Fandom: HOUSE
Pairing: House/Wilson
Length: long
Author on LJ: swordkat
Author Website: N/A
Why this must be read:

A woman is brought in to the hospital presenting with a rare genetic disorder that presents in male children. Then another woman is brought in with the same symptoms. And another. Obviously, none of these women should have the disease, much less all three.

This story, the first in a series, is really, really good. It's a case fic, a romance fic, and a mystery fic all rolled into one, and it works. Everyone's written in character, the dialogue is great, and the plot makes perfect sense. The rest of the series is just as good, so you should go ahead and read those as well. Then you should go and read all of her challenge responses, which range from drabble-length to multi-part series.

Infectious Personalities

You can find the list of her other House fic here.

Fandom:NCIS
Pairing:DiNozzo/McGee
Length: 2700
Author on LJ: shetiger
Author Website: Tigerlady's Twisted Thoughts

Why this must be read: The author loves this pairing and it shows. I love the glimpses into Tony's head as well as into Tim's.

They're not just in lust in this story. They're team mates, friends and lovers.


Tim's vaguely aware that the office lights have dimmed, that the ambient noise has died down to the dull hum of the florescent lights and occasional footsteps on the walkway above him. But he's completely absorbed by the program he's working on. It'll reduce the time on their internal database searches by at least ten percent--if this latest workaround doesn't blow up in his face.

Which is why he doesn't notice Gibbs at first. It's not until he lays the second sheet of paper on the desk that Tim comes out of his coding fugue. He looks up at Gibbs, but Gibbs simply taps a knuckle against the paper.

Tim doesn't get it at first. It's his requisition for time off next month. Just a Friday, and a Monday that's already a government holiday. He's about to ask if he made a mistake on the form, or if Gibbs has suddenly turned psychic about the cases they're going to get, when he looks at the other paper.

It's Tony's requisition--for the exact same days.


Story

See? I like and recommend gen stories too!  ;-)

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: none
Length: 164K
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website:  at Mackie’s Idol Pursuits  and at The Cascade Library
Why this must be read:   Because aren’t you sick of stories where Jim is feeble without his guide?
Outside These Walls

Like it? Send Jael some feedback, then go read the sequel  ”To Go Home Again”    

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Length: One-shot
Author on LJ: emmafic   
Author Website: Same as above.
Why this must be read:

It's lovely to see yet another fanfic writer from the "old school" coming out of retirement to write XF fic. Emma Brightman has always been one of my favorite writers, and she does not disappoint with Cells. This is a lovely story that chronicles a moment of change for Mulder and Scully in Season 7. It's written with grace and care and will give you a wonderfully warm feeling inside, like drinking hot cocoa on a cold day.


Cells

Fandom: TOUR OF DUTY
Pairing: Lieutenant Myron Goldman/Colonel Carl Brewster, Goldman/Sergeant Zeke Anderson
Length: 62090 words
Author on LJ: dawnchsr
Author Website: Notes From the Underground

Why this must be read:

“Prelude” features a very rare pairing, namely Lieutenant Myron Goldman and his charismatic commanding officer, Colonel Carl Brewster.  Goldman has just seen his lover, Alex Devlin, die before his eyes from a Viet Cong bicycle bomb, only the latest in a series of losses he has endured in his young life.  Unwilling to suffer more pain by being left alone from the death of someone he loves, he maneuvers to send his friend and platoon sergeant Zeke Anderson back to the States, little realizing how devasted that would leave him.  DC beautifully shows how Brewster reaches out to Goldman, and teaches him how to accept love and how to love.  She also does a remarkable job of interweaving the events of “Prelude” into the canon of the series.  This is a long, engrossing, thoroughly enjoyable read.

Prelude by DC

Tags: fanfic, tour of duty

Title: Kiss and Tell
Fandom: The Man From UNCLE
Pairing: Napoleon/Illya
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Some of her stories at CAGM
Why this must be read:

I have to confess that I, as an asexual, tend to gloss over sex scenes in fic and therefore don't tend to rec stories with a lot of sex in them. There are many other reviewers who are far better at noticing those things, anyway :) This piece by Blondie (and pretty much all of her other work), however, was too much fun to pass up and basically begged to be rec'd. This first time story is fantastically plausible with sizzling chemistry and dry wit, the way the best episodes were. There's an infectious playfulness of language, and our characters' clever mischief makes Napoleon and Illya more irresistible than ever. As sensual and glossy as this story is, there's some genuinely intriguing relationship dynamics and intimacy issues that keep you begging for more.

Kiss and Tell

There are more than a few people on my friends list who are there because I could not bear the risk of missing a chapter of one of their works in progress (or, indeed, any of their writing). Back in April, the emotional intensity of the first chapter of this story blew me away, and I signed on to alex51324's writing journal to be sure to catch the rest. I'd decided to leave it to someone else to put it on the crack_van some later month, to make room for me to recommend a story which was not post-COTW F/K NC-17, but then today I had one of the big trees in my orchard lose enough branches that I'll probably have to take it down, and and the truth of this story's RayK's words "…every minute of your life is different now” needed to be said.



Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Length: 294K
Author on LJ: alex51324
Author Website: Alex51324's stories at Due South Archive
Why this must be read: Because life goes on, loss must be accepted or at least endured, and sometimes there are ways to find a new trail. Because middle-age, on the whole, sucks, and it's the people around you who make it suck less.

( Fraser stared down at his soup, as if he hadn’t heard. Finally he said, I’ve come to realize that the difficulty of living a life stripped of all but the essentials is that I have nothing I can afford to lose. )

The Reaching Out One

Fandom: HIKARU NO GO
Pairing: None
Length: one-shot
Author on LJ: flonnebonne
Author Website: ff.net or fic tag
Why this must be read:

It actually amazes me that this author hasn't been recced here before! This is an amazing fic about the cranky old Kuwabara Honinbou's last day alive, and his voice shines fantastically through in this. Despite the theme, this fic just makes me smile in delight at Ogata, Oka, and the rest of the supporting cast! It's truly a unique piece of brilliance. ♥

( excerpt )

Kuwabara is Dead (Long Live the Honinbou)

DC Comics is out of drivers and about to be retired if we don't get some sign-ups (Really? After TDK?)

House, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pop Slash, and The Sentinel will be out of drivers next month, and many more fandoms will be out in November.

Sign up here before you favorite fandom ends up on blocks!

ETA: Links updated to AO3

Fandom: STAR TREK: VOYAGER
Pairing: Chakotay, Janeway, the whole crew
Length: series of stories and novellas
Author on LJ: none known
Author Website: Macedon's Taberna. I can't find a website for Peg, but she has written two stories published in the New Worlds anthologies, and one for New Frontier: No Limits
Why this must be read:

A remarkable "braided novel" of 8 stories and novellas which Macedon wrote in tandem with the equally remarkable Peg Robinson. Too sprawling (in the grand sense) in scale and reach to reduce to a mere synopsis; let us just say that this is Voyager unfettered and red in tooth and claw, such as Paramount with its nice tidy pander-to-the-demographics mentality could only dream of producing.

This is what the show could have been if they had allowed the characters to be real, flawed, but still courageous people. This is what the show could have been if they had allowed it to actually deal seriously with issues instead of platitudes. The writing is awesome, the characters and plot will grip you, and if it doesn't make you think, you have no brain. There are not words to describe the awesomeness of this series. When I read it, I stayed up all night to read the whole thing despite having to work in the morning because it was just that incredible.

Among the many issues that the TV series ignored or glossed over that this series does not:
1) the fact that Chakotay is an Indian from a tribe that has somehow managed to keep its identity as a tribe despite the fact that the Federation has screwed it over almost as much as the US did back in the white settlement of the West.
2) the fact that Janeway and most of the Starfleet officers, enlightened and culturally sensitive as they may be, still carry the backpack of privilege, still look at the world through that lens.
3) the fact that the Maquis are not Starfleet, and have their own identity and pride, and that is very different from Starfleet identity and pride.\
4) the fact that religion isn't just a nice bit of local color for the Indian character, but a true and deep faith.



Talking Stick  [Macedon]
Circle  [Peg]
A Cherished Alienation  [Macedon]
The Red Queen's Repose  [Peg]
Walking Across Egypt [Macedon]
Raisins and Almonds  [Peg]
Otterskin  [Macedon and Peg]
The Rose and the Yew Tree [Peg and Macedon]

Fandom: STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
Pairing: Odo/Kira
Length: medium
Author on LJ: lamardeuse 
Author Website: when the world is puddle-wonderful
Why this must be read:

Because lamardeuse treats Odo and Kira's relationship with all the sensitivity it deserves, never forgetting that Odo is not a solid and that Kira has good reasons to fear shapeshifters. Because Odo's shapeshifting abilities are written as part of him, and not as incidental, or used as cheap fodder for tentacle-porn. Because lamardeuse understands that while Odo's been pining for a while, Kira hasn't had much time to come to terms with their relationship. This is Kira, learning to truly see Odo. This is the two of them, working out how to be together.


In the Light of Morning

Title: Things Are What They Are
Fandom: The Man From UNCLE
Pairing: Napoleon/Illya
Author on LJ: irene_heron
Author Website: Partner Mine
Why this must be read:

It's practically criminal that not all of Irene's works aren't featured here, but rather selfishly it's better for me as a reviewer to find another gem of hers to rec. I never cease to marvel at her seemingly effortless lyricism and her deceptively leisurely plotting, not to mention the sheer joie de vivre, compassion and love for each other that our spy guys make contagious for the reader. She balances each man's point of view with a grace that I envy and expresses their unique sense of humor in a way that makes my mouth sore from smiling so much. If you need a mood pick me up or want to be reminded of what made you fall in love with this story in the first place, read this.

Things Are What They Are