Recommendations
The Necessary Disclaimer:
These opinions are, of course, based in part on my own tastes and needs. As well, against my tiny molehill of recommendations you can measure a towering mountain range of brilliant sites, archives, and journals that I neglect for no other reasons than because I rarely follow most popular fandoms, am not well acquainted with many of the livejournal archives, don't read as widely as I'd like, or don't feel fit to judge. So my emphasis here is upon what I know fairly well: historic slash, rare fandoms, and original slash. All that written, these are a few places where I've had good luck finding fine stories.
Broad-based Archives:
Slash Cotillion. This is a great place to get to know new historic slash authors. The editors end their version of history in the fifties, so a wide range of fandoms are included.
Yuletide Treasures. As I've said elsewhere, this is my pick for the best archive of rare-fandom fiction. Amazingly, the stories are written as a result of an annual gift exchange. This story assemblage includes gen, het, and slash in both flavors, which makes it especially fun.
Original Slash Archives, Lists, and E-presses:
Forbidden Fruit. This original slash e-zine is posted quarterly. What better chance to try out some good authors for free before they disappear into the publishing-for-pay machine?
Torquere Press. Alas, they do make you pay. However, I prefer some of their ware to a number of the paper-printed genre authors on whom I used to waste money. Browse around, would be my advice, and then buy with care as you would with any publisher. There's several folks here who may make you very happy.
Uniquely Pleasurable. This site is a one-stop shopping place for listings, recommendations, and announcements about the original slash community. One or two of the icons make me grin, I warn you.
A Pair of Individual Author Sites You May not Know About:
The Android. Gosh, how I enjoy a good, old-fashioned, plotted, sweepingly slashy tale in an obscure fandom. This author has a tonne of them.
Dusk Darkling. I admit I beta this writer's stories from time to time. That's how I know they are so very excellent. Don't ever expect Dusk to avoid a topic because of current social taboos, but do expect the ethical aspects of actions to be explored. These tales are original, and tend towards the historic, the dark, and the leather-clad.
Some Multi-Fandom Authors I'd Wager You Do Know About:
Astolat. How can anyone be both this prolific and this good?
Dorinda. This is the fan author I want to be when I grow up.
Speranza. I hold this author personally responsible for my knowing more about certain T.V. shows than I'd ever otherwise believed possible.
Torch. When I first began in fandom years back, one of the first authors I happened across was Torch. Lucky me!
Recommendation Sites:
Bellonae. I have to admit, she lists my work, but I like her choices even so.
See Jane Read. Recs! A clearing house for recs! And yet, so much more.
Shrift and Nestra. As far as I can tell, these folks don't even know I'm out there, but I like their choices, too. Polyamorous means multiple fandoms, in this case.
The Fourth Vine. Somewhere out there is a fan who doesn't know about this witty recommender. To that person I write: don't waste time, just go see.
Also, as I hope you now know, many of the authors and groups listed above have recommendation pages of their own. I'd advise checking them out.
A Specific Fandom Recommendation that I Feel to be Fair:
Milk and Orchids. Did you enjoy the Nero Wolfe fanfic? Want more? Try here. The archive and links aren't quite comprehensive, but if the current archivist ever gets going again as the current archivist should *cough, cough*, they will come close.
Page Created January 20, 2006. Last Update February 17 , 2008
