Rec Milestone!

[fignewton]

Wow. Just posted my 150th rec at stargateficrec. That's not a milestone I ever expected to reach, to be frank.

For the most part, I've had a lot of fun being so active in the community. The mods are helpful and gracious people and most of the community members are equally enthusiastic and friendly. So thanks a lot, guys, for feeding my addiction, and encouraging me to be a part of all this!

So... how can we celebrate? :)

How's this? Leave a link to a favorite story or two of yours in the comments - gen, please - whether it's yours or another author's. I won't make any promises, but I'll review the story here and hopefully include it on my recs list for future reference. I'm still reccing Teal'c and Daniel friendship fics and Sam fics this month; next month, I hope to snag gen and episode related. So if you have stories that fit those categories, now would be a really, really good time to bring them to my notice!

This is also an opportunity to ask something I've been wondering about for quite some time now. If you have a fic posted to your LJ and also to your website, which URL would you prefer a reccer to use? Is it better to send readers to the website, which presumably is more permanent, neater, and better formatted; or would you rather have people read your story at your LJ, where feedback is more or less instantaneous and a lot more likely to occur? And how about readers - which location would you prefer for your reading pleasure? Where would you want a reccer to send you?

Virtual hugs to all the marvelous authors out there who bring some of my favorite people to life, and thanks to those of you who have made the LJ experience so enjoyable.

Comments

Since you asked....

[randomfreshink.livejournal.com]

JB is one of my favs--a smart writer who writes smart characters and plots that sink their teeth into you.

One of the best of the best is "Tok'ra Don't Dance" which is given a synopsis of: "Politics pervert an attempt to honour a member of SG-1, leading to disastrous consequences. Where there's smoke, there's fire."

There's a lot more than that. It's Earth-side adventure and it's all good. Warning however--it is complicated. It's set after Daniel's back, and of course he ends in the middle of a lot of bad. But the story really lets the entire team shine.

JB warns: Minor spoilers for Affinity. Action; Hurt/Comfort; Drama.


Here's a direct link
http://www.omnifera.com/tablet/stories/jb-site/tokradance.htm

Or for lots more JB:
http://www.omnifera.com/tablet/jb.htm

Re: Since you asked....

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Oh dear me yes. Jb writes sharp, intelligent fics with the same kind of antagonistic closeness that... well, that you give Jack and Daniel. I've recced her fics before, here and here and here.

Tok'ra Don't Dance will probably never make my rec list for the same reason why I doubt I would ever rec Power and Punishment - because while Jb's depiction of the NID and political machinations are all too true to the show's, it's an aspect of Stargate that I hate. I can't stand that the SGC has no true ally - not off-world, not on-world. I hate that isolation that pits them against everyone else, which means that there's no real solace or sanctuary, even in their own backyards. I'll write an essay about that someday.

That doesn't mean Tokra Don't Dance isn't a wonderfully gripping read, though. It's long and angsty and plotty and teamy, with great characterizations and some amazingly well-drawn original characters. If the action was only taking place off-world - on Kelowna, maybe, or some misled Jaffa? - it would probably be somewhere in my top twenty list, or maybe even top ten.

So Jb gives us an uneasy Daniel in Washington in S8, being honored for his service in the SGC. But while the original impetus for his medal was his loyal teammates and friends' recommendation, ugly politicking behind the scenes have pre-empted Daniel's award for the personal gains of some rather unscrupulous politicians. And even as a quietly-anguished Daniel is ready to swallow hard and bear his forced transfer out of the SGC into the glittery halls of DC, yet another personal motive - one born out of misunderstanding and desperation - sidetracks the story into kidnapping and a deadly inferno.

Heh. Reads like the blurb on the back of a thriller, doesn't it? :)

Much as I hate the politics of SG-1, Jb does it flawlessly. So if you enjoy that kind of thing - and even if you just enjoy Daniel struggling against all odds, and his teammates looking out for him - you're sure to thoroughly enjoy Tokra Don't Dance.

Good enough, Shannon? :)

Re: Since you asked....

[randomfreshink.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, all good -- and it is a thriller.

I liked your other recs--Losses is another favorite.

So I'll call you and then raise you one (also at the Tablet)--Corby's Footnote:

http://www.omnifera.com/tablet/stories/corby-site/footnote.htm

Which is a Future AU, but a good one--and she writes angst just so well. It's for when the Stargate's going public, but not in a way you'd expect, and with some old jealousies coming out, and it's so beautifully done.

Footnote

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Now, what you have to do is give me something I haven't read yet.

::considers::

A new fic of yours, perhaps? :)

But on to Footnote! This one is on my tentative rec list, actually, although I found Daniel's speech to be a bit... well, pretentious. Still, it's an intriguing AU, with some fun characterization and a lovely twist on P.T. Barnum's famous saying: "You can fool the Tau'ri some of the time, but you can't fool their allies all of the time."

Stephen Rayner, armed with the events of The Curse and his political savvy (and bootlicking skills), manages to oust Daniel from the SGC and claim all of Daniel's successes as his own. And the world blindly accepts this, leaving Daniel out in the cold when the Stargate goes public and all adoration is directed towards Rayner and his talented spinning of the truth in his own favor. Daniel isn't happy about it - not in the least - but he's philosophical enough to be satisfied with his quiet retirement.

Until it's time for Earth to meet its off-world allies, and Rayner pulls one too many petty tricks, and Daniel gets to appear in public, spraying popcorn and Coke all over the dignitaries... and delighting millions of children by swearing in front of everybody out of shock. :)

There's some lovely unspoken backstory, like Daniel's house, and the quiet visits of Omac and Lya. And there's the hilarious implication of the last scene, where the suggestion of just how that turnabout came to be. All in all, Footnote is an engrossing fic that bounces from angst and introspection to humor and back again.