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There's a Land of Begin Again by Chamekke (PG-13)
Hello! I am Loz. I'm here for another stint behind the Cortina Crack Van. I'm going to rec mostly gen, femslash, poly and het this month, simply because I can.
Fandom: LIFE ON MARS UK
Pairing: Gen
Length: 21,660 words.
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chamekke
Author Website: LJ Masterlist/On AO3
Why this must be read: Sometimes you read a story that you never want to put down. Sometimes you read one that is so touching it makes you cry. Sometimes you read one that boggles your mind with how clever it is. And sometimes, if you're very lucky, you read There's a Land of Begin Again, which does all three. Chamekke has written a rich, engaging story that is at times both gut-wrenching and comedic, beautiful and brutal, mind-bending and sense-making.
Towards the end of the second series of Life on Mars the suggestion is given that the protagonist Sam Tyler is actually Sam Williams, a man of his time who is suffering amnesia and delusion sparked by a recent car accident, triggering memories of the collision that killed his parents in 1950. In the show this storyline is ultimately a red herring, but in this story it is explored in depth. 'After the jump' Sam finds himself waking up as a twelve year old boy in hospital in 1950; not as Tyler anymore, but Williams. And who should be in the bed next to him but a teenaged Gene Hunt, a young man who has to deal with an alcoholic, physically abusive father.
The thing that impresses me so much about this fic is that the characterisation, the dynamics, and the plot are entangled in the world of Life on Mars, they absolutely inform one another, and yet the level of well-researched detail and the cleverness of the story can make this an enjoyable read even if you've never seen the show.
Every time I read this story I notice something new. Every time I am transported to another world. Every time I feel all the feelings. It's a brilliant read.
So why would I come back here, to 1950? And as Sam Williams, of all people?
Another voice sounds in his head, familiar and sardonic. Got a good grasp of the obvious, haven't you, Einstein? To save my life, for starters.
Sam blinks. Well, there is that.
But isn't it just a bit ironic to be saving Gene's life in 1950, only to betray him fatally in 1973?
Well, maybe you're meant to prevent that, too... Sherlock.
"So," Sam says aloud. "You're saying I was meant to come back to 1950 and slow-forward to 1973. And then do what, exactly? Do things differently the second time around? Try to remember that I'm 'really' Sam Williams? Confess the first time I meet you that I'm really working for Morgan?
"'Cause the trouble is, guv," he adds softly, "I'm not even sure if this is real... much less whether that was."
There's a Land of Begin Again
Fandom: LIFE ON MARS UK
Pairing: Gen
Length: 21,660 words.
Author on LJ:
chamekkeAuthor Website: LJ Masterlist/On AO3
Why this must be read: Sometimes you read a story that you never want to put down. Sometimes you read one that is so touching it makes you cry. Sometimes you read one that boggles your mind with how clever it is. And sometimes, if you're very lucky, you read There's a Land of Begin Again, which does all three. Chamekke has written a rich, engaging story that is at times both gut-wrenching and comedic, beautiful and brutal, mind-bending and sense-making.
Towards the end of the second series of Life on Mars the suggestion is given that the protagonist Sam Tyler is actually Sam Williams, a man of his time who is suffering amnesia and delusion sparked by a recent car accident, triggering memories of the collision that killed his parents in 1950. In the show this storyline is ultimately a red herring, but in this story it is explored in depth. 'After the jump' Sam finds himself waking up as a twelve year old boy in hospital in 1950; not as Tyler anymore, but Williams. And who should be in the bed next to him but a teenaged Gene Hunt, a young man who has to deal with an alcoholic, physically abusive father.
The thing that impresses me so much about this fic is that the characterisation, the dynamics, and the plot are entangled in the world of Life on Mars, they absolutely inform one another, and yet the level of well-researched detail and the cleverness of the story can make this an enjoyable read even if you've never seen the show.
Every time I read this story I notice something new. Every time I am transported to another world. Every time I feel all the feelings. It's a brilliant read.
So why would I come back here, to 1950? And as Sam Williams, of all people?
Another voice sounds in his head, familiar and sardonic. Got a good grasp of the obvious, haven't you, Einstein? To save my life, for starters.
Sam blinks. Well, there is that.
But isn't it just a bit ironic to be saving Gene's life in 1950, only to betray him fatally in 1973?
Well, maybe you're meant to prevent that, too... Sherlock.
"So," Sam says aloud. "You're saying I was meant to come back to 1950 and slow-forward to 1973. And then do what, exactly? Do things differently the second time around? Try to remember that I'm 'really' Sam Williams? Confess the first time I meet you that I'm really working for Morgan?
"'Cause the trouble is, guv," he adds softly, "I'm not even sure if this is real... much less whether that was."
There's a Land of Begin Again
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