When The House Falls Down by Sowell (NC17)

[qbic1.livejournal.com]

Fandom: NARUTO
Pairing: Naruto/Sasuke
Author on LJ: sowell
Length: Epic - 14 Chapters + Sequel
Author website: Sowell @LJ
Why this should be read:

sowell freely admits she was very unhappy with where the manga seemed to be going last year so she wrote this as her response. How I wish she were whispering in Masashi Kishimoto's ear. :) There may be a few spoilers if you haven't kept up but nothing you won't get in most any Naruto Shippuden fic.

When Team Kakashi finally manages to capture their wayward member, Naruto tries to use the team's love (platonic) to convince Sasuke of his rightful place back in Konoha. Can you guess how well that goes over? Full of angst, angst, and even more Sasuke angst, When The House Falls Down takes the reader through the 'Sasuke dilemma' - how to save Sasuke when he doesn't want to be saved?- from Sasuke's POV. It's a delicious take on the Uchiha mind. Very in-character with some delightful insights, sowell has made me like Sasuke again while reminding me why I liked him originally when he could be such a 'teme'. And as a bonus, she gave us a sequel also. Great author, incredible readability, smooth style, if you have the time I recommend all her fic but especially try

When The House Falls Down &
The Relic

Please leave feedback! :)

Comments

[eleanordarling.livejournal.com]

thank you so much for this rec!!! i was up till 5 am finishing it :) i really loved sasuke as portrayed in this fic. sometimes with narusasu fics, sasuke comes off really weak and that bugs me. that was not the case here.

the unfortunate side-effect, however, of having read an amazing fic is that you're left wanting more.... you see, i've been on a hiatus from naruto for a while... needed to catch up on H/D, clex and a few other OTPs, fall in love with SNP and *gasp* certain rps and re-read a few amazing books. but i am now eager to catch up on narusasu. which brings me to my question/favor... i loved this rec and i've read your other recs on this community that feature narusasu - clearly you have impeccable tastes - would it be possible for you to rec a few more narusasu, particularly those fics that came after shippuden began? other rec lists would work too. thank you so much!!

[qbic1.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you, thank you!!! I wasn't even sure anyone was reading the recs.

I have a few more coming, if I have time. But if you wish to explore on your own, I recommend the SasuNaru_exchange (http://community.livejournal.com/sn_exchange/). Some of the best new/present authors in Naruto Yaoi fic is writing over there.

I can also give you a lot of SasuNaru fics I'm reading but most of my favorites are WIPs. I had hoped that they would be finished but it looks like quite a few are never going to be completed. Breaks my heart! Let me know if you are interested.

Again, so glad you are enjoying them. If you liked When the House Falls Down, try Mirror, Mirror (http://sn-exchange.dreamwidth.org/1040.html#cutid1). While the tone is different, it's just as enjoyable.

[eleanordarling.livejournal.com]

thank you for the prompt response! and please rec if you have the time :) i'm still really excited to read new narusasu fics (and re-read some that i loved, but had forgotten - like walking corpse - loved it, well, except for the end...) while i prefer completed fics, good writing is good writing, so hit me with the WIPs as well. and i'll definitely check out sn_exchange. i didn't realize there was another sasunaru fic community on LJ :)

btw, i promise i'm not a creepy stalker, but i did take a peek at your userinfo and noticed that you are a fan of lois mcmaster bujold. me too~! miles vorkosigan was one of the first characters that i truly truly loved. recently i was at borders and noticed that BAEN is republishing her works in compilation volumes, so i picked up "young miles" which includes "the warrior's apprentice" and "the vor game" and am rereading the entire series. after all these years, i still love the world-building, the characters and the easily-digestible-yet-tightly-written prose. i don't know if you have ever read the nick seafort saga by david feintuch, but that's another good space opera series (only with way more pathos than the vorkosigan saga) and one that i'm rereading as well.

[qbic1.livejournal.com]

I've just put up the fic I've been saving all month, the wonderful zrina's The Sound of Dreams (http://naruto.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=600090805).

I wanted to rec Self Reliance (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2427539/1/SelfReliance) but since it is a WIP, I can't. It's a shame as it's so delightful fun - Sasuke doesn't trust anyone else to start his clan so he does it himself using Naruto as 'sperm donor' - it's probably the only mpreg in Naruto fic I've loved. And, sob, the author has made it clear there will be no more. She just stopped. She was getting hounded by fans ... and just gave up.

Of the au/ar/time travel fics, I loved Parallels (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2623185/1/Parallels) and can't believe I haven't gotten around to reccing it. Maybe someone else has??? I have also enjoyed The Road Less Travelled By (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2220769/1/The_Road_Less_Travelled_By), the author states it is not yaoi but it reads very lemony to me. The Price of the Future (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3757679/1) seems to be going the same direction but it's been so long since they updated ...

My favorite au is not a NaruSasu, it's actually a NaruHinata fic called Team 8. It's basic premise is 'what if Naruto was put in Team 8 with Kurenai - a jounin who actually cared about all her team - instead of team 7?' While Naruto is a bit OC at first, it makes sense as it goes along. The author is rarely updating, though. sigh

Changing from one maniac to another, if you enjoy the vorkosigan series, have you read any of the fan fic? A Deeper Season (http://lookingglass.thelightgetsin.com/adsfull.html) reads as if LMB wrote it. It is seamless. If you like Miles, definitely try it. It's the story I hold up to prove fanfic is just as good as pros work whenever a friends goes, 'why do you read that?' And the good news, it's got sequels.

As to your question, loved the nick seafort saga, although the final book broken my heart. I haven't been as impressed with his newer stuff, but oh, I love the earlier work. Do you read David Weber? How about Sharon Lee/Steve Miller? They write the most incredible scifi romances/space operas .

[eleanordarling.livejournal.com]

thank you thank you for the recs~! i don't think i've read self reliance, the road less traveled by or price of the future, so i'll definitely try those (sad to hear that one or more may never be finished - WIPs are quite prevalent in the naruto fandom, don't know why...). i've read parallels (good stuff, the authors have some other good fics as well) and the sound of dreams, but this reminds me that i should go back and re-read some of my favs, including parallels, though i'm not sure i'll go back to the sound of dreams. i was a bit conflicted reading it - loved the writing, the plot and the super hot smuttiness, but something about the characterizations didn't jive with me. naruto seemed a bit too serene and powerful while sasuke felt a little too childish and weak... the thing i love about this pairing is that no one ever seems to get the upper hand, and a nice tension is maintained through their relationship, it's pretty essential to me that they are both equally emotionally wrecked and physically skilled. thinking back a bit, i remember this one scene in the sound of dreams where sasuke is easily beaten by naruto in a sword fight... seemed off given that sasuke is the one with sword education... but all that aside, i think zrina is a great author and have enjoyed her other fics, including short pwps like qwiky lube :)

outside HP, i've never read fanfics based on published fiction, so i'm super excited to check out a deeper season. it sounds fantastic.

i agree with you on how the seafort saga ended. the penultimate book killed me - jared's death seemed sooo senseless - consequently i couldn't enjoy the last book either.... i enjoyed the still by david feintuch, but thought that the follow-up was kinda weak. i've read the honor harrington series and enjoyed it (which surprised me at the time, because i tend to prefer male protagonists and POVs, don't know why). i haven't read any sharon lee/steve miller, but i pulled them up on amazon and am intrigued by their liaden series. love love well written space operas. i'm always looking for a good book, so thank you for the rec!! if i can return the favor, don't know if you've read the chosen by ricardo pinto, but it's rather intriguing. totally brutal at times, but the prose is practically lyrical. plus, it's the first of a trilogy and the second book is actually better than the first. still working on the third.

[qbic1.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'm gone a few days, come back, and LJ doesn't love me anymore. How strange!!! Then it gives me 200 emails at once. :gaa

I recently re-read Sound of Dreams and never found a scene where they fight each other with swords. Is there a chance you could be thinking of another fic? One you could rec to me??? Please??? I'm running out of Naruto fic myself, now, since using so many as recs. Although I read a really good LeeGaara christmas fic yesterday. Gift Giving (http://community.livejournal.com/leegaara/522957.html) by reagan_1 is so adorable.

Hope you enjoyed A Deeper Season as much as I have. Don't forget the sequels. It has 1 really big one and half dozen extras that are so delightful.

I enjoyed The Still as well but was so disappointed in the sequel. While I enjoy the HH series, my favorite series David Weber does is the Dahak Series - starts with Mutineer's Moon - and The Bahzall Series - starts with Wind Rider's Oath - which is a grand fantasy series. Wonderful protagonists in the most interesting situations, original predicaments that make me laugh and cry and yell at the author - just grand. If you take my advice with the sharon lee/steve miller books - please yes yes, read the liaden series .. but read them in order. There is a giant omnibook, Partners in Necessity, that holds 3 of the novels. They are 5 star reads. Thank you for the pinto rec. He is on my to-read list now. Have no idea how I missed him but it sounds wonderful. Have you tried Jacqueline Carey? She's an incredible world builder, huge & involved. And her characters are amazingly alive.

Still keeping my eye out for new naruto fic.