The Left Hand of Madness by Siubhan (NC-17)

[bradamante13.livejournal.com]

Fandom: STAR TREK: VOYAGER
Pairing: mainly Chakotay / Paris, but includes various others
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Siubhan’s House of Horror
Why this must be read:The first story in this multi-part Voyager epic is a classic, at least in my opinion. It has a typical set-up: Chakotay and Paris stranded together on a planet, with some hurt/comfort thrown in, but with a twist. And boy what a twist! The characters and backstories of Chakotay and Paris are developed well, and the plot and supporting characters are also quite good. But the best things about this story are the plausible reactions to a quite unthinkable situation.

The story continues as Chakotay and Paris return to Voyager and find their relationship challenged by their return to their previous routine. There’s an alternate ending to part 1 that takes the story in a completely different direction, and is quite interesting. The main story then continues in parts 2, 3, and 4, with an epilogue as well. Well-written, funny, and sexy, this series will keep you going through various twists and turns, and the payoff is well worth it. Unfortunately the stories are no longer available on the author’s website, so I’ve linked to them individually below from the main Star Trek archive.

Part 1
Alternate ending to Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Interlude
Part 4
Epilogue

Comments

[merelyn.livejournal.com]

Okay, I haven't even read this, but yay for you being the first person to rec a fic here with my favorite Star Trek pairing!

[bradamante13.livejournal.com]

Glad to oblige! Hope you liked the story, as well :)

[killabeez.livejournal.com]

Oh, such a classic! This gave me joy just to see it here. And I didn't even know Siubhan had a website. Coolness!

[bradamante13.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I love this story....glad others remember it fondly, too. And Siubhan's had a website for a long, long time, though it looks like she doesn't have her Star Trek stuff on it any more. Unfortunately.

[brightbeak.livejournal.com]

i initially read this when she was writing it, and had to wait for the various pieces, and oh what torture THAT was!
this is CLASSIC and one of the most rec'd C/P's on my list. it's a unique take on a plot device that ends up being NOT wank! (and when you realize WHICH plot device i mean, you will understand).

this one ROCKS! i re-read it at least once a year! :)

[bradamante13.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can imagine that being left hanging on this story in particular would be pretty hard! And I'm very impressed with how she handles this particular plot - as you say, it's usually done REALLY badly.

BTW, what's your recommendation list?

[siubhan.livejournal.com]

I'm glad someone's still enjoying this story. I can't read it anymore. It makes me cringe too much. I think the only stuff of mine from those days that I can still read is the comedy, because it's supposed to be cheesy.

[brightbeak.livejournal.com]

of the genderbender's i've read, this one still holds up remarkably well under scrutiny! yeah it's got issues, but hey, they're tolerable! and nowhere near as cringe-worthy as some of the other ones i've read that had me screaming for mercy (and brain-bleach) only part-way thru!
so, while you may have trouble going back to it, it still DOES hold up as a fic worthy of read if genderbender is your thing :) IMHO of course :)

[siubhan.livejournal.com]

I am astonished that people are still reading this series. It's both gratifying and embarrassing. Gratifying for the obvious reasons, but embarrassing because there are so many bits of purple prose and bad craft that I'd love to edit out of it. I tried rereading it recently and got so cringey that I had to put it down :P

But thank you.

[bradamante13.livejournal.com]

You're most welcome, and thanks for writing this series! I think it stands up quite well, and the prose didn't seem at all purple to me :) This really is one of my favorite Voyager stories, and when I was looking for it to recommend I couldn't remember your name or the story's title, just that both were "memorable". So it took quite a bit of trolling through the trekiverse archives to find it, but it was certainly worth it!

[twinkeeper.livejournal.com]

This is totally a classic... Sure, slash stories have grown and gotten more sophisticated, but this old, classic genderfuck stays in my memory forever. I'm totally happy to see Siubhan's comments above this... You're still around! Now, if someone can get me that funny Chakotay/7 one she wrote....(the one where she realized there are things like PMS in a cave???)

[jun_nights]

For working links to the story; https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Left_Hand_of_Madness (external links)