Fic Rec: Bright Heart

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Title: Bright Heart
Author: ancientreader
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 5,800 words
Rating: E
Warnings: mentions of bestiality in the context of false rumors
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: At the center of the Labyrinth lives a monster — or so it’s said.

Reccer's comments: This fic was one of my favorites both of Holmestice and of 2015 as a whole. Ancientreader's prose is always extraordinarily well-crafted, and I was particularly impressed in this story with the realistic details of the Labyrinth and the way that the general outlines of an ancient culture shaped the characters in this setting without confining them. Both Sherlock and John are extraordinarily courageous, and the beginning of their love story is a tender victory in the midst of tyranny. I instantly adored these versions of the characters, and the style of this revisionist myth manages to be both lyrical and hard-hitting.

I had always intended to rec Bright Heart this month, but on my way home yesterday I was sad to hear of David Bowie's passing. I am of the generation that grew up with the film Labyrinth, and so today seemed the right day to celebrate mysterious, beautiful geniuses who linger in the heart of a maze.

Comments

[ancientreader]

*blush* *stammer* Thank you!

Bowie's death is so shocking I can't even feel anything about it yet. He was so important to me as a young queer person, and later in both our lives too. [Eh heh that makes it sound as if I knew him. No such luck.] It's unbelievable that he's gone.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

My pleasure! It's really a gorgeous story.

So many people over the last few days have said the same thing about Bowie, how he meant so much to them and they felt like they knew him. It's a tribute to him and his art that people connected to it all so powerfully. One thing I keep hearing is that he was really generous to other musicians, too.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Are you ancientreader??? I LOVELOVELOVE this fic, and most of what you write. I hope you have plans to turn pro and I can buy your books.

[ancientreader]

Thank you so much! Yes, that's me. You can tell by the rat. :^) I don't have plans to turn pro at the moment, but hey, that means everything I write is free!

[verdant_fire]

Seconding this! It's such a lovely, affecting fic. <3

I too was very sad to hear yesterday that David Bowie had died. :( He was such a creative genius that he seemed immortal. I was really moved by all the tributes online, and from hearing the stories of those who knew him, recounting what a generous and unpretentious person he was. His life, and even his death, were testaments to the power of art to inspire and give hope and make people feel less alone. He left a wonderful legacy. (I haven't been this sad over a celebrity death since Ray Bradbury passed away.)

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

<3 <3

Thank you for the lovely words about David Bowie, and now Alan Rickman, too. A sad week for all of us.

[verdant_fire]

You're very welcome! It's really been a bad week for beloved Brits. I am in the midst of an Alan Rickman movie marathon as we speak. :((

[dioscureantwins.livejournal.com]

I was hoping to rec this in the near future. :)Wholeheartedly seconded. What especially struck me in the fic is Sherlock's resignation to his fate. He's the epitome of noble suffering in this fic.

Also, Bowie wasn't that important in my life any longer but he basically helped me survive my teenage years so yes, I was very, very sad as well to hear he'd passed away.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sorry to have preempted your rec! I know your comments on the fic would have been lovely. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and appreciation and for seconding this.

What especially struck me in the fic is Sherlock's resignation to his fate. He's the epitome of noble suffering in this fic.

Yes, it wasn't until the second time I read it that I really grasped the astonishing speed with which Sherlock made the decision to trust John with his mother and to give up his own life to end Moriarty's horrible cruelties and 'sacrifices.' He was so very brave in this fic.

he basically helped me survive my teenage years so yes, I was very, very sad as well to hear he'd passed away.

I can't imagine a more meaningful tribute to his memory, and I'm so glad you were able to find some help when you needed it. <3

[shezan.livejournal.com]

That is a truly magnificent fic. I hope ancientreader turns pro so that I can buy books by hir.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Hear hear! We are so lucky to have this level of writing in the fandom.

[chapbook.livejournal.com]

I very much enjoyed this work, not least because labyrinth/mazes are such a powerful symbol. In Western Europe, the maze took on religious meaning as it was used to represent Christ's path through hell on his way to resurrection (see maze at the Chartres cathedral for ex). A number of composers who created sacred music for the Catholic Church used polyphony to evoke this maze, including J. S. Bach. Sherlock now can be connected to this tradition in this lovely fic, as well as in the Special, which featured an imagined maze (the one at the Carmichael's estate as well as the whole Mind Palace on a metaphorical level) with a monster (I'm considering the Bride here as Moriarty especially) that the hero must defeat to truly come back to life.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

How fascinating! I didn't know about that cultural history or the redemptive meanings that became entwined with the maze imagery. And isn't it an interesting variation that, in this fic's revision, rather than vanquishing any monster in the maze, Sherlock reveals that it is the maze itself and its tyrannical creator that constitute the real monstrosity. Lovely variations on these themes :)