Compiled by the Espresso Addict

Espresso Recommendations

Innovative and stylish fanfiction, showcasing the very best across multiple sf, fantasy & literature fandoms. Good writing in all its forms can be found here, including gen, het, slash, OCs, AUs, crossovers, future fics, humour & pastiche

Contents: 1010 recs in 235 fandoms; 65 links

Artworks

The Duchess's Evening Party by Zdenka

'He saw not a violin or harp, but a glass tank full of water, in which swam a large silvery fish. One of the footmen rolled up his sleeve, reached in, and extracted the fish by the tail in what seemed to be a practiced gesture. He solemnly brought it to Bernard.' A charming, whimsical fishc based on Troubador Tuning His Tuna by Omar Rayyan, with some help from PDQ Bach. Who knew 'fish puns' was an AO3 tag?

[Added 26/12/2017; Humour; 2500-6000; Artworks]

Keris By The Sea by Quillori

'At last he cast his eyes still further away, away from the city and the land and the harbour and out across the sea itself: out there, on the rocky shoals where only the most desperate fishermen now ventured, was the wreck of some great merchant ship, come from a far-off land, through uncounted storms and dangers, only to beach itself at last by lonely Keris.' This unusual, intricate set of tales within a tale constructs a history of the city of Ys, woven around pictures by Donato Giancola. Quillori imbues the whole with a wonderfully wistful atmosphere

[Added 04/10/2013; Drama; 6000-20,000; Artworks]

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman by Ghostie

'"The tea today is lemon zest," he finally said. He had a deep, sonorous voice that swelled to fill the room as if it were an oven filled with rising bread. He kept his gaze trained on the windows and the forsythia beyond as he spoke; Rayyana wondered if he even knew she was there. "With infusions of clover-honey, grapefruit rind, and tentative optimism in the face of new opportunities."' Ghostie draws on several artworks by Omar Rayyan to create an entirely believable world peopled with fabulous characters. Charming & original

[Added 15/04/2015; Drama; 6000-20,000; Artworks]

A Traveller's Guide to Venice by Quillori

'Nergüi listened to him impassively, her hands folded in the depths of her ruffled sleeves, and her posture as upright and still as an owl upon a branch. You would have thought she was accustomed to having her wisdom sought on a daily basis by kings and beggars alike.' A travelogue to a fantastic Venice, inspired by Travelling Hermit & other works by Colette Calascione, which unfurls slowly to reveal its secrets. Original & strange, with a wonderful narrative voice

[Added 28/10/2014; Drama; 6000-20,000; Artworks]

we played escapees while they hunted in the woods by drcalvin

'It was always harder to be an Escapee, because you had to remember to angle out your elbows, or keep your knees bent, or in some other way copy the imperfection of gyro-walk even the best balanced robots suffered back in those days.' Rich world-building & a strong narrative voice, inspired by Simon Stålenhag's Rymlingen Mecha

[Added 11/08/2015; Drama; 1000-2500; Artworks]

your shadow at evening, rising to meet you by Raven

'...they want the strapline spoken by a voice that speaks from history: the first commander of the first Martian colonisation expedition. Though with a calculated background of domesticity, Evan thinks: by the twinkling fibre-optic lights of a Landfall Night celebration and the faces of humanity's only extra-Terran children.' Beautifully written short based on a poster by NASA. The strong OCs flare into life despite the brevity

[Added 23/12/2017; Drama; 1000-2500; Artworks]