Fic rec: London Incarnate (Gen, G), by silverpard

[dogandmonkeyshow]

Title: London Incarnate
Author: silverpard
Length: 3368 words
Rating: G
Author's summary: There is London the City, and there is London Incarnate. Sherlock Holmes is important to both.



Reccer's comments: This is a beautifully-written, lyrical and insightful take on one my favourite story tropes: characters who are personifications. In this case, the premise of the story is that John is the latest in a two thousand year-long line of personifications of London. And when Moriarty threatens Sherlock, John-as-London responds to protect what it is important to it.

To my mind the greatest of the story's many virtues is silverpard's description of London as a sentient being: how it was born, its troubled growth and how it defeated madness by immersing itself in its human embodiments. It's obvious that the author has a deep knowledge of and attachment to London, and has a profound understanding of what cities are:

The moral of the story is this: humans are the city, but the City is not human.

...

Time, you see. Cities are made of lives and time.


The descriptions of John-as-London are simply wonderful:

Laugh lines, frown lines, a burn from childhood (he just never mentions that childhood was two thousand years ago), calluses from frequent handling of a gun (ever since the gun was invented, in fact), ugly new scarring on his shoulder a memento of war (Afghanistan or Iraq? but John is thinking of bombs on the Tube and quiet defiance, London drinks tea in your general direction), shaking hands and psychosomatic limp the easiest symptoms to spot on home-returned soldiers.

Every mark is a quick means of establishing the type of man he is in this Incarnation: gun calluses rather than sword, war wounds rather than work accidents, a surgeon with shaking hands rather than a butcher with steady ones, a military posture, a steady gaze, a limp that worsens when things about him are quiet and calm.

All told, this is a very unconventional Sherlock fic, as John and Sherlock's friendship is little more than alluded to, but it's a lovely tale, based on an interesting premise, and told with a masterful economy of words for maximum impact.

Comments

[book7brokemybrain]

OOOOOO! I have never even heard of this trope before! I am eager to read it! Thank you.

[dogandmonkeyshow]

It's very rare because it (obviously) pretty much eliminates the possibility of traditional shipping, and is incredibly difficult to master. This one's a real prize IMO.

[book7brokemybrain]

It was brilliant. I especially loved the final imagery. It felt almost Lovecraftian in how London is barely understandable or imaginable to humans.

[dogandmonkeyshow]

how London is barely understandable or imaginable to humans

In my experience, cities are. They're complex systems of people, topography, economy, climate, culture and technology, all modified by time; it seems almost cliche to envision them as living beings, but the analogy is obvious.

And yes, the imagery is Lovecraftian: London as a sentient beast arising from the depths of its own history.

[rachelindeed]

I love all silverpard's writing, and the anthropomorphic stories are particularly fascinating (the 221b horror story still makes me shiver years later!) I look forward to revisiting this lovely fic, thanks for the rec :)

[dogandmonkeyshow]

I don't usually read horror but for this writer I might give it a try. Cheers!

[rachelindeed]

I usually don't read horror, myself. But for this author, I also decided to give it a try :)

(It's this story, if you decide to take a look. I think I found it through a rec on this comm years ago, actually!).