The Fire by Francesca (Explicit - with Adult Themes)

[unbelievable2.livejournal.com]

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim Ellison/Blair Sandburg
Length: 14,937 words
Author on LJ: cesperanza
Author’s website: http://archiveofourown.org/users/Speranza/

Why this must be read: No excuses from me for another rec of Francesca’s work, but this story is far, far away in character from my first rec. Please don’t be put off by the realisation that it involves Jim and an underage boy. I almost failed to read on account of that (being one of my no-go areas) but was so pleased I stayed with it, because that element isn’t what you think it is. In fact, it’s not even what Jim thinks it is!
Not only is the writing, as usual, so perfect and atmospheric – Francesca conjures up another time, place and culture effortlessly: you can feel the heat and the dust -  but Jim and Blair are such fantastic characterisations here. I particularly like this Bair – an excellent cop, but still with that enormous depth of compassion and the guts to fight, and win, for what he believes to be right. Jim here, though, is a wonderful interpretation, a man tortured by a past he has tried so hard to escape and full of despair of what he thinks he might be. The premise of the story is quite, quite, believable, as are the reactions of both men to their inescapable fate as Sentinel and Guide. And it’s worth reading alone for Blair’s meltdown in the loft, at first hilarious, and then extremely moving.


http://www.trickster.org/francesca/fire.html