The Sign of Three

[jennysdcc.livejournal.com]

Title: The Sign of Three

Author: emungere

Pairing: Gen

Length: 3490

Rating: No specific rating, but other than discussions of some serious themes I'd say a strict PG

Warnings: Minor character death

Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary: Mycroft takes his little brother to the park, where they meet John and pretend to be pirates. Story manages to be slightly depressing anyway. Sorry about that.

Reccer's comments: This fic. This fic. As my first time posting to this community I thought this would be the only appropriate option. It's short but sweet, and told from Mycroft's perspective which adds a great deal considering the context of the fic. Young John and Sherlock are adorably innocent, and yes it's a story about buried treasure, but it's also so much more than that. Desperately want a sequel to this set during the time of the series, but for now this remains one of my favorite fics in the entire fandom.

Bedside Manners by keelywolfe

[teatotaller.livejournal.com]

Title: Bedside Manners
Author: keelywolfe
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Length: 3800 Words
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Coming on to night shift was no different as far as Maggie was concerned than a daytime one. Oh, she knew that plenty of other nurses hated the night shift, had trouble sleeping, dealing with the ruckus of the drunken patients but it had never bothered her. The only really difference for Maggie was her caffeine intake and that increased plenty as the night went on.

Reccer's comments: I love outside POV fics and this recent offering from keelywolfe needs to be archived forever. You get a lovely hurt/comfort piece with a deliciously protective Sherlock and a wonderful birdseye view of John and Sherlock. Extremely well written and a very satisfying read.

On LJ
AO3

Fic Rec: The Prize

[swissmarg]

Title: The Prize - AO3 // LJ
Author: trillsabells
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length: 101,022
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: On 29 January 2010 an unknown Event wiped out 98% of the population. This is the story of the survivors, four months on.

Reccer's comments: So can you tell yet that I like AUs? ;) This is an AU in which Sherlock and John do not meet until after the 'Event', when the world has basically gone to hell in a handbasket. Sherlock is still a consulting detective, one of the elite, now ensconced in a relative paradise run by what is left of the British government (i.e. Mycroft), while John is familiar to us as a former army doctor trying to make his way on his own through the wreckage of civilisation. They meet, danger happens, investigations ensue, conspiracies arise, and sparks fly. Oh, and Moriarty is fabulously evil, and you will LOVE where his headquarters are.

This isn't a zombie!fic, which I only mention because that's what I thought at first from reading the author's summary and based on the current popularity of that genre. It's just your basic, straightforward post-Apocalypse, with gangs and guns and the ragtag dregs of mankind scrounging for fuel and safe food and water. And Sherlock swanning about with impunity, picking up DS games and nicotine patches.

One thing that really stands out about this fic to me is the world-building. I don't just mean the physical descriptions, but the author has worked out in incredible detail all of the many technical procedures and protocoll, the hierarchy, the geography, the floor plan, and many events that happen outside of the main plot, which we only hear about in passing, or are given small hints at. Taken all together, it makes the story incredibly realistic and vivid.

The other part I liked (of course) is the relationship between Sherlock and John. I would venture to say it's even more complicated and fraught than in the BBC version. I don't want to give everything away, but Johnlock shippers should be satisfied with the outcome, even while yearning for more.

It's a pretty long haul fic, at over 100,000 words, but another one that I couldn't put down and stayed up way too late reading.

On Boden, or the Nature of the Game

[iamshadow.livejournal.com]

Title: On Boden, or the Nature of the Game
Author: zihna
Pairing: Gen
Length: 1,101 words
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Verse:Ritchie films, specifically A Game of Shadows
Author's summary: He doesn’t have a ‘last thought’ before going over the falls. To have one singular last thought would imply that he is only capable of having one thought at a time, which is just preposterous. He has last thoughts, certainly, ranging from “two hundred and seventy-nine meter fall into thirty meters of water, will reach terminal velocity in approximately seventy-two meters” to “oh, what a lovely draft,” but one, singular, lonely little last thought?

Absolutely not.

Or, Sherlock Holmes on chess.
Reccer's comments: With all the excitement over Sherlock season two, there have been a number of great Game of Shadows fics that have been overlooked, amongst them, this little gem.This story explores Sherlock Holmes' memories and his thoughts on the nature of chess, strategy and sacrifice, against the backdrop of his plummet into Reichenbach. It gives an interesting extra insight into the pivotal balcony scene, and into Holmes and Moriarty's strategies in general.

While I know there's a lot of love out there for longer fics, I think this story works well at the length it is and says what it has to say in the amount of words it uses. In a way, it's a bonus for those of you with hectic schedules - it's a short enough length that any reader can make time for.