FAREWELL BONUS REC


Title: Jumping O'er Times by hyarrowen
Fandom: Henry V/Walking with Monsters (Dinosaurs, Beasts)
Pairing: Henry/Montjoy (French herald)
Categories: AU, fantasy, time travel, romance
Length: Epic - 55,000 words
Warning: This fic takes place between Agincourt and the signing of the treaty, and does not contradict canon with respect to the latter. In short, the boys follow the path of duty at the end.
Rating: PG-15


Author on LJ: hyarrowen
Website: N/A


Summary: Caught up in an astrologer-sorcerer’s spell, Henry and his retinue – and one Frenchman – are thrown into the distant past. They must learn to trust each other, and to work together, if they are ever to return.

Review: This being my very last contribution to this comm, I am going to break the rules to rec a story by a personal friend - because I happen to think that it deserves a wider audience.

The UK and Australian versions of the BBC Walking with ... programmes were narrated by Kenneth Branagh, which is what prompted hyarrowen, a dedicated Henry/Montjoy author, to ask what would happen if Henry V, a significant portion of his retinue and a certain French herald were all plunged together into distant prehistory and faced with the challenge of surviving and finding a way back to their own time. This makes for an unconventional premise, but one which is handled here with intelligence and skill.

In certain respects Jumping O'er Times reads like a detective mystery, with Montjoy reluctantly taking the lead in unravelling the puzzle of how they came to be transported into what they recognise as the past and piecing together clues that will enable them to return. Members of the group are challenged in different ways, developing and enlarging on skills they didn't know they possessed, facing truths about themselves they are reluctant to acknowledge, and confronting preconceptions head-on - even Henry, who discovers the true nature of kingship and is finally able to convince himself that the title is his by right.

There are too many delightful aspects to this story to begin to list them, but among my favourites are a lovely 'day out at the beach' where Henry gives his men a brief holiday - and takes one himself - and a subplot involving a pair of tiger cubs which are the unwitting agency for bringing Henry and Montjoy to the brink of what eventually becomes a loving romantic relationship.

Frankly, fan fiction does not get much better than this; the quality of the research and the writing matched with the freshness of the imagination involved is rarely equalled even in pro fiction, and having seen at first-hand the amount of work and care that went into crafting this narrative I would like to take this opportunity of recommending it to everyone who enjoys good slash fiction for its own sake, regardless of setting. The fact that it also includes the time honoured theme of love-versus-duty, resolving it in a way which other writers have been known to shirk, is merely a bonus for this confessedly partisan reader.

On the whole, if you are looking for fiction which is both heart-warming and strikingly unusual, and will stay in your memory long after you have finished reading it, Jumping O'er Times could well be the story for you!

Link: Jumping O'er Times

- - - - -

And that's me finished, dear epic_reccers. I've only been here for a year, but I've enjoyed your company very much ... and now I must push on to pastures new. Until we meet again ...

FAREWELL BONUS REC


Title: Jumping O'er Times by hyarrowen
Fandom: Henry V/Walking with Monsters (Dinosaurs, Beasts)
Pairing: Henry/Montjoy (French herald)
Categories: AU, fantasy, time travel, romance
Length: Epic - 55,000 words
Warning: This fic takes place between Agincourt and the signing of the treaty, and does not contradict canon with respect to the latter. In short, the boys follow the path of duty at the end.
Rating: PG-15


Author on LJ: hyarrowen
Website: N/A


Summary: Caught up in an astrologer-sorcerer’s spell, Henry and his retinue – and one Frenchman – are thrown into the distant past. They must learn to trust each other, and to work together, if they are ever to return.

Review: This being my very last contribution to this comm, I am going to break the rules to rec a story by a personal friend - because I happen to think that it deserves a wider audience.

The UK and Australian versions of the BBC Walking with ... programmes were narrated by Kenneth Branagh, which is what prompted hyarrowen, a dedicated Henry/Montjoy author, to ask what would happen if Henry V, a significant portion of his retinue and a certain French herald were all plunged together into distant prehistory and faced with the challenge of surviving and finding a way back to their own time. This makes for an unconventional premise, but one which is handled here with intelligence and skill.

In certain respects Jumping O'er Times reads like a detective mystery, with Montjoy reluctantly taking the lead in unravelling the puzzle of how they came to be transported into what they recognise as the past and piecing together clues that will enable them to return. Members of the group are challenged in different ways, developing and enlarging on skills they didn't know they possessed, facing truths about themselves they are reluctant to acknowledge, and confronting preconceptions head-on - even Henry, who discovers the true nature of kingship and is finally able to convince himself that the title is his by right.

There are too many delightful aspects to this story to begin to list them, but among my favourites are a lovely 'day out at the beach' where Henry gives his men a brief holiday - and takes one himself - and a subplot involving a pair of tiger cubs which are the unwitting agency for bringing Henry and Montjoy to the brink of what eventually becomes a loving romantic relationship.

Frankly, fan fiction does not get much better than this; the quality of the research and the writing matched with the freshness of the imagination involved is rarely equalled even in pro fiction, and having seen at first-hand the amount of work and care that went into crafting this narrative I would like to take this opportunity of recommending it to everyone who enjoys good slash fiction for its own sake, regardless of setting. The fact that it also includes the time honoured theme of love-versus-duty, resolving it in a way which other writers have been known to shirk, is merely a bonus for this confessedly partisan reader.

On the whole, if you are looking for fiction which is both heart-warming and strikingly unusual, and will stay in your memory long after you have finished reading it, Jumping O'er Times could well be the story for you!

Link: Jumping O'er Times

- - - - -

And that's me finished, dear epic_reccers. I've only been here for a year, but I've enjoyed your company very much ... and now I must push on to pastures new. Until we meet again ...

FAREWELL BONUS REC


Title: Jumping O'er Times by hyarrowen
Fandom: Henry V/Walking with Monsters (Dinosaurs, Beasts)
Pairing: Henry/Montjoy (French herald)
Categories: AU, fantasy, time travel, romance
Length: Epic - 55,000 words
Warning: This fic takes place between Agincourt and the signing of the treaty, and does not contradict canon with respect to the latter. In short, the boys follow the path of duty at the end.
Rating: PG-15


Author on LJ: hyarrowen
Website: N/A


Summary: Caught up in an astrologer-sorcerer’s spell, Henry and his retinue – and one Frenchman – are thrown into the distant past. They must learn to trust each other, and to work together, if they are ever to return.

Review: This being my very last contribution to this comm, I am going to break the rules to rec a story by a personal friend - because I happen to think that it deserves a wider audience.

The UK and Australian versions of the BBC Walking with ... programmes were narrated by Kenneth Branagh, which is what prompted hyarrowen, a dedicated Henry/Montjoy author, to ask what would happen if Henry V, a significant portion of his retinue and a certain French herald were all plunged together into distant prehistory and faced with the challenge of surviving and finding a way back to their own time. This makes for an unconventional premise, but one which is handled here with intelligence and skill.

In certain respects Jumping O'er Times reads like a detective mystery, with Montjoy reluctantly taking the lead in unravelling the puzzle of how they came to be transported into what they recognise as the past and piecing together clues that will enable them to return. Members of the group are challenged in different ways, developing and enlarging on skills they didn't know they possessed, facing truths about themselves they are reluctant to acknowledge, and confronting preconceptions head-on - even Henry, who discovers the true nature of kingship and is finally able to convince himself that the title is his by right.

There are too many delightful aspects to this story to begin to list them, but among my favourites are a lovely 'day out at the beach' where Henry gives his men a brief holiday - and takes one himself - and a subplot involving a pair of tiger cubs which are the unwitting agency for bringing Henry and Montjoy to the brink of what eventually becomes a loving romantic relationship.

Frankly, fan fiction does not get much better than this; the quality of the research and the writing matched with the freshness of the imagination involved is rarely equalled even in pro fiction, and having seen at first-hand the amount of work and care that went into crafting this narrative I would like to take this opportunity of recommending it to everyone who enjoys good slash fiction for its own sake, regardless of setting. The fact that it also includes the time honoured theme of love-versus-duty, resolving it in a way which other writers have been known to shirk, is merely a bonus for this confessedly partisan reader.

On the whole, if you are looking for fiction which is both heart-warming and strikingly unusual, and will stay in your memory long after you have finished reading it, Jumping O'er Times could well be the story for you!

Link: Jumping O'er Times

- - - - -

And that's me finished, dear epic_reccers. I've only been here for a year, but I've enjoyed your company very much ... and now I must push on to pastures new. Until we meet again ...

Title: Alabaster by dfotw
Fandom: The Merchant of Venice
Pairing: Antonio/Bassanio
Categories: Slash, romance
Length: Medium (1930 words)
Warning: None
Rating: PG-13


Author on LJ: Diamonds on the Soles on my Shoes
Website: None that I can see


Summary: “In sooth, I know now why I am so sad.”

Review:

Short and delightfully precise Shakespeare-slash from a Spanish writer with the occasional unusual turn of phrase. Set some weeks after the end of the play, when Antonio has returned to Venice and taken up the reins of his previous life again, but he finds he's missing Bassanio dreadfully – until unexpectedly Launcelot Gobbo shows up bringing him a letter from his friend. This jolts him out of his misery, and only just in time, too, since the next shock is the arrival of Bassanio in person.

This is a not-unfamiliar storyline, but handled very delicately and persuasively. Writing convincing Shakespeare fiction is a real minefield and must be even more so for someone who was not brought up with English as their first language, which makes the achievement here all the more noteworthy. Although I am not familiar with the particular version of the play this author has seen, the characterisations transfer very nicely to other interpretations; there always was something very particular between Antonio and Bassanio that Portia would have been a fool to interrupt – and Portia here, as in other places, is most certainly not a fool. A more than satisfactory conclusion for the characters!

Link: Alabaster

Title: Alabaster by dfotw
Fandom: The Merchant of Venice
Pairing: Antonio/Bassanio
Categories: Slash, romance
Length: Medium (1930 words)
Warning: None
Rating: PG-13


Author on LJ: Diamonds on the Soles on my Shoes
Website: None that I can see


Summary: “In sooth, I know now why I am so sad.”

Review:

Short and delightfully precise Shakespeare-slash from a Spanish writer with the occasional unusual turn of phrase. Set some weeks after the end of the play, when Antonio has returned to Venice and taken up the reins of his previous life again, but he finds he's missing Bassanio dreadfully – until unexpectedly Launcelot Gobbo shows up bringing him a letter from his friend. This jolts him out of his misery, and only just in time, too, since the next shock is the arrival of Bassanio in person.

This is a not-unfamiliar storyline, but handled very delicately and persuasively. Writing convincing Shakespeare fiction is a real minefield and must be even more so for someone who was not brought up with English as their first language, which makes the achievement here all the more noteworthy. Although I am not familiar with the particular version of the play this author has seen, the characterisations transfer very nicely to other interpretations; there always was something very particular between Antonio and Bassanio that Portia would have been a fool to interrupt – and Portia here, as in other places, is most certainly not a fool. A more than satisfactory conclusion for the characters!

Link: Alabaster

Title: Alabaster by dfotw
Fandom: The Merchant of Venice
Pairing: Antonio/Bassanio
Categories: Slash, romance
Length: Medium (1930 words)
Warning: None
Rating: PG-13


Author on LJ: Diamonds on the Soles on my Shoes
Website: None that I can see


Summary: “In sooth, I know now why I am so sad.”

Review:

Short and delightfully precise Shakespeare-slash from a Spanish writer with the occasional unusual turn of phrase. Set some weeks after the end of the play, when Antonio has returned to Venice and taken up the reins of his previous life again, but he finds he's missing Bassanio dreadfully – until unexpectedly Launcelot Gobbo shows up bringing him a letter from his friend. This jolts him out of his misery, and only just in time, too, since the next shock is the arrival of Bassanio in person.

This is a not-unfamiliar storyline, but handled very delicately and persuasively. Writing convincing Shakespeare fiction is a real minefield and must be even more so for someone who was not brought up with English as their first language, which makes the achievement here all the more noteworthy. Although I am not familiar with the particular version of the play this author has seen, the characterisations transfer very nicely to other interpretations; there always was something very particular between Antonio and Bassanio that Portia would have been a fool to interrupt – and Portia here, as in other places, is most certainly not a fool. A more than satisfactory conclusion for the characters!

Link: Alabaster

Title: If You Will Not Have Me, You May Let Me Go by Lady Paperclip
Fandom: Hamlet
Pairing: Fortinbras/Horatio [past Horatio/Laertes]
Categories: Aftermath, Angst
Length: 4780
Warning: Canonical character death and one rather messy execution
Rating: PG-13

Author on LJ: Lady Paperclip's Second-Hand Bookshop

Summary: Denmark's clean start; only it's rotting in a different way, and Horatio thinks perhaps he's the only one who can see it.

Review: Was Hamlet really doing a kindness when he persuaded Horatio not to kill himself? This story suggests that he was not. Here we have a lost, heartbroken Horatio surviving into the reign of King Fortinbras, valued by him as a councillor and eventually, almost without Horatio's consent, ending up as his bed partner. It is difficult to see what, other than a simple mechanical release, either party would have to gain from such an arrangement, although Fortinbras as we see him here is manipulative and self-centred and would be quite capable of wanting Horatio just to prevent anyone else from having him. Fortunately, Horatio's emotions are not engaged. In fact, he seems quite numb to feelings of all sorts - although not, as in many Hamlet stories, because he was in love with his doomed Prince. No, this Horatio was involved with Laertes - who, in the end, is just as dead, and also bearing a measure of disgrace as the instrument of Hamlet's death.

This is a bleak little story, giving a very clear and painful picture of Horatio's inner emptiness. He is the ultimate survivor, of course, and as such the bearer of the ultimate survivor's guilt; psychologically he is damaged beyond repair, and it is not really possible to imagine him making any sort of a life for himself afterwards. There is certainly no future for him with Fortinbras, a decision he comes to only belatedly; when he finally rides away from Elsinore he is acting selfishly for perhaps the first time in his life - abandoning Denmark to its own devices and saving himself, for once. I like to think Hamlet would have approved.

Stylistically this is written in reverse chronological order and therefore in the present tense throughout. This is not intrusive, although it is not always as smooth as it might be, and mercifully the writer has stayed clear of the cod-Shakespearean dialogue which ruins so many lesser efforts of this kind. She has settled for a simple, quasi-formal English which works very much better.

Whichever version of Hamlet one is most familiar with, this story should work well. Personally I had no difficulty imagining a depressed Nicholas Farrell with a manipulative Rufus Sewell (although past antics with Michael Maloney were not quite so easy to conjure up). Different combinations of actors will obviously have different results, meaning that this story is open to a most intriguing variety of interpretations. That, in my opinion, makes it necessary reading for anyone who likes their slash fiction to be challenging and intelligent, and who is looking for more from a story than just a quick and dirty fix of mansex.

Link: If You Will Not Have Me, You May Let Me Go

Title: If You Will Not Have Me, You May Let Me Go by Lady Paperclip
Fandom: Hamlet
Pairing: Fortinbras/Horatio [past Horatio/Laertes]
Categories: Aftermath, Angst
Length: 4780
Warning: Canonical character death and one rather messy execution
Rating: PG-13

Author on LJ: Lady Paperclip's Second-Hand Bookshop

Summary: Denmark's clean start; only it's rotting in a different way, and Horatio thinks perhaps he's the only one who can see it.

Review: Was Hamlet really doing a kindness when he persuaded Horatio not to kill himself? This story suggests that he was not. Here we have a lost, heartbroken Horatio surviving into the reign of King Fortinbras, valued by him as a councillor and eventually, almost without Horatio's consent, ending up as his bed partner. It is difficult to see what, other than a simple mechanical release, either party would have to gain from such an arrangement, although Fortinbras as we see him here is manipulative and self-centred and would be quite capable of wanting Horatio just to prevent anyone else from having him. Fortunately, Horatio's emotions are not engaged. In fact, he seems quite numb to feelings of all sorts - although not, as in many Hamlet stories, because he was in love with his doomed Prince. No, this Horatio was involved with Laertes - who, in the end, is just as dead, and also bearing a measure of disgrace as the instrument of Hamlet's death.

This is a bleak little story, giving a very clear and painful picture of Horatio's inner emptiness. He is the ultimate survivor, of course, and as such the bearer of the ultimate survivor's guilt; psychologically he is damaged beyond repair, and it is not really possible to imagine him making any sort of a life for himself afterwards. There is certainly no future for him with Fortinbras, a decision he comes to only belatedly; when he finally rides away from Elsinore he is acting selfishly for perhaps the first time in his life - abandoning Denmark to its own devices and saving himself, for once. I like to think Hamlet would have approved.

Stylistically this is written in reverse chronological order and therefore in the present tense throughout. This is not intrusive, although it is not always as smooth as it might be, and mercifully the writer has stayed clear of the cod-Shakespearean dialogue which ruins so many lesser efforts of this kind. She has settled for a simple, quasi-formal English which works very much better.

Whichever version of Hamlet one is most familiar with, this story should work well. Personally I had no difficulty imagining a depressed Nicholas Farrell with a manipulative Rufus Sewell (although past antics with Michael Maloney were not quite so easy to conjure up). Different combinations of actors will obviously have different results, meaning that this story is open to a most intriguing variety of interpretations. That, in my opinion, makes it necessary reading for anyone who likes their slash fiction to be challenging and intelligent, and who is looking for more from a story than just a quick and dirty fix of mansex.

Link: If You Will Not Have Me, You May Let Me Go

Title: If You Will Not Have Me, You May Let Me Go by Lady Paperclip
Fandom: Hamlet
Pairing: Fortinbras/Horatio [past Horatio/Laertes]
Categories: Aftermath, Angst
Length: 4780
Warning: Canonical character death and one rather messy execution
Rating: PG-13

Author on LJ: Lady Paperclip's Second-Hand Bookshop

Summary: Denmark's clean start; only it's rotting in a different way, and Horatio thinks perhaps he's the only one who can see it.

Review: Was Hamlet really doing a kindness when he persuaded Horatio not to kill himself? This story suggests that he was not. Here we have a lost, heartbroken Horatio surviving into the reign of King Fortinbras, valued by him as a councillor and eventually, almost without Horatio's consent, ending up as his bed partner. It is difficult to see what, other than a simple mechanical release, either party would have to gain from such an arrangement, although Fortinbras as we see him here is manipulative and self-centred and would be quite capable of wanting Horatio just to prevent anyone else from having him. Fortunately, Horatio's emotions are not engaged. In fact, he seems quite numb to feelings of all sorts - although not, as in many Hamlet stories, because he was in love with his doomed Prince. No, this Horatio was involved with Laertes - who, in the end, is just as dead, and also bearing a measure of disgrace as the instrument of Hamlet's death.

This is a bleak little story, giving a very clear and painful picture of Horatio's inner emptiness. He is the ultimate survivor, of course, and as such the bearer of the ultimate survivor's guilt; psychologically he is damaged beyond repair, and it is not really possible to imagine him making any sort of a life for himself afterwards. There is certainly no future for him with Fortinbras, a decision he comes to only belatedly; when he finally rides away from Elsinore he is acting selfishly for perhaps the first time in his life - abandoning Denmark to its own devices and saving himself, for once. I like to think Hamlet would have approved.

Stylistically this is written in reverse chronological order and therefore in the present tense throughout. This is not intrusive, although it is not always as smooth as it might be, and mercifully the writer has stayed clear of the cod-Shakespearean dialogue which ruins so many lesser efforts of this kind. She has settled for a simple, quasi-formal English which works very much better.

Whichever version of Hamlet one is most familiar with, this story should work well. Personally I had no difficulty imagining a depressed Nicholas Farrell with a manipulative Rufus Sewell (although past antics with Michael Maloney were not quite so easy to conjure up). Different combinations of actors will obviously have different results, meaning that this story is open to a most intriguing variety of interpretations. That, in my opinion, makes it necessary reading for anyone who likes their slash fiction to be challenging and intelligent, and who is looking for more from a story than just a quick and dirty fix of mansex.

Link: If You Will Not Have Me, You May Let Me Go

Title: Undiscovered Country by Thia
Fandom: Hamlet
Pairing: Hamlet/Horatio
Categories: Slash
Length: Medium (9500 words)
Warning: Canonical and extra-canonical death
Rating: Mild - author's rating is R

Author on LJ: just throw words at the page
Website: The author has a separate writing journal and the 'Memories' section of it is linked here

Summary: Ghosts stalk Elsinore; sometimes a traveller returns.

Review: The dead of Elsinore don’t stay dead, particularly if they have something on their minds. Having refused to let Horatio die with him, Hamlet returns to haunt both his dreams and his waking hours - but, like his father before him, is maddeningly elliptical about the world he inhabits and the future of his country.

This is, of course, the continuation of a love affair between Horatio and his Prince which began - at least in the physical sense - when Hamlet found his way back to Denmark after the pirate attack. Lodged at Horatio's expense in a rough dockside tavern the two are free for the first time to express their feelings for one another, although these are not sudden or surprising revelations and indeed this love scene is rather delicately handled.

And, when Hamlet returns to confront his destiny, Horatio stays loyally beside him and only remains alive at Hamlet's express insistence. After he has told the world what he knows, however, the hauntings begin; Marcellus again reports the presence of ghosts in the castle. Indeed, all the dead are returned - including Ophelia, who for some reason has taken up residence in a tree and seems particularly communicative.

Horatio, of course, wants to be wherever Hamlet is, and Hamlet wants the same. Since 'the Almighty has fixed his canon against self-slaughter' it looks as if a futile sacrifice is called for - and so Horatio goes off to fight in Fortinbras's war against the Polack, which has the desired effect. He is soon returned, blissfully, to Hamlet's arms.

The story here is very nicely put together, although I must admit there is something a bit comical about poor Ophelia hanging around in a tree waiting for Hamlet to return to her and never realising that he's off elsewhere haunting Horatio. The real quibble I have is the extremely uneven and sometimes impenetrable quasi-Shakespearean dialogue which perhaps could have been simplified to better effect. Having said that, it's emotional honesty rather than verbal tricks which define a good story in my opinion, and this story certainly has it. Thia's steadfast and unassuming Horatio is very much my favourite sort of character; loyal to death and beyond. Her Hamlet ranges from mercurial to inexplicable at times, but then again that's Hamlet for you.

This is a solid and enjoyable piece of work with a lot to recommend it. It will make a useful and welcome addition to anyone's collection of favourite Shakespeare slash.

Link: Undiscovered Country