Stories by others
I love lots of stories but here are some that I absolutely adore, that have inspired my own writing and/or that have resonated long past a first reading. Arranged with the most recently-discovered stories first and my very first forays into fanfic last (January 2002). Fandoms are mixed up because I don't want to dilute quality by assigning it to separate fandoms. Most of these recs are Lotrps but recently, I've migrated into HP. Enjoy them, rec them, fb them: they are all wonderful! Last updated: 23 June 2004.
Note on 16 November 2006: I am now updating my recs mainly at my del.ici.ous site. Go to the bundle 'fanfic_recs'.
Under the Influence by Fabula Rasa.
Wonderful dialogue-only fic; sexy, funny, manly and clever. Snape/Black/Lupin.
Letter Perfect by Isis.
Oh, the weird and the rare and the perfectly-written, tight short fic! This is why I love the weird pairings: fics that manage to pull gorgeousness out of squibs and squids, and leave me breathlessly convinced. HP fandom.
Exog by Resonant.
Resonant has written origfic, and omg, it is good. But alas, if you didn't get to it in time, 'tis gonegonegone. I still feel I need to recommend it, though.
Lies in the Rookery by Thamiris.
It's Snape/Lupin, and all I'm saying is that I practically held my breath for the entire fic (it's not that long) and literally did not move until I had finished it. It hooked me with the phrase 'Snape blew in like a black wind' and sinkered me with the final paragraph.
Everything you'd want from slash. So right that it *must* be canon (surely!), so deliciously written, and so very porny.
Dancing Queen by Maya.
I can't even rec this one. I can only stammer incoherently. The style! The wit! The pace! The short paragraphs! The Draco! The Dudley! The breeziness that suddenly topples into gorgeousness! Oh, I am so dead. Harry/Draco. And Dudley.
The Professional's Guide to Badgering People by Maya.
I don't even know who Zacharias Smith is (I'm not in the habit of actually reading canon, good lord) but if this is him, I want to read him for ever. And I can, because there are sequels! Oh, the deliciousness of it. And the prose just zips along. The irreverence!! Zacharias/Draco. Note: The sequels may make you cry.
Lord of Misrule by Fabula Rasa.
Lotfips. A very erotic fps about my one and only Lotr OTP: Gimli/Legolas. It's a bit movie-versish (and I'm never overly fond of a blond Legolas; in my world, his hair is pitch black) but it's so gorgeous that who cares. Perfect pacing, wonderfully drawn out tension, and just a long hot bath in true slashiness. Beautiful settings, too.
The Familiar by Resonant.
Harry is turned into a frog. Need I say more? The prose style is simply delightful: short sentences, every word sharp and precise, every paragraph a nugget of sexiness (remember Gertrude Stein? Sentences are not emotional, paragraphs are.). Wonderfully whittled down to the basics. And funny! And, despite the pairing, manly through and through. Harry/Snape.
Repechage by Fabula Rasa.
It's my first HP fic involving the Manly Men (yes, HP has them, too! Boys and Men!) and it almost made me come onto t'reference library's swivel chairs. It has: unobtrusive prose, seconds-perfect timing, cracking dialogue, excruciating moments, and angst in delicious dollops. Snape/Sirius.
Tissue of Silver by Fearless Diva.
I was rivetted and spellbound and delighted. The characterisation is delicious, the pacing is mostly spot-on, some of the dialogue is nigh perfect, and, most wonderfully of all, there is a mix of text types, there are changes in narrative level, there are changes in focalisor! It's a tight (and oh, it's a deliciously tight) third-person pov, interspersed with first-person letters and reports from a variety of other people who sometimes also feature as characters in the third-person plot. Or, I suppose you could alternatively describe it as a series of letters and reports, written in different prose styles, intercalated with an ongoing past-tense third-person narration.
Anyway, whatever it is, it is an outstanding, and I stand in awe. Harry/Draco.
Men of Our Words by L.M. Griffin.
Glorious Commodore Norrington/Jack Sparrow fic. Heaps of spelling errors but great dialogue and, for me, an example of slash at its purest. Wonderful instance of how fps can weave in and out of canon and how to make two completely convincing canon-characters get to a slashy point without losing credibility. Delicious.
Blood by Sheldrake.
How to take a vampire and put him in a bookstore and make the whole thing not only believable but also pastichy and po-mo andpathetically sad all at the same time. AU at its finest. Dom/Elijah/origchars. (And I swear this bookshop is in Ipswich.)
Transfigurations by Resonant.
Catalyst by Shaenie.
Siren by Gabby Hope.
In the Name of Research by Brenda.
Crimson by Gloria.
Snooping by Dee.
Turning Forty by JemJ.
When in Rome by Sheldrake
Coming Home by girloftheq
Kiss and Tell by Jenn Abiding
Good Talking by Becca Ming.
Sleeping with Ghosts by Io.
Geometry by Nova.
A Rush of Blood to the Head by Demelza.
Illing by Hetrez.
Gym Buddies by Eliyah.
Realization by Brenda.
Overtime by Demelza. Birthday fics Cusp by Shaenie The Mirror by Kete
Beasts by Belinda, Doom's Eyebrow Eric the Potplant by Diana (Dee) Holding the Pose by Sheldrake In Principio by Thamiris Time by Cimorene Dance by Zarah One Dark Night by Enros Ring Pull and Plumbing by Dee (cupiscent) Stories by Gabby Hope Bad Sugar by Jenn Josh and Jeremy by Mcee and Buffett About Last Night by Jo Different by Gabby Hope From One to Another by Cordelia Wallace Flint by Belinda Home by Demelza Mermaids, Singing by Gloria Mundi Something to Pass the Time by Belinda Subversion by Calico Twee Sluts by the Rolling Smut Factory (Brenda and Val) Ghosts, and its sequel Later by Brenda Delirium by Cimorene Cock Tale by Quiseyes The Trianne Guide to Writing Successful Male on Male Slash Wrong to Love You by Jenwyn All stories by Demelza All stories by the Rolling Smut Factory (Brenda and Val) Communion by Val Fun & Games by Brenda The Way You Do It, by Helen Solitary Creatures, by Aristide Early One Morning in Fangorn Forest by Pythoness Tennessee by Cimorene A Diamond Between Wood and Stone by Pythoness
Current top eleven (22 June 04):
This is simply one of the best stories I have ever read. It resonates long after it's over. I've now read it several times, and some of its scenes I've read at least a dozen times. It is gorgeously written, unpretentious prose, always spot on. It inserts ethics into J.K. Rowling's universe where there weren't any. It is serious, full of plot, richly characterised and has absolutely beautiful sex scenes. I wasn't a fan of Harry Potter fic when I first read it but this one transcends such categorisations and makes my insides melt. Indeed, it was this fic that lured me into HP fandom.
Resonant's DVD-commentary is a fascinating insight into how my top-ten fanfic of all time evah was conceived and written, and a lovely example of writer/beta co-operation.
Quite simply phenomenal. This took my breath away and is one of the best things I have read in fandom. Tight pov, one of the most complex and psychologically rich characterisations I've read, and real-hot sex that is pure pornography. Warning: graphic BDSM. Dom/Billy mainly. It's part of the Convergence storyverse, see Shaenie's website for the others in this series.
Dombilly. Simply and superbly stunning. It meanders and flows and it is one of the best uses of pure metaphor I have read. This is now my favourite by Gabby Hope. It resonates for a long time.
God, I love this fic. Somehow, when Brenda gets her writing claws into Harry/Karl, sparks fly. This is all about the dialogue and it is brilliantly funny and subversive.
Potc fps: Barbossa/ Sparrow. This is stunning. It is the best fic I have ever read by Gloria. It is plotted nigh perfectly, and has brilliantly convincing voices for both Barbossa and Sparrow. It's still lingering in my mind.
Lovely, lovely Dorli. Features Keira as voyeuse. This is beautifully written and beautifully imagined. Sort of soft.
A not-run-of-the-mill Dombilly. Real and melancholy.
I squeed and squealed! I've got no idea who the heck Neil Hannon is but he's in Rome, he's full of rambling thoughts, and Dom'n'Billy are unknown quantities. It's witty and wonderful!
A lovely, long build-up. Delicious dialogue. Dom/Orli.
Also, Playing the Game by girloftheq.
Sweethot. Sent shivers through me. Sensual, tender and very sexy. D'Orli.
If you thought Jenn could only write swoonsome poetic visions, you would be mistaken for this is cheeky and dialogue-driven and crunchily gorgeous. Orli / Keira and... others.
Poised prose, breezy style, funny and serious all at once. Just delicious. It's about Orlando.
Lovely prose and painful longings. Japan, Orlando, Viggo, Karl and dreams.
Creeps up on you. Perfect characterisation.
Also, Border Town by Nova.
Evocative, atmospheric, lingering. A lot said and unsaid, and a vivid spatial setting.
Not on her website, inexplicably. It's a locked LiveJournal post, alas, but Friend her and she'll Friend you back so that you can read this hugely enjoyable resistrix fic. One of the few Viggorli fics I adore.
Amazing experimental prose.
Just a hoot. Totally. Yet sweet! What prose control.
Because it celebrates the truly rare and that is what I love about Lotrips: the sheer variety and scope. Bruce Hopkins (Gamling) / John Leigh (Hama) (!!).
It's WETA, it's the Duck, and a hoot to boot.
These stories were presents for my 40th birthday, and I just adore them to bits.
I popped several valves reading this, and ended up breathless. Then dreamed about it all night! This is mindblowing. A highly original Billy, a delishsome Dom, and some of the hottest sex I have ever read. The prose is a wonderful mixture of hallucinatory-subjective and crystal-clear. Billy/Dom.
Very moving, poignant Frodo/Orc fic. It recasts orcs as tragic creatures, rounding out Tolkien's manichean set-up. It is powerful about Frodo's scars and Frodo/Sauron. Beautifully written and conceived. Made my heart ache.
This one lingers in the memory. It is one of the most gorgeous fics Belinda has written, and she has written a fistful of gorgeous stuff. It's writing of the highest calibre, and it captures a quaint, 19th C. idiom that just makes my spine shiver. Ned Kelly / Joe Byrne, fps.
Simply wow. Unusual and like a fresh wind. Miranda Otto by herself and with others. Unashamedly het. Scenes, dialogue and emotional tugs of war had my heart beating.
Lovely atmospheric Bean/Orlando. Near-perfect rhythm and the most wonderful evocation of being drunk on a beach I have ever read. Beautiful use of Caravaggio.
Bible slash. God and Lucifer. This is porn as philosophy, metaphysics wrapped in smut, and by the end you don't know the difference. Stunning. Metaphors come to life.
Beautiful Gimli/Legolas. Stunningly written, atmospheric, full of texture and very erotic.
Karl/Orlando. A lovely couple in a lovely fic. There's art, there's cooking, there's terse subtle dialogue.
Elrond meets up one dark night in a cave with the former captain of the uruk-hai. This is the most beautiful orc-slash I have read. The orc is melancholy (yes, she's managed to create a wistful orc; unbelievable), and Elrond discovers his own dark orcish side. Resonates long after reading.
Dee's writing gets better all the time. "Ring Pull" is full of unspoken tension, and "Plumbing" has got the best plot premise I have ever encountered in a fic. Both resonate long after reading.
Gabby Hope's stories have just been getting better and better. The ones I love in particular are: Saturday Night (Billy/Dom on a sofa); Chrome (nail polish and angst); A Study in Porn (Dom watches some porn videos); and Different (interior monologue during sex; Dom).
The prose crackles, the thoughts are snappy, the angst is just right, and the stories are always thoughtful and unusual.
Jenn's stories tend to reduce me to incoherence, and the first episode of this series is close to perfect. This is the series that inspired me to start experimenting with style. The feelings are intense and claustrophobic but the words are beautiful. The story is told through words, and it is almost a story about words before it is about anything else. Dom/Orli/Lij.
Plain old fun and a rocking plot premise. I grinned a lot!
I like this because it has down-to-earth and very funny characterisations of Orli/Karl. Sweetly sexy, too.
Short and deliciously sexy pwp. "He groans, he moans, he croons like a cat in heat." Wonderful rhythms like that plus a wonderful Dom.
This story makes my breath go shallow and my pulse flutter. It is simply gorgeously swoonsome. I'm not sure I can be more coherent than that. Intense, passionate, subtle, nuanced, full of self-doubt and torment. Hasn't got its own website; find it on BTF and the sequels at her LJ.
Another stunning story by Belinda. Unusual pairing, allusive style and breathlessly sexy. I've read it and re-read it, and still find new things to like. Billy/Viggo.
If anyone thought, Billy/Dom were trite, they should read this! Demelza's Billy/Dom is always wonderful and this one is sad, wistful, has beautiful details -- it just resonates. Superbly written, as usual.
The best girlslash I've read. Wonderfully observed, great detail and strange, erotic atmosphere. And crustaceans, yes! Miranda / Cate.
I beta'ed this and immediately fell in love with its elliptical prose, sparse dialogue, vivid detail and wonderful, tender and sexy sex! Interpretations of Belinda's stories differ widely -- and that's what makes them so great: there are many meanings here. One of the stories that inspired me to start experimenting with style. Harry/Karl.
When I read Calico's Sabotage, I thought that was the sexiest story I had read -- ever. (Lady Moonray calls it 'a slash classic'.) Then I found the sequel, 'Subversion', and that was as erotic but I liked it even better because of the delicious little plot just hinted at beneath the passion. More by Calico at theBloomwood site. Don't read in a public place! I did, and was embarrassed, heh.
This one's in my top ten. It is the most scrumptious, sweetly moving and at the same time madly rumbustious romp between two wonderfully mature men I have ever read. The prose just sweeps you along. Sean B./Viggo.
These are two of the very few fanfics that have made me cry. They are both simply gorgeous and emotionally true, but also very, very sad.
Another mesmerising story by Cimorene. This one reads like one long wet dream and has wonderfully intense details of texture and emotion. And fantastically hot sex! Elijah/Dominic.
Lovely, lovely Orlando/Craig Parker. Great dialogue. Great build-up. And a wonderful first-time for Orlando, *sigh*. If you like this one, try Quiseyes' 'Saraband', too.
If no success with finding this fic, email me.
This is insanely hilarious.Read and rofl! Thanks to Trianne for being allowed to host it here.
This is simply a beautiful, beautiful series. And just so wonderfully written. Absolutely heartrending. Orli/Bean.
Great dialogue, breezy style, lots of detail, often hilarious, and always some weird little kink! They put you in a good mood. I especially liked "The Scent of Attraction" and "Under Sixteen Girls". 4 hobbits 'n' 1 elf.
How to choose? The RSF is it. I'm recommending all of their fics, and I warn you, there are lots of them because they are orlandishly prolific! And they have simply the best pairings, *g*. As a taster, try the "Playground" series, "Deluge" and anything with Karl or Harry in it.
Brenda's stories are moving to Broadwriting.
Orli as angry young man. Great style, written from pissed-off-Orli's POV. Oh, and sweet.
A very long angst-ridden series that had me hooked for weeks. BDSM, near-rape, fantastically hot sex, weird psychology, plot twists, complicated ethical issues, the lot. Dominic/Karl. Words can't describe it. And it's continued in "Into the Void".
A wonderful love story written almost entirely in dialogue. NSYNC but I'd never heard of this band when I first read this story.
If link is broken, email me.
This is philosophy as porn. It's got mature men, perfect angst and hotter-than-hot sex. Characters from The Sentinel but I had never heard of this show when I first read this story; I loved it without knowing who the hell these guys were.
Ent-slash! Need I say more?
This is the first rps fic I ever read. I loved it and have never looked back. Wonderfully long, wonderfully lovely. And a wonderfully evocative, atmospheric style. Viggo/Orli.
Pythoness simply is the Goddess of Legolas/Gimli, and this is one of the sexiest stories I've ever read. Gorgeous language.
Resonant, Transfigurations
Calico, Subversion
Sheldrake, Holding the Pose
Belinda, Something to Pass the Time
Brenda, Fun & Games
Demelza, A Rush of Blood to the Head
Fearless Diva, Tissue of Silver
Dee, Plumbing
Jenn Abiding, Wrong To Love You
Pythoness, A Diamond between Wood and Stone
Fabula Rasa, Repechage