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crack_van2006-01-29 10:15 pm
franciskerst.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2006-01-29 10:15 pm
Entry tags:
Dishevelled by Julia Justina (NC-17)
Fandom: MAN FROM UNCLE
Pairing: Napoleon/Illya
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Hosted in Incognito
Why this must be read:
Because it's absolutely fabulous! And I am not so much addicted to superlatives. My top appraisal is usually "excellent" or "remarkable". Besides, it's not everyday you happen to read something where you wouldn't change a single word. Pushed to my limit, I'd go so far as saying that the "happy end" is somehow too happy for my conception of likeliness. But it's only me and I'm sure it would be a betterment for most readers. Otherwise the work is flawless.
Anyway, it's easy to get over any objection because the story takes place, if not in an alternate universe, at least in an alternate reality. Not that there were any irreducible contradiction with the admitted canon, but for the reason the stunning originality of the premises leaves the reader without his familiar landmarks. I can't tell anything about the setting and background of events and characters because the charm of the tale owes much to the slyness of the plot and the induced effect of surprise. If the e-zine Incognito should set out an emblematic example of its chosen theme, it would be this story.
Suffice to say it's a first person narrative, a difficult and perilous writing mode that gives the writer little freedom of expression and allows the reader to expect a more than fitting characterization. What is achieved here. We are enabled to hear the narrator's voice and it sounds so right that we can easily see the speaker's face and gestures, though they are not described, and sense the slightest slip of his mood and feelings though they are not always presented with total honesty.
Another remarkable achievement is the style, in perfect accordance with the narrator's uncommon personality and obliged double act: the mix of self restraint and boldness, calculation and ingenuity that defines the character is reflected in a text where the utmost economy of words and a cold objectivity is used to support and enhance the emotion. To quote the "marriage of fire and ice" is, assuredly, a terrible "cliche" but, here, I'd dare to do it, for it's completely justified. See by yourselves:
Dishevelled
Pairing: Napoleon/Illya
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Hosted in Incognito
Why this must be read:
Because it's absolutely fabulous! And I am not so much addicted to superlatives. My top appraisal is usually "excellent" or "remarkable". Besides, it's not everyday you happen to read something where you wouldn't change a single word. Pushed to my limit, I'd go so far as saying that the "happy end" is somehow too happy for my conception of likeliness. But it's only me and I'm sure it would be a betterment for most readers. Otherwise the work is flawless.
Anyway, it's easy to get over any objection because the story takes place, if not in an alternate universe, at least in an alternate reality. Not that there were any irreducible contradiction with the admitted canon, but for the reason the stunning originality of the premises leaves the reader without his familiar landmarks. I can't tell anything about the setting and background of events and characters because the charm of the tale owes much to the slyness of the plot and the induced effect of surprise. If the e-zine Incognito should set out an emblematic example of its chosen theme, it would be this story.
Suffice to say it's a first person narrative, a difficult and perilous writing mode that gives the writer little freedom of expression and allows the reader to expect a more than fitting characterization. What is achieved here. We are enabled to hear the narrator's voice and it sounds so right that we can easily see the speaker's face and gestures, though they are not described, and sense the slightest slip of his mood and feelings though they are not always presented with total honesty.
Another remarkable achievement is the style, in perfect accordance with the narrator's uncommon personality and obliged double act: the mix of self restraint and boldness, calculation and ingenuity that defines the character is reflected in a text where the utmost economy of words and a cold objectivity is used to support and enhance the emotion. To quote the "marriage of fire and ice" is, assuredly, a terrible "cliche" but, here, I'd dare to do it, for it's completely justified. See by yourselves:
Dishevelled
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Should I conclude from your comment it was not well done for the others? Beware!
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Blushing
I'm sorry its taken me so long to respond, but I only found out that this community even existed when someone emailed me and mentioned seeing the story rec'd here!
JJ
Re: Blushing