where his civilizations, including our own

If you know Pirates of the Caribbean but you don't know rexluscus, I have a treat for you.

Between Wind and Water is a completed Jack/Norrington novel that she is posting by chapter. Three chapters have been posted so far, and I simply can't wait for the rest. [eta: omg chapter 4! *tackle* *devour*]

It's plotty and well-paced, with an amazing ear for voice and character. It's beautifully researched and the setting and culture(s) are an integral part of the story, not tacked on as is so often the case with historical fandoms. There's rich stuff about sailing and naval battles that I, a complete Age of Sail n00b, could actually enjoy (and I usually skim past action scenes!). Like a well-rounded movie director, she is equally skilled at loud and quiet scenes, and weaves them together with great confidence.

Most important of all, the canon characters are dead on. I think this fandom is unusually demanding of a writer, because of what the movies are, and what kind of characters we're dealing with. But she just gets it; I've not heard a false note yet.

So, um, I like it. If you even kinda remember the first movie (which is all the canon this story adheres to), I think you should start reading it. You won't be sorry.

Unfortunately, most of the Yuletide fics people have really been raving about are for source materials I don't know. But I went through those I did know and read quite a few fics, most of which were nice but forgettable. There were two that stood out.

The shadows cast behind you by karanguni PG (The Left Hand of Darkness)
Short but dense and multi-layered. The author is clearly intimate not only with the character and the world, but with Le Guin's style -- rich and very particular about sensory things, yet also cuttingly direct. It really made me want to re-read the book.

The Aunt and the Ankh by shadow_truths PG (Jeeves & Wooster series)
Funny! A very confident author here, who can certainly do Wodehouse's style, but it isn't just an imitation; they go at it with a rougher, more worldly sensibility that makes the sexual aspects (which are thankfully not overdone) seem fitting and natural. There are always J&W fics in Yuletide that are written with skill, but so many of them try too hard to splice Wodehouse together with fandom and fall flat on their faces. The author of this one avoided the pitfalls. I wish they would, as the saying goes, rite moar.


eta: Gotta love pepysdiary today. "To church in the morning, and there saw a wedding in the church, which I have not seen many a day; and the young people so merry one with another, and strange to see what delight we married people have to see these poor fools decoyed into our condition, every man and woman gazing and smiling at them."

eta2: authors