Fic rec: A House Already Haunted

[holyfant.livejournal.com]

Title: A House Already Haunted
Author: ficklepig
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/Mary Morstan, Mary Morstan/John Watson, Sherlock Holmes/Mary Morstan/John Watson
Length: 4059 words
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major character death
Verse: BBC

Author's summary: Helen Watson tells a ghost story.


Reccer's comments: Out of the fics I have read from the holmestice exchange, this is the one that has stuck with me the most. It's creative, innovative, well-crafted, mysterious and - fittingly - haunting. The language is suggestive, complex, and does a wonderful job of marrying content to form. You will find yourself thrown in and out of conversations, moments of connection between characters, memories,... And throughout it you will feel the deepening chill of the gentle ghost that is this story getting into your brain. It's hard to say very much about this story without spoiling it - just read it, I urge you. You will not be disappointed.

This was written before S3, so there are no spoilers in this story.

(Mods, could I have a sh/mary morstan tag, please? Thank you!)

Fanfic/Podfic Rec: Not Dying Today

[hardboiledbaby]

Title: Not Dying Today
Author: morganstuart
Reader: lunchee
Podfic: Link to mp3 and podbook downloads at AO3
Pairing: none
Length: 2,659 words/0:20:00
Rating: Teen and up
Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence
Verse: Sherlock BBC

Author's summary:
The first (and only) time John saw Sherlock and Anderson work well as a team without complaint, they were performing CPR on Lestrade.

Reccer's comments:
This, gentles all, is a nailbiter of a fic written post-S1 by an author who excels in angst, and recorded by a podficcer who can (and does) deliver the goods flawlessly.

morganstuart has written some of the most wrenching, heartbreaking fic in the fandom... but this is not one of those stories *g* By which I mean this one doesn't actually go so far as to break your heart. It does, however, retains all the qualities I adore about her fic: a suspenseful H/C-heavy plot, vivid action, and characters with great inner courage. lunchee is a fantastic podficcer, and her reading expresses the intensity and urgency of the story perfectly. I love her various character voices, but what stands out for me here is her John: John is injured and cold, and you can hear it in her performance of his dialogue, even as she keeps every word clear and understandable. Not an easy task, but she pulls it off with flying colors.

All the players—John, Greg, Sally, Sherlock, and yes, even Anderson—shine in this story. That's the way Morganstuart writes them and the way Lunchee reads them. Just beautiful.

TL;DR: lunchee + morganstuart = TWO GREAT THINGS THAT GO GREAT TOGETHER