Makoyi's Fanfic Recs and Other Stuff

Title: Of a Linear Circle
Author: flamethrower
Fandom: Harry Potter
Genre: AU, Historical, Founders , World-building
Pairing: Severus Snape/Nizar Slytherin
Length: Epic (700,000 words and counting)

Author's Summary:
In September of 1971, Severus Snape finds a forgotten portrait of the Slytherin family in a dark corner of the Slytherin Common Room. At the time, he has no idea that talking portrait will affect the rest of his life.

Harry Potter's fifteenth birthday starts off just like all the others...for the first few seconds, at least. The gift he receives changes his entire life.

Review:
Absolutely amazing! I love the care taken with the Founders Era culture and history, the rich OCs, the well-rounded and independent background characters coming forward, the plot twists, the wonderful writing style... just everything!  Read this!

Of a Linear Circle (on AO3)

Title: Trichromatic
Author: Scarlet_Gryphon
Fandom: Harry Potter
Genre: Redo fix-it, Independent!Harry, world-building
Pairing: Harry/Draco/Neville, James/Lily/Sirius, Remus/Severus
Length: Very Long (95,760 words and counting)

Author's Summary:
The loss of magic had started, as do many things like it, with good intentions. The past century, it was reasoned, had been overshadowed by two of the worst Dark Lords in history. What better way, then, to make sure it never happened again than to stop it before it started? After all it was a well-known fact that those with an affinity for Dark Magic were born with it, so why not tackle the problem at the source? The Department of Mysteries were set on the problem, and two years after the final death of the Dark Lord Voldemort, they released their solution into the world.  It worked for all of two months before the magical disease began to mutate beyond their wildest nightmares.

Review:
This fic is shaping up to be the newest of the Potterverse independent!Harry and world-building epics. I had a bit of a nostalgia trip finding this fic - it took me back to the kind of fic that was proliferating in the years between Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, when I joined fandom. Harry Potter fandom may not be hopping like it was then, but this fic is well worth a look, even if you, like me, don't regularly read Potter fandom anymore.

Trichromatic (on AO3)

Title: Angry Harry and the Seven
Author: Sinyk
Fandom: Harry Potter
Genre: AU, Independent!Harry
Pairing: Harry/Daphne
Length: Epic (490,097 words)

Author's Summary:
Just how will Dumbledore cope with a Harry who is smart, knowledgeable, sticks up for himself and, worst still, is betrothed? A Harry who has a penchant for losing his temper? Ravenclaw/Smart(alek)/Lord/Harry Almostcanon/Dumbledore

Review:
I wouldn't say Harry is so much angry as informed and supported - he gets a whole host of adult magical mentors before Hogwarts and it makes for an interesting independent!Harry with excellent plotting and character development. I like when independent!harry fics manage to keep Dumbledore from turning into too much of a caricature and this one does, so all around a good fic.

Angry Harry and the Seven (on ff.net)

Title: Harry Potter and the Arcana
Author: the_Imaginizer
Fandom: Harry Potter
Genre: AU
Length: Very Long (167,030 words)

Author's Summary:
Harry Potter's life as we know it is entrenched with destiny, sewn together like a tightly plotted book. But what if his bond with destiny was far more imminent? What if whatever card said that Harry Potter is rubbish at divination was turned upside down?

Review:
Warning! Abandoned with a nasty cliff hanger! Just so you know. I really liked this fic.  Harry gets a talent for divination (which is written as a tricky subject, but a legitimate one requiring study and effort as well as talent, and causes as much trouble as it solves which makes for a very nice story) and a quirky OC mentor, but it doesn't instantly fix everything and it doesn't make Harry not still a child as much as he is in canon.  The plot deviations from canon are really good and interesting.  I liked when Harry met the Blacks, in particular.  I really hated the cliff hanger though and spam-clicked a bunch while whining "No!  There has to be more!"  :( 

Harry Potter and the Arcana (on ff.net)

Title: Inspected by No 13
Author: Clell65619
Fandom: Harry Potter
Genre: Parody/Satire, Humor
Pairing: Harry/OFC
Length: Short (18,472 words)

Author's Summary:
When he learns that flying anywhere near a Dragon is a recipe for suicide, Harry tries a last minute change of tactics, one designed to use the power of the Bureaucracy forcing him to compete against itself. Little does he know that his solution is its own kind of trap.

Review:
This is a really interesting and well-written parody, more clever than comedic but there are also a few good laughs. It reads as a short story so there are some parts that might not work if you think too much - Bureaucrat!Harry's personality change, for example, but it works really well while your disbelief is suspended so of give this one a read if you like Parody/Satire, or interesting careers for Harry, or unique Harry Potter fics.

Inspected by No 13 (on ff.net)

Title:  Applied Cultural Anthropology, or...
Author: jacobk 
Fandom:  Harry Potter
Genre: AU
Length: Long (113,979 words)

Author's Summary:
... How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Cruciatus. Albus Dumbledore always worried about the parallels between Harry Potter and Tom Riddle. But let's be honest, Harry never really had the drive to be the next dark lord. Of course, things may have turned out quite differently if one of the other muggle-raised Gryffindors wound up in Slytherin instead.

Review:
A very well-written AU with a lot to say about canon, starring a Hermione that is brilliantly devious and cunning and all the best there is of Slytherin.  I like this twist on the classic manipulative Dumbledore fic.  Its definitely a good story for anyone who wants to read Hermione POV or female POV in general.  And while its true she's not canon!Hermione, she is a version of her that could have gone to Slytherin and I don't think it's so far out of character given Hermione's need from the moment of her canon introduction to assure herself and her classmates that she knew the material and could perform every spell she'd tried and wasn't that grand?  Plus, the bonus to having a genius who's a cultural outsider as narrator is the commentary on the wizarding world - thus the title of this piece.  It never quite reaches meta, it's still very much a narrative drama, and I really liked it.

Applied Cultural Anthropology, or... (on ff.net)

Title: P&T Muggle Adventures
Author: VivacissimoVoce
Fandom: Harry Potter
Genre: Postwar (not bk7 compliant)
Pairing: minor Harry/Colin Creevey, Harry/Draco
Length: Medium (43,929 words)

Author's Summary:
Dean Thomas and Harry Potter start a leisure business for wizards that specializes in giving tours of muggle London. Everything goes well until they receive a booking neither one of them wants to take. Harry embarks upon what he suspects will be the worst trip of his life. Contains mature language and sexual content.

Review:
I love it when fic authors come up with creative careers for Harry to have postwar and this one is great! That part of the plot is interesting and fun to read. The shipping aspect though isn't as well done, but Drarry shippers will like it anyways, I suspect. Overall, its a good story but definitely worth a read to see Harry leading the Malfoy family on tourist excursions into Muggle London.

P&T Muggle Adventures (on AO3)

Title: The Fourth Deathly Hallow
Author: gingertart
Fandom: Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes ACD
Genre: Crossover, Action/Adventure, Mystery/Casefic
Length: Medium (~57k words)

Author's Summary:
From the private journal of John. H. Watson MD; not intended for publication. Being an account of the strange case of the Fourth Deathly Hallow; in which Dr John H. Watson and Mr Sherlock Holmes save a life, discover the true secret of Professor Moriarty, unravel a time loop or two, encounter a femme fatale, imbibe potions, break into and out of a wizarding mansion, hide in a male brothel, go shopping, track down a magical artefact, almost attend a ritual sacrifice, fail to be Obliviated and totally ignore the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy of 1692, all in the company of a lank-haired, irascible but secretly besotted schoolmaster, a bemused aristocrat and an increasingly perceptive and enamoured young hero.

Review:
A little slow to start but picks up pace to be pretty exciting once it gets going. Stars Harry, Draco, and Snape in the world of ACD's Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, except that there are wizards there too and they're having a troubles that might just make Harry long for his own war.

The Fourth Deathly Hallow (on hp fandom)

Title: The Coiner's Paper Trail
Author: oliversnape
Fandom: Harry Potter
Genre: post-canon, AU
Pairing: Harry/Snape
Length: Long (72,770 words)

Author's Summary:
The Ministry needs to approve Severus Snape's application for him to start his life again after the war. Harry Potter has set himself up with a non-dangerous specialist muggle career. Neither have been particularly good at avoiding trouble for long.

Review:
World-building with lots of details and good characterization make this slow-build ship fic really good. Harry's muggle career, identifying counterfeit pound notes and proving how they were faked, is interesting and far from cliched. There's also details about the post-war Ministry rebuilding and how it affects the lives of the ordinary people like Snape.

The Coiner's Paper Trail (on AO3)

Title: Quidditch
Author: chouette-e
Fandom: Harry Potter
Genre: Fanart, Romance
Pairing: Harry/Draco

Author's Summary:
none given (Digital art of Harry and Draco kissing in the Quidditch locker room)

Review:
Beautiful digital painting - might use some photomanipulation or might not (it's a good sign of skill for either genre that I can't tell).

Quidditch (on dA)