Fandom: SUPERNATURAL
Pairing: Gen, action/adventure. Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester
Length: Novel
Author on LJ: big_pink
Author Website: Big Pink
Why this must be read:

“Red” is a horror story set in the cold and rain of the Pacific Northwest, in a milieu of loggers and tree-planters and tree-huggers, and the author writes as though she’s lived there and done all that. There’s a wolf of the supernatural variety killing tree-planters in the mountains. It’s the same wolf who in human form once prowled the urban landscape, preying upon desperate, poor children, including Dean.

This is a complex portrayal of Dean, and if you can’t get enough of Action!Sammy, this is the story for you. All the OC characterizations are excellent, notably that of the diner waitress who tries to save Young Dean from the predator. There’s a painful depiction of the hunger and poverty the boys endured as children. There’s Dean’s terrifying final confrontation with the wolf. There’s Sam pounding to the rescue armed with nothing but his knowledge of the Little Red Riding Hood tale. The way Young Dean takes care of Sam, and the way Adult Sam takes care of Dean, will get you all choked up. This is the kind of storytelling that sucked you into the show.

Kripke needs to buy “Red” and turn it into the 2-hour Supernatural movie, or at least publish it as a tie-in novel.

Red

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Length: 100K
Author on LJ: bluewolf458 
Author Website: Bluewolfen’s Bothy  and at Artifact Storage Room 3
Why this must be read: 


Mistaken Identity 
 
(ps -- authors thrive on feedback, please consider giving some for any stories you read here!)

Fandom: SUPERNATURAL
Pairing: Gen, horror. Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester
Length: Mid-length
Author on LJ: buffyaddict13
Author Website: LJ
Why this must be read:

Sam and Dean recuperate in a motel room after a hunt. It takes Sam (and the reader) an awful long time to figure out why Dean’s not getting well.

This is great writing. The pacing, the slow, skillful build-up to the revelation, the clever insertion of clues -- wow. An intense horror story that I think Stephen King would have been proud to author.

Frayed

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Gen, the sequel is Jim/Blair
Length: Long
Author on LJ: litgal
Author Website: Worshipping the Geeks
Why this must be read:

I'm hoping I'll get this last rec in before Crack Van shuts me down for the month. Real life caught me unprepared and I haven't been able to post as regularly as I hoped. But I hope you will enjoy the recs I've been able to make.

I LOVE Litgal! Her stories are intricately plotted, full of action, and beautifully written. I read them over and over. Shadows of the Past and it's recently posted (yipee!) sequel, Shadows and Siege, are crossovers with La Femme Nikita. Section is an ultra-secret, enigmatic and utterly ruthless multi-national organization. They know about Sentinels. They know about Jim. Every nightmare Jim and Blair had about discovery is coming true. This is a heart-in-your-throat story - full of despair and desperate measures with spot on characterizations. What more could a fangirl ask?

Answer - more stories from Litgal :-)

( Pssst! Check it out. )

Shadows of the Past
Shadows and Siege

Hi, I'm Paranoidangel, your Doctor Who driver for this month, when I'll be reccing authors that haven't featured in the Doctor Who section on Crack Van before. As my favourite stories feature Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan, expect plenty of those, along with other Old and New Who stuff.

Fandom: DOCTOR WHO
Pairing: Sarah Jane/Harry
Length: 2614 words
Author on LJ: orbythesea
Author Website: orbythesea's fics on Teaspoon
Why this must be read: I can't quite believe orbythesea hasn't been recced before because she writes such great Sarah & Harry stuff. But if I have to choose just one, it's Substitute. It's utterly heartbreaking, but of all the stories I've read, I think this is the most realistic look at what a relationship between Sarah and Harry would be like. And that just makes it all the more sad.

( Excerpt )

Substitute

Hey everybody. I'm TheSummoningDark, and I'll by driving the Mag7 crack van this month.

Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Pairing: Chris/Vin
Length: ~4K
Author on LJ: aukestrel
Author's Website: Unknown
Why This Must Be Read:

Well, firstly because it's hot. Very hot. And if that's not enough to set your fangirly heart aflutter, we also have dead-on characterisations of Chris and Vin, and a realistic look at their myriad flaws and the effect they have on a relationship. But more than anything else, it shows that for two people who understand and deeply care for each other, flaws can be overlooked.


( Excerpt )

'Seven Seconds' by aukestrel

Hi! I'm Gemma, and I will be your Buffy driver for the fabulous month of June. I hope I'll be able to keep on top of it this time. Pray for me!

Anyway, I'm a slaher, and a Xanman-fan. So alot of these are slashy, or with slashy overtones, and feature one Mr. Xander Harris. Hope that pleases at least some. On to the rec!

Fandom: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Pairing: gen; Xander/Dracula bff
Length: short
Author on LJ: Unkown
Author Website: Unknown
Why this must be read:

Because this is comicsverse, and it is adorable. For those of you who never read the comics, just picture this taking place sometime after "Buffy Vs. Dracula", where Xander and Dracula go out for a beer. If you WANT in on the comicsverse, take a gander at these scans, where Xander somehow accidently becomes Dracula's manservant again, this time with bloomers which isn't technically canon, and these scans with a raging alcholic Dracula who agrees to help Xander and the Slayers out of a tight spot, which is technically canon.

This follows shortly after the latter, and it's just too cute.

After the Wolves Have Gone

(and if someone could point me in the direction of ACTUAL Xander/Dracula slash, that would be just about the best thing ever.)

Hi, I’m Loz. I’m driving the crack_van for Life on Mars this June. I’m going to be recommending a cross section of Life on Mars fic, because I’m very much into gen, het and slash and I like multiple pairings.

Fandom: LIFE ON MARS
Pairing: Sam/Gene
Length: 3800 words.
Author on LJ: Dorinda
Author Website: Unknown
Why this must be read: This is a story that helps people who can't see the slash between Sam and Gene sit up and take notice. It's a tag to episode 1.06 and fits perfectly. It's plausible, it's beautifully written in a tight third that works for a drunken Sam, and has great character voices.

( Excerpt )

Some Living After We Die

Hello, everyone! I'm theladyrose, and I'm taking the Man from UNCLE van out for a spin this June.

Fandom: THE MAN FROM UNCLE
Pairing: Napoleon/Clara
Author on LJ: akane42me
Author Website: She generally posts at mfuwss
Why this must be read:

I have a soft spot for stories exploring our spy guys through the perspective of other UNCLE HQ staffers, and this piece is fast becoming a favorite of mine in this vein. akane42me has a gift for bringing out the humanity of our cool, battleworn heroes without seeming in the least cliché or melodramatic. Al might be one of the best damn OCs I've read to date, his deceptively simple voice belying a sharp eye and a humble sympathy. Her visceral portrayal of pain and how hotshot enforcement agents like Napoleon as well as the rest of we mere mortals process and cope with it will leave you breathless.

If your heart doesn't ache after reading this piece, then you might not have one.

Aching

Hi everyone, I'm horseriderjen and I'll be driving the Harry Potter van this month. 

Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Length: ~5k
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Velvet Crypt
Why this must be read: 
             This story is one of my all-time favorites in the HP fandom. We get a very hot dream of Harry's with some great trio interaction during the retelling of said dream by passing a note back and forth. The humor is very well written and Constant Vigilance's Snape voice is amazing.

Snape arranged his cup of tea so that he couldn’t bump into it during a hand-waving rant. He didn’t like to admit he had those. However, he had been the victim of his own pride one too many times by ignoring that he was bound to have one. And he despised spending even a part of his evening cleaning up soaking parchments after having lost his temper at the idiotic ramblings of some of his students.

Once that was completed, he settled himself into his hardback chair, dipped his quill in red ink and prepared to dissect the first essay. It would be Potter’s if he weren’t mistaken. It had been the last to be handed in. He grit his teeth. Might as well get the worst out of the way first.

At first glance, he was brought up short. “What the…?” He backed up and read the first few lines again. “Bloody hell, Potter,” he sighed, putting his quill down. “Are you trying to get expelled?”

The Note

Hi all! I'm your Lit Recs driver this month -- and we're doing the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer (fondly known as Smeyer).

I'm a pretty intense Jacob/Bella shipper, so that's going to be the majority of fics this month, but I read tons of UC fic, and basically you have a chance of seeing any ship this month as long as it's not Edward/Bella or Jasper/Alice or Emmett/Rosalie or Carlisle/Esme. Because the vamp ships are boring because the characters are boring. Though I may post some Edward/Rosalie, because that's always fun.

Thus, let us begin!

Fandom: TWILIGHT
Pairing: Jacob/Bella, Bella/Others
Length: 2100 words
Author on LJ: nekare
Author Website: fic
Why this must be read:

I think I have to begin with this fic because it so encompasses everything I love about my ship. It's humorous, and painful, and pretty, and an emotional journey above all things. It's about Bella finding her way and losing it and finding it again, and that's what Jacob/Bella is about. Thinking you have your life in a need and tidy order, happy and human and in love, and then you realize that what you had isn't all it's cracked up to be, and there's something better waiting, still waiting, at the end of the day.

That's what this is about. And, yes, it's also about various ships and things like that, but the point of it all is that Jacob is circular, he's in this fic twice, and, as it turns out, he's not the wrong guy, he's just the guy Bella said was wrong until one day she realized he was just right. I have read this fic many times -- perhaps too many. It is an old fic, really, back before the Twilight fandom seemed to quadruple in size, back before fics I classify as Classic got buried beneath newcomers. But it remains one of my favorites. Every time I read it, I am full of the flail that reminds me just how fabulous my ship is, even if Smeyer doesn't see it.

And end rant. Have an ( Excerpt )




Five Times Bella Swan Kissed the Wrong Guy

Greetings! My name is pink_bagels and I am your Pirates of the Caribbean driver for the month of June. Please place your tray tables in the upright, locked position, and ensure your seatbelts are correctly fastened. Emergency exits are at the top left hand side of your screen for Mac users, and the upper right hand corner for those on PCs. We are currently driving on laminate flooring at an altitude approximatly the height of a desk chair. Weather conditions are mixed, with warm sunshine eclipsed at intervals by the grey cover of violent ocean tempests. If you currently look out the left side passenger window, you will gain a glimpse of the pirate Jack Sparrow doing something naughty with a monkey and a banana and generally irritating both. On the right hand side, several flagships of the 18th century can be seen in the distance, accompanied by a large squid-like creature who goes by the name of Davy Jones. Since his proximity is close to the potc crack van, the afternoon lunch selection of calamari will not be served out of respect for our subjects.

We are proud to have you on board the Pirates of the Caribbean crack van, and we hope you enjoy your stay.

Fandom: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Pairing: Jack/OFC
Length: VERY long...Ongoing
Author on LJ: compassrose7577
Author Website: http://compassrose7577.livejournal.com/16521.html#cutid1
Why this must be read: compassrose7577 has an incredible handle on not only Jack's character, but also how he relates to his crew. Her settings are richly conveyed, her fight scenes excellently portrayed, and all on the backdrop of a pirate ship which is not only Jack's one true love, but also the home of his extended pirate family. Getting to know these side characters so intimately and how they relate to Jack is a wonderful expansion on his character. Yes, this story has an original character, but she is also well developed, and the suspenseful UST between her and Jack is played out to an almost tortuous degree. In my opinion, this shows a great deal of restraint on the part of the author, and by the time we do get our resolution, it's a sigh of relief for all involved :P.

This compelling story takes us places within Jack's past that had only been hinted at and not explored in the films, all on a rich backdrop of silly aunts, noble pirate friends and swashbuckling fight scenes. For anyone who is a fan of crisp dialogue and a tale that whisks one away onto the open sea, this has clearly been written for *you*.

Hello! goldenrat84 here, I'll be the Highlander crack_van driver for June. I am a huge Methos fan, so expect a lot of the ROG.


Fandom: HIGHLANDER
Pairing: Methos/OFC, Methos/OMF
Length: 4-part epic
Author Website: http://www.pipeline.com/~yvka/index.html

Why this must be read: This is a brilliant epic that features one/some really wonderful original characters, who have such indomitable spirit, particularly in the first part. Methos is showcased in this at different time periods, which also gives the fic a real sense of how he both changes and stays the same.

Starting with the first part, here's What's an Honorable Man?

Hi, I'm simplytoopretty and I'll be driving the Smallville van this month. Most of my recs will be either gen or Chloe/Clark, although nothing is set is stone. Let's get started.

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark Kent/Chloe Sullivan, mention of Clark Kent/Lana Lang
Author on LJ: h2osprincess
Author Website: Filling the Silence
Why this must be read:

In the sixth season of Smallville, the fact that Chloe was a meteor freak was introduced. h2osprincess expands on Chloe's meteor power in this series that starts with Murder of One. It's a series that can't be missed. It's a series that's both heart-wrenching and hopeful. The writing is beautiful and lyrical, never overdone. h2osprincess has a wonderful ability to capture emotion while staying true to the characters. She does both Chloe and Clark just in this series that explores death, survival, and love.

( Excerpt )

Murder of One

Hi there! I'm Dira, and I'm driving the bandom van (full of unwashed boys, merch, and interesting smells) this month! I am starting off with the very first bandom story I remember reading, which remains a favorite of mine to this day.


Fandom: BANDOM (Fall Out Boy/My Chemical Romance)
Pairing: Patrick Stump/Gerard Way, background Pete Wentz/Mikey Way
Length: 1,251 words
Author on LJ: misspamela
Author Website: MissPamela's fic tag
Why this must be read:

This story takes place during the "Summer of Like", when Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance were on Warped Tour together, and their respective bassists were, by all reports, very close. This story is funny, sweet, and hot, like a single freshly-baked cookie. It focuses on the lead singers, and gives a glimpse of the incredibly glamorous lives of rock stars on a summer tour.


Patrick suddenly realized that Gerard might not need or want to hear about his brother’s sex noises. “Our bus is, uh...”

“Crowded?” Gerard shook his head, his lips quirked. He gestured to the couch for Patrick to sit down. “Mikey and his romances, I tell you. Is he giggling? That’s the worst.”

Patrick shoved a stack of pens, a menu from some Thai place three states ago, and what looked like a tangle of silk scarves off the couch. “I’d offer a gag, but I’m kind of afraid they’d take me up on it.”

Easy