Makoyi's Fanfic Recs and Other Stuff

Title: Last Sektober
Author: femvimes
Fandom: Discworld
Genre: Watch-fic, Times-fic, (very good) OC character fic
Length: Medium (20,322 words and counting)

Author's Summary:
When clerk Sweetpea Hakim makes the impulsive decision to become the city watch's press liaison, she doesn't expect to wind up the avatar to a disgruntled god. Then again, this is Ankh-Morpork, where unfortunately anything is possible.

Review:
A new Must Read in Discworld fandom! The main character, a Klatchian clerk named Sweetpea Hakim who decides she really wants to become the Watch's public information officer, is fantastic!  Like all watch officers, she has to start on the beat, while also figuring out what exactly a Public Information Officer does and doing it.  Do NOT miss this!

Last Sektober (on AO3)

Title: Fruitful
Author: Resonant
Fandom: Discworld
Genre: LGBT
Pairing: Cheery/OC
Length: Very Short (580 words)

Author's Summary:
The wedding of Cheery Littlebottom and Keen Slatequarry lasted precisely two and a half minutes, which made it by far the best wedding Sam Vimes had ever attended.

Review:
This fic had me grinning ear to ear! The complicated gender and sexuality of Discworld's dwarves have made for some great fics and this is definitely one to count among them.   I especially like the choice of Vimes as a viewpoint character - he's canonically a little baffled but supportive and accepting of his dwarf friends which is always fantastic to read.

Fruitful (on AO3)

Title: (untitled)
Author: Rabastan aka Eltanin aka sundayswiththeilluminati
Fandom: Discworld
Genre: Terry Pratchett Tribute
Length: Drabble (Very short)

Author's Summary:
none given (Death gets to meet Terry Pratchett, he hopes to get Sir Terry's lifebook autographed)

Review:
One of my favorite Terry Pratchett tributes. This one gets the voice of canon so, so well, especially for such a short drabble.

Untitled (on tumblr)

Title: Dark City
Author: raedbard
Fandom: Discworld
Genre: humor
Pairing: Sam/Sybil
Length: Medium (11,169 words)

Author's Summary:
When Ankh-Morpork gets its first free library, and starts to feed a craving it never knew it had for trashy horror novels, weird happenings begin to threaten the cohesion of the city. Sam Vimes – and his lady wife – must solve the mystery and save the day.

Review:
Awesome plot and strong characterizations, it captures some of the canon tone and humor. The plot is fantastic and could totally stand as a canon novel. That plot was very, very rushed though - it should have been four times as long for the amount of awesome stuff crammed in here and I would have loved to read that much more of this lively fic.

Dark City (on AO3)

Title: Small medium, large headache
Author: A.A. Pessimal
Fandom: Discworld
Genre: Gen, Minor Characters
Length: Short (9,601 words)
Admin Note: rec'd on fancake

Author's Summary:
An idea that span out of "Rincewind and the Redskins". To a psychic medium, attracting a Red Indian spirit guide is like getting David Beckham to play for your pub team. But sage, wise and kindly? You can get the wrong sort of Indian... stars Mrs Cake.

Review:
A.A. is reliably a very good writer and this fic is no exception. This story is well-written and entertaining to read, though it is more serious in tone than canon. Like Jingo, it deals with themes of race and prejudice and the habit residents of the Disc have of being completely flumoxed when their expectations on the power of belief fails to bring their most foolish beliefs and prejudices to reality.

Small medium, large headache (on ff.net)

Title: In The Blood
Author: copperbadge aka copperbadge aka copperbadge 
Fandom: Discworld
Genre: AU, Character fic
Pairings: Sam Vimes/Sybill Ramkin
Length: Medium (Words: 17,360)

Author's Summary:
Sam Vimes's hatred of lycanthropy is suddenly much more personal than he ever expected.

Review:
Great concept!  I love Angua's characterization and how she deals with Vimes throughout, I think the pack is very well-written, and spoilers --- a lot of what I like about this fic I can't properly explain without spoiling but seriously, if you like Vimes then this is a must-read.

Title: Persuasion in the City
Author: Roga 
Fandom: Discworld
Genre: General, Parody, Humor
Length: Short (Words: 1,748)

Author's Summary:
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a text in possession of more than a passing reference to a certain literary work that shall not be named, must begin with the phrase 'It is a truth universally acknowledged'.

Review:
A short story about the author of Where's My Cow and other tales visits Vimes at work in Ankh-Morpork to research her next novel.  Requires familiarity with Snuff, as well as the most basic, general knowledge of Pride and Prejudice.  Has some funny lines and of course the parody that the author's summary introduces.  I also like seeing the Gorden sisters from Snuff clearly doing well.

Persuasion in the City (on AO3)

Title: Certainties
Author: nomadicwriter
Fandom: Discworld
Genre: General, Humor
Length: Short (Words: 3,127)

Author's Summary:
Only two things in life are certain: death and taxes. The anthropomorphic personification of one meets the man behind the other.

Review:
Short but funny.  I especially like the first footnote :)

Certainties (on AO3)

Title: Ladies Who Organise
Author: reckonedrightly
Fandom: Discworld
Genre: Genderswap, Pre-Series AU, Women Being Awesome
Pairing: Vetinari/Lady Margolatta, Vetinari/Sybil Ramkin, Vetinari/Rosie Palm
Length: Short (Words: 6,630)

Author's Summary:
“A woman,” Roberta Meserole had said once, lighting a long black cigarette with a silver lighter, “hides in plain sight. Visibility, Haveline, is our most important asset—”
She looked up. Around. “Haveline,” she said, “that is not funny.”
--
or, how Ankh-Morpork acquired its first female Patrician very, very quietly.

Review:
It's not especially witty or funny and there's not a lot about this fic that makes specifically a good gender-swap fic so don't read it for any of these (or the ships - it's certainly no romance fic) but it is a good fic in several other important ways. For one, it is great at showing Vetinari (who is still very much in character) politicking her way into the patricianship with brilliance and cunning (and some help from certain other cunning ladies). Of the three pairings listed, I think only the first is actually obvious sans Shipping Googles, but the relationship or friendship (however you see it) with Sybil is very important to the story and very well done.

Ladies Who Organise (on AO3)

Title: Truth & Compromise
Author: lost_spook
Fandom: Discworld
Genre: Post-canon (The Truth)
Length: Short (Words: 4,404)

Author's Summary:
William’s concerned with the Watch’s latest prisoner, Sacharissa is more worried about a wedding, and, oddly enough, so is Commander Vimes…

Review:
The Truth was a fantastic story so here's a little post-canon fic that's a bit more of the work of The Times, the relationship between William and Sacharisa and the awesome/strange friendship between Sacharisa and Otto.

Truth & Consequences (on AO3)