Icarus takes a stab at A Harry Potter Starter Kit

I promised this Harry Potter Starter Kit a long time ago.

I ran into two issues:

#1 - The minor problem that I am not the ultimate authority on Harry Potter fanfiction (though I've not been able to locate that person). I can't help but be biased towards, oh, say, humour and porn over dark angsty stuff, Action over Arte. For a while this stopped me because I wanted to be fair. I've given up on that.

#2 - I didn't have the time (or interest) to read stories in pairings and styles I didn't like. Accepting problem #1 dealt with this nicely.

So if your brilliant story or your favourite author isn't on this list, well, it's not a 'Best Of.' It's more like one of those biscuits tins with the drab boring shortbread sitting right next to something you hopefully like.

A Harry Potter Starter Kit

So you're new to Harry Potter fanfiction? I bet you've noticed there's no lack.

( There are many archives to search for fics and discover what you like: )

( There are recommendation sites to help you separate the wheat from the, um, well: )

( And there are character and pairing specific sites, as well as web sites for individual authors. There are also recommendations sites on LJ )

This Starter Kit is like a box of chocolates. Only a few stories of each type, so that you're not on your own to hunt and peck. I've deliberately selected just a couple for each to simplify, simplify, simplify.

Different people have different interests in Harry Potter fiction.

Some, the Purists, want more of what they get from J. K. Rowling.

Others boldly confess their Crush on the Harry Potter characters themselves. They want to see their lives beyond Hogwarts. These are your:

a) Het (heterosexual) and
b) Slash (homosexual) stories. Slash is immensely popular and is the main focus of this list.

These stories can be Dark, Angst, Romance, Action/Adventure, you name it.

Others want to go straight to the Naughty Stuff. Porn. We respect your honesty, and I confess this was the easiest list for me to compile.

( The Purist: You're insatiably looking for more Harry Potter stories. That's it. These should get you started: )

( The Crush: It's time to confess. You have a crush on the Harry Potter characters themselves and want to see their lives beyond Hogwarts. Slash or Het? )

( Slash )

( Het )

( The Kink: you naughty thing. You want to go straight to the porn. Yeah, me too. )

Want more of everything? See The Massive List of Recommendations from those on my LJ.

By the way, my estimation of those who maintain rec pages has just skyrocketed. This was a hell of a lot of work.



ETA: There are some great stories (say, Two Worlds And In Between by McTabby?) that are left off this list because they are incomplete. Let's not introduce readers to the torment that is the WiP right off.

ETA2: Okay folks. If your favourite story/author isn't here -
1) tough beans
2) go ahead and put a link to it in comments.

Any rude comments will be summarily deleted, though I may take a moment to be rude in return. :D I've added caveats to the two stories I haven't read by authors whose other work I've enjoyed. Everything else comes with a money-back guarantee. ;)

ETA3: Whoops. That was daily_snitch not daily_switch.

ETA4: Corrected typos and one old link. Jeez.