The Best Damn Fics You've Ever Read.

[random_npc]

The Litany of Earth - Reactor

The state took Aphra away from Innsmouth. They took her history, her home, her family, her god. They tried to take the sea. Now, years later, when she is just beginning to rebuild a life, an agent of that government intrudes on her life again, with an offer she wishes she could refuse. "The...

www.tor.com

This story inverts the usual perspective of lovecraftian writing: This is the story of a woman with the blood of the Deep Ones, decades after the goverment crushed Innsmouth and other such "Aeonist" groups during the Japanese Internment Camps. Even the "Aeonists" that were just trying to get along with their quiet lives with their own quiet little religion.

This summary really isn't doing the story justice so I hope someone else comes up with a better one.

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I'll second this. Its a very humanizing look at the typical eldritch cultist, and its quite well written.

 

[Epsilon Rose]

The Litany of Earth - Reactor

The state took Aphra away from Innsmouth. They took her history, her home, her family, her god. They tried to take the sea. Now, years later, when she is just beginning to rebuild a life, an agent of that government intrudes on her life again, with an offer she wishes she could refuse. "The...

www.tor.com

This story inverts the usual perspective of lovecraftian writing: This is the story of a woman with the blood of the Deep Ones, decades after the goverment crushed Innsmouth and other such "Aeonist" groups during the Japanese Internment Camps. Even the "Aeonists" that were just trying to get along with their quiet lives with their own quiet little religion.

This summary really isn't doing the story justice so I hope someone else comes up with a better one.

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I'm not sure if that should qualify. While the short version you linked is available for free, it seems to be some sort of intro or preview for Winter Tide, which is a commercially published book by the same author.

 

[Arawn_Emrys]

I'm not sure if that should qualify. While the short version you linked is available for free, it seems to be some sort of intro or preview for Winter Tide, which is a commercially published book by the same author.

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It's a stand alone short story written using the base setting of another author, Lovecraft in this case, and put out for free. The fact that the author went on to publish more in that setting is simply down to Lovecraft welcoming people to write in his world, a rare thing in literature, and possibly the man's only redeeming quality.

 

[Epsilon Rose]

It's a stand alone short story written using the base setting of another author, Lovecraft in this case, and put out for free. The fact that the author went on to publish more in that setting is simply down to Lovecraft welcoming people to write in his world, a rare thing in literature, and possibly the man's only redeeming quality.

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Sure, but the same thing could be said about A Study in Emerald, by Neil Gaiman, which is a crossover between Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraft and also available for free. It's very good, which shouldn't surprise anyone, but I don't think it should qualify either.

 

[veteranMortal]

Sure, but the same thing could be said about A Study in Emerald, by Neil Gaiman, which is a crossover between Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraft and also available for free. It's very good, which shouldn't surprise anyone, but I don't think it should qualify either.

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Why not? It is a fanfic?

 

[Anzer'ke]

possibly the man's only redeeming quality.

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In fairness to him, Lovecraft did eventually mature enough to scorn all the insane bigoted shite he spent most of his life on. Improving significantly, if not necessarily by as much as he needed to.

Unfortunately he died the same year.

 

[TheUnicorn]

It's a stand alone short story written using the base setting of another author, Lovecraft in this case, and put out for free.

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I think the question is, was it published professionally, i.e had a professional editor clean it up, or was this just what the author was capable of on his own? In the later case I think you can make the recommendation (haven't read it yet to judge if it's worth adding to the list, but it should be considered on it's merits). In the former if you consider this story you need to consider everything in Project Gutenberg.

 

[Epsilon Rose]

Why not? It is a fanfic?

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I'm not sure if a work by a professional author that uses public domain sources for its setting and character should really be considered fanfic in the same way a hobbyist writer putting out something set in their favorite universe (or using the same public domain sources) is. However, the main issue I have is that it's coming from a professional writer. You would generally expect them to be leagues better than a hobbyist, especially if they can benefit from a professional editor helping them, whether that's because the editor's being paid or because they're friends and both consider the story interesting.

It's a bit like a professional athletes coming to a community tournament: they might follow the rules, but it won't be fair to everyone else and they'll dominate the leader boards.

I think the question is, was it published professionally, i.e had a professional editor clean it up, or was this just what the author was capable of on his own? In the later case I think you can make the recommendation (haven't read it yet to judge if it's worth adding to the list, but it should be considered on it's merits). In the former if you consider this story you need to consider everything in Project Gutenberg.

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It says Carl Engle-Laird edited the short story and it's worth noting that Tor is the publisher of the book, so it's not like the story was posted to some random literary website.

 

[Oshha]

I'm not sure if a work by a professional author that uses public domain sources for its setting and character should really be considered fanfic in the same way a hobbyist writer putting out something set in their favorite universe (or using the same public domain sources) is. However, the main issue I have is that it's coming from a professional writer. You would generally expect them to be leagues better than a hobbyist, especially if they can benefit from a professional editor helping them, whether that's because the editor's being paid or because they're friends and both consider the story interesting.

It's a bit like a professional athletes coming to a community tournament: they might follow the rules, but it won't be fair to everyone else and they'll dominate the leader boards.

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That doesn't mean it doesn't meet the criteria. If it is good enough to meet these criteria, then it should be counted regardless of how professional the writer is. This isn't a competition. There is an certain number of slots to win or a prize that is being competed for. We are establishing a list of stories that meet a certain set of standards and if we can get more stories that meet those standards, then that is a good thing.

I'm also sceptical that of the idea being a professional author means that they are better than a hobbyist writer. That might be the case in theory, but in practice, I've seen some fanfic authors that I would consider far better writers than some professional authors.

 

[Epsilon Rose]

That doesn't mean it doesn't meet the criteria. If it is good enough to meet these criteria, then it should be counted regardless of how professional the writer is. This isn't a competition. There is an certain number of slots to win or a prize that is being competed for. We are establishing a list of stories that meet a certain set of standards and if we can get more stories that meet those standards, then that is a good thing.

I'm also sceptical that of the idea being a professional author means that they are better than a hobbyist writer. That might be the case in theory, but in practice, I've seen some fanfic authors that I would consider far better writers than some professional authors.

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I'm saying that "Is not professionally published" or at the very least "was not a professionally published work with a professional editor" should be one of the criteria. When I hear the phrase "Best fics ever", the word "fics" implies fanfiction and hobbyist fiction, not just freely available fiction. It's not "best stories ever" or "best literature ever", it's best fics.

Similarly, while there may not be a limited number of slots for stories, there is a practical limit on the size of the list, after which it stops being useful. At the same time, introducing professionally written and edited works is likely to shift the standard for what qualifies, simply because any new works will be compared to a, theoretically, higher caliber of competition. If it was only one or two works from a few authors, that might be tolerable, but as The Unicorn pointed out, there are countless works on Project Gutenberg that would be worthy for consideration and plenty of authors release free short stories to advertise their works or simply because they like writing and want to release something for their fans.

If you really want a place to recomend things like The Liteny of the Earth, then I think it would make more sense to start a new thread for "The Best Damn Indie Authors you've read." It still wouldn't capture fit Gaiman, but I don't think he really needs the help and there are certainly other authors I'd be happy to recommend that don't fit here.

 

[TheUnicorn]

It says Carl Engle-Laird edited the short story and it's worth noting that Tor is the publisher of the book, so it's not like the story was posted to some random literary website.

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Then it definitely doesn't count. I mentioned the last time this came up, if we count professionally published works I have several dozen stories I can offer that are freely and legally available.

That doesn't mean it doesn't meet the criteria.

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It means that if you count it we'll have only professional published stories here, because the best story on the list right now isn't up to the standard of professionally published stories.

If you really want a place to recomend things like The Liteny of the Earth, then I think it would make more sense to start a new thread for "The Best Damn Indie Authors you've read." It still wouldn't capture fit Gaiman, but I don't think he really needs the help and there are certainly other authors I'd be happy to recommend that don't fit here.

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This. very much this.

 

[MrCogmor]

I think if it is awesome, complete and a fic that is freely and legally available online then it should be able to go on the list regardless of whether the author is a professional writer or the story is original.

This thread is the best damn fics thread. It is not the best damn fanfics written by amateurs thread.

 

[egoo]

I think if it is awesome, complete and a fic that is freely and legally available online then it should be able to go on the list regardless of whether the author is a professional writer or the story is original.

This thread is the best damn fics thread. It is not the best damn fanfics written by amateurs thread.

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Seconding this.
If it's a fic, it's a fic.

There is a significant enough difference (for the purposes of this list) between one and an original work, no matter whether the author is a dedicated writer or not.
There isn't such a difference between a fic of an amateur and a pro.
...Quality notwithstanding.

 

[MrCogmor]

The list has sections for original fiction and original webcomics. If you don't want to read those sections you don't have to open them.

 

[Nottheunmaker]

The intention is very much to showcase fanfiction though. If I want the very best in original fiction I'd have gone to a bookshop. Those don't need a thread like this to get found, while fanfic does.

 

[MrCogmor]

The intention is very much to showcase fanfiction though. If I want the very best in original fiction I'd have gone to a bookshop. Those don't need a thread like this to get found, while fanfic does.

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THe recommendations are about stuff that is freely available online. Not about stuff you need to go to a bookshop for.

 

[Anzer'ke]

You would generally expect them to be leagues better than a hobbyist

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Why? Plenty of absolute dreck gets published.

 

[Tallamee]

Why? Plenty of absolute dreck gets published.

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On that, I agree. I will further point out that Vathara has multiple original fiction books, and nobody raised this point when her stories get recommended. I have a couple of them on my bookshelf*.

*EDIT: my standard for this list is different than "would you pay money for that work, and feel satisfied" and I've got a heap of derecs of Vathara's fanfics to prove it.

 

[TheUnicorn]

This thread is the best damn fics thread. It is not the best damn fanfics written by amateurs thread.

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In that case we should consider what categories we should split Original Fiction, because it's about to become the largest category by far. As soon as I get home I'll provide links to All of Jules Verne's work, the dozens of H. Beam Piper stories that are available, a bunch of old Asimov stories, and all the teaser short stories newer authors release, the worst of which are still better than 90% of the stories currently in the list.

 

[Oshha]

In that case we should consider what categories we should split Original Fiction, because it's about to become the largest category by far. As soon as I get home I'll provide links to All of Jules Verne's work, the dozens of H. Beam Piper stories that are available, a bunch of old Asimov stories, and all the teaser short stories newer authors release, the worst of which are still better than 90% of the stories currently in the list.

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The thing is, you say this like it is somehow a bad thing while I see it as a good thing. I want to use this thread to find good fiction to read. I don't care if it is original or fanfic nor do I care if the writer is a professional author or not.

 

[Liquid Ink]

In that case we should consider what categories we should split Original Fiction, because it's about to become the largest category by far. As soon as I get home I'll provide links to All of Jules Verne's work, the dozens of H. Beam Piper stories that are available, a bunch of old Asimov stories, and all the teaser short stories newer authors release, the worst of which are still better than 90% of the stories currently in the list.

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So, like Oshha says, this doesn't seem like even remotely like a bad thing.

I'm more concerned that you appear to think it is a bad thing that will compromise the thread, and will do it anyway out of some apparent attempt at spite.

Please, continue. Demonstrate.

 

[TheUnicorn]

The thing is, you say this like it is somehow a bad thing while I see it as a good thing. I want to use this thread to find good fiction to read. I don't care if it is original or fanfic nor do I care if the writer is a professional author or not.

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So, like Oshha says, this doesn't seem like even remotely like a bad thing.

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I don't actually mind either way. As I said, I pointed this out last time the issue was raised and everyone seemed to agree this was a reason not to put them here. If @Phearo thinks these sort of original stories fit here, we can start adding them.

 

[egoo]

...Why are the original stories and fanfics written by professional writers are equated, again?
Did I miss something in the discussion/argument here?

I personally believe that stories that can be defined as Original Fiction are inappropriate for this thread, but defining what's what with edge cases (like the Lovecraft-based work on cultists mentioned previously) is always hard.

 

[Firedon]

I personally believe that stories that can be defined as Original Fiction are inappropriate for this thread, but defining what's what with edge cases (like the Lovecraft-based work on cultists mentioned previously) is always hard.

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Too late for that, as they're already in the list along with original webcomics.
But also, why would they be inappropriate? There's no inherent quality of original/fanfic that makes one better than the other.

 

[Liquid Ink]

I don't have much of an issue with public domain works that are digitally hosted being recommended, but... I don't really see the point of it. If they're being hosted then odds are that we either already know they're good, or at least hold cultural value. Why bother recommending themwhen, most likely, they will not make onto to the list anyway?

There's already an issue with fics potentially getting updated after they are complete, potentially raising a derecommended fic to a better status or confusing the acceptance of listed and recommended fics by retroactively making them incomplete. AFAIK this hasn't happened yet, but a number of recommendations have already vanished entirely from their host sites, further muddying waters. It just creates more problems than it solves.

Regardless of your stance on webcomics being on the list, Digger was initially paywalled, went free to read, was completed, got print published in six volumes, won a hugo award, got crowdfunded and republished, and is still available as free to read.
All of that happened because it is good. It got published because it was good. It's not good because it got published, which seems to be some of the thinking going on. That there is somehow an unfair advantage or something. There is so much complete shit out there that in theory went through multiple drafts and editors and was still published that, on consideration, I don't think there's much difference between fanfiction and original fiction.

Pre-internet stuff is contentious, and I think it should be. It wasn't made with format or accessibility in mind, and much of it is painfully dated. I think pieces that do make it onto the list would have to well and truly earn it, more so than most fanfiction already on there, by modern appeal and trend and evolution of writing having long since passed them by. Good on them if they make it.

That out of the way, I'd like to recommend two stories, starting with:

With All Awry, by Blair Bidmead. A Doctor Who(-ish) story, originally published in the charity anthology Mythmakers Presents: Golden Years 1963-2013. This story is a sort of coda to Doctor Who's EDA novels, Faction Paradox, and Scream of the Shalka, telling a transition from the slow death and autocannibalistic tendencies of the Wilderness years to the show's resurrection in nuWho. It is pure Doctor Who fanfiction, and it is as canonical as Doctor Who/Faction Paradox can get, having had the same events directly portrayed/referenced from another POV during A Romance in Twelve Parts. This is as much a piece of fan/fiction as it is a study of the Doctors trying to escape the narrative nonsense and implications of the cancellation/reboot. I suspect it is the kind of indulgence only very specific fans would appreciate.

And then we have Canaries, by Dave Rudden. A Doctor Who story that loosely ties itself and The Wintertime Paradox into The Timelord Victorious mega event. It is a short story about Anke Von Grisel and her museum, The Verbier Museum of the Impossible, dedicated to things that shouldn't exist. It works extremely well as a stand alone piece, and I'd recommend it to anyone.