SPN Rec: Oh, the Plot, and Supernatural things to sink your teeth into.

[icarus]

Plot?

Remember when I said that, while it was easy to find beautifully characterized Sam and Dean in the Supernatural fandom, I was looking for something with a really meaty plot, and believable supernatural aspects?

How would you like to write a gorgeously descriptive writer, with powerful action scenes right up there with ltlj? With the richness of auburnnothenna?

Red by big_pink, Gen, PG-13

I love Pink's taste for careful research and locales built so lovingly, you can almost breathe the pine. I live in Seattle and have been in the woods she describes, and she nails the feel of the forest, the mist-turning-rain of the Pacific Northwest. She gets the masculine outdoor culture of the logging industry. This complex story cuts between three different times, with revelations about Dean when he is 14, 18, and in the present. It is a professional quality novel with none of the usual fanfiction shortcuts (skipping physical descriptions, minor canon characters mentioned but not introduced, skimpy OCs, familiar settings sketched rather than fully drawn). Her Evil Bad Scary Thing is all too real, and at the same time so strange, it defies all the usual tropes. You will be on the edge of your seat, mesmerized. Pick a time to start this where you can read all ten chapters at a go, because I promise, you will not be able to put it down.

Dazzleland by big_pink, Gen, PG-13

Ignore the crappy title, this is a poignant, touching read that plausibly fills in how and why Sam left for Stanford. By the time he left, oh god, I was right there with him, slamming the door. This is largely Sam's jaundiced perspective, which is not kind to John, but I have to say John screws up so very badly. Measurably. In a fashion typical of Pink, the story interweaves the past and present, jumping seamlessly from Sam's last year of high school, to a hunt that returns Sam and Dean to the scene of many unhappy memories. In the process, the boys lay some personal demons to rest.

Comments

[tripoli8.livejournal.com]

Eeee! I'm so glad you found your way to big_pink. She's one of my very favorites, in any fandom, and she's reminded me of ltlj more than once too. If you haven't checked out Old Rebel Yeller yet, it was the first thing I read by her, and still my favorite with the possible exception of Dazzleland.

(And, heh...when the first chapter of Dazzleland came out, the title did nothing for me whatsoever, but somewhere around the part where Sam's looking out at the Pacific I fell and fell hard and now I love it, don't ask me why.)

[auburnnothenna.livejournal.com]

You mentioned me in the same paragraph as ltlj. Wheeeeee! Way to make my night.

I really should have recommended Red to you, because it is the single best Supernatural story I've read yet, but I thought you were looking for the believable Wincest stories. (Believable or not, I avoid them all as much as possible. So I had no recs to offer.)

I didn't like Dazzleland as much, but it's just as good. Simply doesn't hit as many of my personal buttons. I only hope big_pink is gearing up for another story. One of those rare authors I'll read whether I know the fandom or not.

Now I need to go see if I can write an action scene up to ltlj's standards or as close as I can come. Send me mental strength.

[skuf.livejournal.com]

I think big_pink is a very good writer, and her descriptions of the woods and tree-planting and what-not blew me away.

But I'm all about the Sam/Dean - in canon as well in fanon, wincest or gen. Other people seem to read her fics as being all about (platonic, obviously) Sam/Dean, but there isn't anywhere near enough for me - I was left unsatisfied by Red, and only read a couple of paragraphs of Dazzleland before knowing I'd be even more unsatisfied by this one. But no doubt she's an awesome writer!

[pxr5.livejournal.com]

thx for the continued recs!

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

*smiles* You're very welcome.

[amalthia]

hurray!!!! you read her stories. i am very happy you enjoyed them as much as i did. :) Red and Dazzleland are some of my personal favorites. keyboard is killing me here so waves from Belgium. :)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I started reading Old Rebel Yeller and compared to Red it's not grabbing me, largely because I'm so very much a yankee with ties to the black community, and so setting sets my teeth on edge. That said, big_pink has hit my top ten list of "best authors in any fandom."

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

That's true. Her settings and plots seem to take over, though I do think Dazzleland is less about the setting and more about the Winchester family. But no, not about Sam and Dean in particular.

Icarus