Seeing Africa by huzzlewhat (PG-13)

[raveninthewind.livejournal.com]

Fandom: BTVS
Pairing: None; Xander
Author on LJ: huzzlewhat
Author Website: Huzzlewhat's LJ Memories

Why this must be read:
Hello again, crack van riders. I'll be doing BtVS recs this month, and I'm going to rec a variety of new and old, mostly slash. But I'm going to start out the month with a gen story, set post-"Chosen", in which Xander goes to Africa looking for Slayers. This is a very adult story, quite non-fannish, and I'd offer it to non-readers of fanfic as an outstanding example of fanfic as respectful tribute to a beloved universe.

I adore the atmosphere of this piece, and this Xander seems very much post-season 7 Xander, seasoned and scarred by life in Sunnydale and his years of battle with Buffy. Besides the somber tone and realistic depiction of life in Africa, there's a bit of understated humor both light (in the form of a conversation with Giles) and dark (such as the bit about the Sunnydale sign). I also like the mention of hyenas threading through the story (continuity is of the good).

But the two things I like best about this story are the sense of place, gained from the layers of accurate detail, and the sense of passage of time, from the the painfully slow progress toward healing Xander makes in his African journey. Each stop is perfect in itself, but added together, there's a relentless pull on the reader to carry on, one foot after the other, with Xander as he does his duty. The reader can see Xander evolving as the story moves through to the conclusion.

Even if this trip was a wild goose chase, it got him away from Cleveland, away from Willow and Buffy and Giles, who all understood, and please, god, Andrew, who thought he did, to somewhere where he'd never seen so much blessed sky in his life.

Seeing Africa