A Crown of Stars, by Irisbleufic/Illustrated by Linnpuzzle (R)

[vulgarweed.livejournal.com]

Fandom: GOOD OMENS
Pairing: Aziraphale/Crowley, Anathema/Newt, ensemble cast, OCs
Length: Long one-shot, with epilogue and several 'aftermath' companion stories.
Author on LJ: irisbleufic
Illustrator on LJ: linnpuzzle
Author Website: collaborative community puzzlebleuink

Note: This community and everything on it is friendslocked, but membership is open. I asked the crack_van mods about this and they said it was OK.

Why this must be read:

This is the story that rocked the fandom hard in the summer of 2005, when the second wave was really getting going. The author/illustrator team had struck gold before with an earlier romantic story, but this one was especially distinctive and haunting and a bit controversial. "Second attempt at the Apocalypse" stories are a common subgenre, and some are very good and some are very bad, but this one re-envisions and realigns the sides in the battle, adds some pivotal and charismatic OCs, inflicts several intense gut-punches, and does it all with beautiful language and absolutely luminous illustrations. The author has said she was in part aiming for a dark feel heavy on the Neil side of the Gaiman/Pratchett spectrum, but I find her evocation of the dread and sadness - but occasional unpredictable miraculous hope - of war reminds me also of Tolkien.

Some passing familiarity with Gnosticism is helpful, but not necessary.

A Crown of Stars

Comments

[irisbleufic.livejournal.com]

*waves*

Writer/puzzlebleuink custodian here. I'll approve all comers for membership, in case you're concerned about that! And anybody can leave again afterward if they please, so as not to clutter up their communities memberships in the long run :)

And thanks, wow. What a lovely rec!