Fic Rec: The Beast of Baskerville

[swissmarg]

Title: The Beast of Baskerville
Author: Mildredandbobbin / mildred_bobbin
Pairing: Sherlock/John, Harry/Clara, others
Length: 74,550 words
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Character death
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: 15th Century/fairy tale AU. An invalided John Watson comes to the isolated village of Baskerville seeking shelter with his sister, only to find himself embroiled in a grisly murder. As the villagers point to a local werewolf legend, the odd but brilliant friar, Brother Sherlock, disagrees, and soon he and John are on the the trail of a very human murderer. As the killer takes another victim, fear and suspicion grips the village, culminating in the arrival of Inquisitor, Friar James Moriarty, who proves more terrible than any supernatural beast could ever be.

Reccer's comments: mildred_bobbin has written several great fics in this fandom, but this is definitely my favorite so far. It's a medieval AU which is a melange of the first two series of Sherlock, Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, Janet Lewis's The Wife of Martin Guerre and the 2011 Red Riding Hood movie. It's a tightly plotted, well-paced ensemble piece, veering away from the usual main supporting characters of Lestrade and Mycroft to give larger parts to rarer characters such as Harry, Clara, Henry Knight, Robert Frankland, and Louise Mortimer. Irene as the Mother Abbess is a pointed provocation, and Molly and Moriarty shine in their respective roles as midwife and Inquisitor too, but the real stars are, of course, Brother Sherlock as a keen-eyed Franciscan friar and Master Watson as a peasant foot soldier recently returned from Granada (not only a nod to Granadaverse, but also a real war waged in the late 1400's).

The driving force of the story is the series of horrific deaths plaguing the small village of Baskerville. A werewolf is the supposed culprit, but Sherlock sees a mortal hand and sets out to gather his evidence, with John's help.

"Master Watson, what are your thoughts?"

John nodded and crouched beside the friar. "Something's taken her throat, and there's the stomach wound, but there's not much blood. Should be more for so much damage - she must have been moved?"

"Good, John, carry on, what else?" The friar answered absently, as if he were only half listening.

John shook his head and tried again. "So...she's been moved, dragged here by the wolf?"

The friar lifted the victim's feet gently, and then examined the ground beneath them.

"And if it wasn't a wolf?" The friar turned to look at John, gaze keen and alight.

"Moved here for a wolf?" John suggested.

Brother Sherlock's lips quirked into something only like a smile, but his eyes, fixed on John's face for that instant, signaled his approval.

One thing I thought the author did really well was to make use of the beliefs and superstitions of the era, especially the quotes from the Malleus Maleficarum at the start of every chapter. There are also nice period details for flavour, but it's not so overflowing with references and research that it feels like reading an academic treatise.

The secondary plot is the relationship between Sherlock and John. Due in part to Sherlock's vows and in part to the societal attitude toward homosexuality, it's obviously not an easy road, but I thought the author handled it with respect and not at all in a sensationalist manner. I thought it was a brave move to cast Sherlock as a truth-seeker and rational thinker who nonetheless takes his vows seriously and does try to adhere to the good core of the Church's teachings. He is in fact a heretic for the time period, but not because he is actually an atheist or humanist (or at least his character didn't come across that way to me).

Finally, the story has been illustrated throughout by some very talented artists: kikislasha, BlueStoneArcher, and khorazir. The art alone would be worth a rec.

In addition to the character death warning (neither of the two leads, but multiple canon characters), there is torture, gore, and mention of non-con. I also really want to add a special warning for
the murder of unborn children
because I think it could be quite upsetting for some readers.

Comments

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

I second this rec! I followed along as the chapters were published and I think it's a really gripping story with a surprising and satisfying resolution.

I really love how the author kept to period with everything. Brother James of the Inquisition is about as scary as it gets!!!

[swissmarg]

Yes, he is wonderfully evil!

[bk7brokemybrain.livejournal.com]

I've been watching this post, waiting for it to be complete. Then I balked at reading yet another huge fic right now, however.... You have convinced me. It's too hot and sunny to go outside anyway (until autumn). Thank you for the rec and the nudge into the direction I should have gone on my own.
Nummy friar sex, here I come.

[swissmarg]

I hope you enjoyed it, although I'm not sure how well it will cool you down...

[mildred-bobbin.livejournal.com]

Oh thank you so much for this lovely rec for Beast. I was so thrilled to read your thoughts and I'm so glad you enjoyed it so much.

Thank you for this especially: I thought it was a brave move to cast Sherlock as a truth-seeker and rational thinker who nonetheless takes his vows seriously and does try to adhere to the good core of the Church's teachings. He is in fact a heretic for the time period, but not because he is actually an atheist or humanist (or at least his character didn't come across that way to me). Because YES that's what I was aiming for and I'm so glad it came across. And I'm so pleased that the relationship between John and Sherlock came across as respectful.

Thank you again!

[swissmarg]

You're very welcome. I could tell you put a lot of effort into the story and writing, and it was well worth it.