Despite defaulting due to illness, I got FOUR wonderful gifts! And since I have not deteriorated anywhere near as fast as I expected, I also ended up writing three treats. So I had a happy Yuletide after all ( Read more... )

Only the most general knowledge of source needed.

Agave in Illyria, from Euripedes' The Bacchae. I think all you need to know is the general story of The Bacchae; other context is provided in the note at the beginning. A stunning, unsettling piece, poem and prose that begs to be performed as spoken word. I could hear a lot of it in my mind's... er ( Read more... )

I got two lovely stories for Yuletide!

My gift story was Loose Ends. It's based on Megan Lindholm's Ki and Vandien series, but I think it can be read without canon knowledge other than that Ki and Vandien are traders/haulers in a very oddball fantasy world with lots of nonhuman species. This story, which reads exactly like the lighter moments of ( Read more... )

If you enjoy these stories or others, please do comment if you have anything to say. Perhaps because of reading on smartphones, commenting on stories is way, way down this year.

Reccing also seems way down, not to mention hard to find since it was taken off the yuletide com and moved to yuletide-recs. I am still seeing way, way more rec lists on individual LJs that ( Read more... )

This Yuletide there was some debate over whether rec lists should be linked at the yuletide com, or at a new com called yuletide-recs; perhaps due to the confusion, most people seem to be posting recs on their own LJs/DWs and not linking anywhere. You can post links at either com! Please post links! I enjoy reading rec lists (and then reading stories), and this year ( Read more... )

The Marriage Masquerade. From Georgette Heyer’s The Talisman Ring. One of Heyer’s funniest novels gets a hilarious coda, complete with pratfalls, cross-dressing, and a very expensive flaming carpet. I'm not sure how much context you need for this one, to be honest; if you like Regency romantic comedy, give it a try and see.

the mother of beauty. A ( Read more... )

This is a special selection of stories which can be read without knowledge of the source, or at least without more than passing knowledge.

Songs for the Jingwei Bird. A Chinese fantasy consisting of nested stories which cleverly fit together, full of magical details and absolutely gorgeously written: a perfect little gem of a story. There are ( Read more... )

I got AMAZING stories this year - TWO nice, long, juicy ones. Both are gen adventures, and you can read either with pleasure without knowing the canon. I suggest you do so.

My gift story was Echoes, from Patricia Wrede's little-known but charming fantasy, Caught In Crystal. The novel is about a retired warrior and mom who gets pulled back into ( Read more... )

A number of these can be read and enjoyed without previous knowledge of the source.

( Recs in American Gods, Historical RPF (the Bronte Sisters), Journey to the West, The Kingkiller Chronicles, The Left Hand of Darkness, Spirited Away, The True Meaning of Smekday. )

These are all stories (plus two poems!) that I enjoyed, but which I have not seen recced all over. (And no, I don't mean "stories based on poems," I mean actual poems.)

( Click for recs. )