Essay Recommendation

A very insightful essay (with fiction links) on my favorite Harry Potter pairing - Remus Lupin & Draco Malfoy - written by slippyslope on shipmanifesto:

Of Dragons and Wolves

NaNoWriMo Recommendation

Seeing I'm on a recommendation kick, here are a couple of NaNoWriMo stories I'm following that are absolutely wonderful:

Mars Assassins
by daegaer, using the journal mars_assassins

This is essential reading for anyone who's a fan of Victorian writers such as George Manville Fenn, the master of manly and dashing boy's adventure stories (with a subversive homoerotic subtext), and Schwarz of Weiss Kreuz infamy. You don't actually need to have knowledge of GMF or WK to enjoy this story, although it helps (if only to catch some of the in-jokes).

As you may (or may not) know from her WK stories, daegaer writes a beautifully characterised Schwarz, with more layers than a club sandwich. In this AU, Schwarz are transplanted to a nineteenth century where the British Empire has colonized Mars, but Eszett and Rozenkreuz have still managed to warp them into their premier team of psi-talented assassins. daegaer even manages to hook in a couple of manly chaps (transplanted from a GMF book) Bracy and Gedge, who starred in her last year's NaNoWriMo (Mars Manliness, subtitled "On Her Majesty's Martian Service - The Heroic Adventures of Two Soldiers in Love").

The story is witty and highly amusing as well as having a more serious side, the plot sucks you in irresistably, and it's nicely done in the 'manly Victorian style'. I'm enjoying this NaNo thoroughly, and I'm sure you will too.

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My other NaNoWriMo reccy is:

Mirror Image
by mayatawi, using the journal nanomaya

This is a realistic sci-fi/fantasy story, the synopsis of which is "When his refuge is threatened, a young man with powers he doesn't understand must act to save the townspeople who dislike and mistrust him. So... like X-Men, only without the spandex.".

The lead character, Callum Burke, is described as "Cynical and misanthropic, a side effect of always knowing what people think about him, yet perversely eager to please those he likes. Keeps to himself. Weirdly obsessive about little details-- a necessary quirk, for reasons that later become apparent. Has a bit of a dark criminal history, being one of the kids who slipped through the cracks in the system. He has a dispassionate view of right and wrong, and generally chooses "right" only because "wrong" hasn't worked out so well in the past."

Another writer praiseworthy for her excellent characterisation and a light touch of humor over darker materials, mayatawi also always surprises me with her plot twists. Only a few chapters in and I'm already sitting on the edge of my seat for this one...

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Do you have any NaNoWriMo recommendations? If so, comment here!
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