Fic Rec: Lashkar Gah
Aug. 3rd, 2014 10:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frozen_delight posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
221b_recsTitle: Lashkar Gah (also on AO3)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sjames_centre (Susan on AO3)
Pairing: None
Length: 4,600 words
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: The dream is back. It’s a nightmare that’s been following him since Afghanistan, crossing countries and time zones with him. It will go away for months, and then every night for three weeks straight, it'll shock him awake with a gasp and a jolt. Sometimes a hollow scream.
Reccer's comments: This fabulous story is set post The Great Game and explores how John is fighting with his PTSD after being wrapped up in Semtex and how Sherlock helps him deal with it. It's perfect in so many ways that I don't even know where to start praising it properly. Here's just a couple of things:
- The topic of John's PTSD is handled beautifully. The way we're shown how he slowly gets better is absolutely convincing without ever reading like a psychologist's dissertation on the subject.
- The characterisations of both Sherlock and John are marvellously in character. Even though we're shown a John who is at his lowest, he's still undeniably John. The same thing goes for Sherlock: He takes care of John in his own unique fashion because he sincerely cares for his friend, but at the same time there's also a slightly experimental approach to his treatment of John, because naturally he finds him an intriguing object of study. Accordingly, the friendship between Sherlock and John rings true too with all of its complications and contradictions, brilliantly reminiscent of the whole first season and the delicate way it was handled there.
- The dialogue is simply spot on and often manages to be incredibly witty despite the serious themes the story deals with. Again, this is beautifully in line with the first series of Sherlock I think.
In sum: A must-read for all those who love to read a good gen fic with a strong focus on Sherlock and John's friendship as well as for those who miss the good old days of Season 1.
Author:
sjames_centre (Susan on AO3)Pairing: None
Length: 4,600 words
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: The dream is back. It’s a nightmare that’s been following him since Afghanistan, crossing countries and time zones with him. It will go away for months, and then every night for three weeks straight, it'll shock him awake with a gasp and a jolt. Sometimes a hollow scream.
Reccer's comments: This fabulous story is set post The Great Game and explores how John is fighting with his PTSD after being wrapped up in Semtex and how Sherlock helps him deal with it. It's perfect in so many ways that I don't even know where to start praising it properly. Here's just a couple of things:
- The topic of John's PTSD is handled beautifully. The way we're shown how he slowly gets better is absolutely convincing without ever reading like a psychologist's dissertation on the subject.
- The characterisations of both Sherlock and John are marvellously in character. Even though we're shown a John who is at his lowest, he's still undeniably John. The same thing goes for Sherlock: He takes care of John in his own unique fashion because he sincerely cares for his friend, but at the same time there's also a slightly experimental approach to his treatment of John, because naturally he finds him an intriguing object of study. Accordingly, the friendship between Sherlock and John rings true too with all of its complications and contradictions, brilliantly reminiscent of the whole first season and the delicate way it was handled there.
- The dialogue is simply spot on and often manages to be incredibly witty despite the serious themes the story deals with. Again, this is beautifully in line with the first series of Sherlock I think.
In sum: A must-read for all those who love to read a good gen fic with a strong focus on Sherlock and John's friendship as well as for those who miss the good old days of Season 1.
