Birth-Day by Xanthe (NC-17)

[georgiesmith.livejournal.com]

Well, this is it - my last rec of the month. I wanted to thank everyone for their kind words of support and hope that you found at least a couple of new stories to read or old favorites to re-read. I urge you to leave comments for the stories you like no matter how long ago you first read it. Fan fiction authors are only 'paid' in reaction from readers and you never know if something you say might spark their muse to write more!  So take a little time out of your day to go back to your favorite stories and leave a comment for the author to let them know how much you enjoy their work.

I'm certain that jirel will have a lot of great recs for all of us to enjoy next month. As for me,  I'll be switching gears as I take over driving The Man from U.N.C.L.E. van for October.

Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Gibbs/DiNozzo
Length: 11,000 or so words
Author on LJ: xanthestories is her story journal
Author Website: Xanthe Stories
Why this must be read:  I can't say that I'm a big reader of AU fan fiction. There's a lot of really good ones out there but in my estimation the best ones all have the same thing in common - even though its setting is AU the characters are still the people from the show that we've fallen in love with. It might seem prejudicial of me, but I won't even consider reading an AU story by an author who hasn't written a couple of stories in the show's original setting. I need to know that they have a handle on the characters as they are before I dedicate the time to go on an AU journey with them.

With xanthelj, there was never any such fear. Her previous work has shown time and time again that she has a deep understanding of all of the characters with a special emphasis on her take on Gibbs and DiNozzo - as individuals and together. From the moment I read she was doing a vampire story I knew that she wasn't going to turn Gibbs into some sparkly creature of the night, but that he would be the same rough, gruff, deadly man we've all grown to love and admire over the years just with something extra. She creates a believable vampire subculture with only snippets of information so that Tony, and hence we the readers, can follow what's going on but are still left yearning to learn more.

I love a good vampire tale and therefore I love "Birth-Day".  (And if we're all nice maybe xanthelj will grace us with more stories in this marvelous universe she's created.) Seriously, if you love vampire stories and even if you only have a passing knowledge of NCIS you'll adore this story. Trust me.


Birth-Day



P.S. - For those of you wondering, it really is a totally happy coincidence that part one of Xanthe's new story Soul Deep is debuting tomorrow.