It's Epistolary/Historical theme week!

Title: Inevitable as Tragedy
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Harry/Draco (mention of Harry/Ginny)
Categories: Post-War, EWE, Epistolary, Drama, Recovery
Length: Medium (8,084)
Warnings: Minor character death, mention of suicidal thoughts

Author on LJ: lomonaaeren
Author on AO3: Lomonaaeren

Author's summary: Physical separation is possible for Harry and Draco. Mental separation is not.

Review:
More than any other Harry/Draco story, this is the one that's head-canon for me, because Lomonaaeren spotlights the resentment that lies between them, plus their differences in personality and beliefs, yet Harry and Draco still move from antagonism to truce to reliance and finally understanding.

They find common ground in their shared trauma from the war. And at the heart of their transition is the curse on Narcissa. It leaves Draco open and brings out Harry's drive to act. After that, any guardedness Draco feels is gone, and what's left is Harry's emotional upheaval. With no Voldemort to defeat, he's facing up to his neglectful childhood, his adulthood and his sexuality all at once.

I found this story uplifting. Without sweeping anything under the carpet, it pushes inevitably toward connection and fierce protectiveness. Though there are setbacks, each letter moves through and past obstacles until there's nothing left but the two of them.

Inevitable as Tragedy (AO3)
On LJ

Title: And Seven For A Secret
Fandom: Torchwood (Dr Who)
Categories: gen, historical, action/adventure, war story, science fiction
Length: Epic (58,000 words)
Warnings: Character death (it is Jack), secondary character death (it is a war story), violence and coarse language (ditto).

Author on LJ: aeshna_uk
Author on AO3: Aeshna

Summary:
If you are reading this then I am dead, and with my death dies a promise I made a long, long time ago... When Ben Haldane is left a cryptic note in his grandfather's will, it leads him to a story far stranger than he could ever have imagined.

Review:
Somehow it seemed fitting for that my review for Epistolary/Historical week is a WW2 story that commences with a letter.

This story would have made an excellent Torchwood special. It involves Jack Harkness on a mission to a Nazi PoW camp, a castle that conceals more than just bored prisoners, and the men who get caught up in events. It's not a pretty sight; this Jack is not infallible, and his small screw-ups do cost lives. The main threat is credible, particularly in being a threat to Jack that he might not recover from, and the finale is suitably action-packed and bloody.

It goes without saying that the writing and pacing are excellent. (Disclaimer: I've known aeshna_uk since her first con, and she is responsible for getting me writing, so I would say that.) A particular grace, and one of the reasons it would make an excellent episode, is that the story is told from the point of view of a third party, Private Bert Fletcher. This helps the pacing by removing any strain in not knowing the details of Jack's mission until as late as possible. Bert is also an amiable viewpoint character, as much as anyone could be under the circumstances, and I found it quite easy to identify with his reactions.

Eminently readable, and highly recommended.

And Seven For A Secret (multi-part)