Top 5 Spike/Xander fics of 2006

[cordelianne.livejournal.com]

I had a hard time narrowing this down to a list of 5, and ultimately picked fics by authors who’ve produced lots of fabulous S/X stories this year. I consider these fics examples of the wonderful, high-quality work these authors produce.

1. The Last Days of Rome by reremouse – Adult – A gorgeously written alternative season six (there’s also Spike/Buffy and Xander/Buffy in the fic). There’s a beautiful melancholic ache to the fic, yet there’s always glimpses of hope through connection and intimacy. So many layers of meaning, which make it a joy to re-read.

2. Easy to Be True by entrenous88 – NC-17 – A fabulously characterized human AU in which Xander has to take a bus from Sunnydale to Oxnard by himself and ends up sitting with Spike. A poignantly and subtly portrayed coming of age story.

3. Not Noisy or Excited by savoytruffle – Mature – A gorgeous and engaging story that has an alternate timeline, Spike never came back after leaving at the end of Season 6; Xander is looking for slayers in Africa, but finds Spike. The perfect blend of darkness and humour. A subtle and understated fic which, like the title, is not noisy or excited, and that’s a very good thing.

4. As If We Should Forget We Have No Hands by tabaqui – Adult – A lush and compelling Amnesia!Xander fic. A fabulously plotted story which often had me at the edge of my seat one minute, and crying the next. There are lots of wonderful details and gorgeous evocative language.

5. Hero by electricalgwen – R – A funny, energetic, banter-filled adventure in a comic book store. There's a great blend of fun, action, humour, sweetness and poignancy in this story.

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

I can't believe I missed some of these! Well that will have to be corrected at once. Thanks for posting :>

[cordelianne.livejournal.com]

I'm glad there's some on the list that you missed - I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! *g*

[altyronsmaker.livejournal.com]

Bah! I've read all these!!! LOL! As If We Should Forget We Have No Hands was AWESOME!!!

Not NOisy or Excited is my rainy day fic. Loved it.

OH shit, they're all freakin good!

[cordelianne.livejournal.com]

It's too bad there wasn't anything new for you to check out, but I'm pleased you've also read and enjoyed the fics! Yay for also loving those fics! *g*

[lusciousxander.livejournal.com]

OMG!! Thank you so much! I haven't read any of these before!

[cordelianne.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome, I'm happy to have directed you towards them! Yay! *g*

[laisserais]

Great list, with a few I'd missed. Thanks!

[cordelianne.livejournal.com]

I'm pleased that I was able to rec stories that you missed, cause they're all definitely worth checking out! *g*

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for including Easy to be True on this list! I'm really pleased to hear that you think so highly of the story to include it with these other great fics.

[cordelianne.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome! I'll often think about Easy to be True - such a wonderful and haunting story. *g*

[lily-le.livejournal.com]

I love all of these! Now I've got this as a prompt I can go back and read the all again, so thank you! The authors you have listed are all fantastic - spander IMO seems to attract really good writers!

It's great that there were so many outstanding spander fics last year *hopes 2007 is the same*

Lily

[cordelianne.livejournal.com]

Oh yay! I'm delighted to hear that you love all the stories and are inspired to re-read them! There are some fabulous authors in Spander, we're very lucky!

I'm also hoping for some excellent fics for 2007! *g*

[electricalgwen.livejournal.com]

Whoa. Thank you! *hugs*

This has so totally made my day. You know that the others on the list are my favourite S/X writers - to be included in this company is humbling and exhilarating all at once.

See, it's not fair that you don't get to be on there, just 'cause you're compiling the list... ;)

[cordelianne.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm so happy that made your day! It was absolutely no question for me to include one of your fics on the list - it was so hard (for all the authors) to decide which fic to put on the list. *g*

Aww, thanks for your lovely comment about my writing!

*hugs*