Heroes and Dr. Who fanfic recs

[selenak]

Sometimes, fanfic is just so good it takes your breath away.

The Story Everyone Knows is a Heroes/Sandman crossover. Given that we have a character who canonically has visionary dreams, it was only a matter of time, I suppose, but I never expected the result to be so stunning. Sandman on the one hand is a very easy for crossovers, given the very concept, but on the other hand, it's fiendishly difficult to capture what Neil Gaiman does with language, myths and ideas. sparrowette, in this story set during Peter's coma between Fallout and Godsend, pulls it off with incredible style, as she lets him encounter Death, Matthew, Cain and Abel, Eve, Lucien, the Corinthian and finally Dream himself. I'm still flailing.

Birds is the story of Charlie, before, during and after Hiro. Charlie was one of the most poignant and charming one-shot characters I encountered in a show, and this portrait both captures her and fleshes her out. Lovely.


Dr. Who

Two stories from writes I'm very familiar with in other fandoms:

Falling by taraljc presents Lucy Saxon between The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords; it's a wonderful, chillingly plausible portrait.

Ulysses by rheanna27 is a stunning AU resulting from two characters - John Smith and Martha Jones - making different choices in Family of Blood. Like the best AUs, it illuminates something about the characters in canon, and I love it.

Comments

[12-12-12.livejournal.com]

OMG. Now I'm going to have to read the entire Sandman series, because Dream-Travelling Peter? MUST. READ. How much does one have to know about the Sandman series to get the fic?

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, quite a lot. Which isn't the case with many a Sandman crossover, because usually only one or two of the Sandman characters appear. But this one references and features not only several of them but also the climactic ending, and I also think if you're not familiar with the backstory, the interpretation of the encounters will be quite different.

For example, at one point, Peter meets the Corinthian, and the Corinthian tells him: "There is more than one wolf, boy, and they're masters of disguise. You'll look them in the eye and not know it. (...) Be careful with your family, Peter Petrelli, and have them be careful with you." Now if you're just familiar with Heroes, you might assume this warning means Nathan and/or Angela. However, if you've read Sandman, you know the Corinthian isn't just any old nightmare, he's the one who inspires serial killers, and has a direct connection to them. Which makes this a warning about Sylar.

Anyway, Sandman is worth reading, from start to finish.

[12-12-12.livejournal.com]

OK. That's it. I have to read this fic, even if it means reading an entire comic book series to get it. :-)

*goes off to read Sandman*