haunting, and what went so horribly wrong on an ill-fated hunt with Sam and Dean just before the story opens. It's dark, and it's clever. Here's a touch of the amazingly tense atmosphere the author builds up:
The grand piano was open, its lid held high and music pouring out, but there was nobody on the bench or anywhere else in the room.
Sam stepped into the room. The firelight grew brighter, and that's when he saw the young man. In the red-gold reflection in the window, Sam could see him sitting on the piano bench, his shoulders hunched and his head bowed over the keyboard.
Sam took another step forward, looking at the reflection rather than the empty piano bench.
The man in the reflection shifted his weight, dropped his elbows to his side. His back was to the window; Sam could see only the back of his head as he looked up, across the room, and began to rise.
Then the music stopped abruptly. The piano slammed shut, lid crashing down and keyboard cover snapping into place, and the firelight vanished from the room in an instant, leaving only the fading ringing of the music in the darkness.
The author has a keen understand of the psychology of the leads - the rapport between Sam and Dean is wonderfully done - and she produces some great OCs and a fantastic little haunting to make for an incredibly absorbing read.
But don't do what I did: don't read it with the lights out.