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

The Hobbit

Clarity by Wild Iris

Calm vignette set during the Fellowship's stay in Rivendell, but focusing on Bilbo's earlier adventures in Mirkwood. Precise, unsentimental characterisations, plus a final line to die for

[Added 28/01/2004; Character Piece; 1000-2500; JRR Tolkien – The Hobbit]

Clarity of Purpose by Mithen

'"Seek for the shield which is oaken; in Khazad-dûm it dwells."' A rich, complex AU novel that fuses The Hobbit with LotR, in which the quest to destroy the Ring sets out 50 years earlier, & with a rather different Fellowship. Events start out mirroring LotR closely, but spiral further away as the novel unfolds; perhaps because of the time shift, things often turn out less tragically than in the original. Mithen explores novel regions of Middle-earth & provides a supporting cast of thousands, including Entwives & Blue Wizards. A real treat!

[Added 27/10/2017; Drama; >50,000; JRR Tolkien – The Hobbit; Crossover]

Der Erlkonig by San Antonio Rose

Neat melding of disparate legends in this future fic with a rather unusual premise

[Added 20/02/2003; Drama; 2500-6000; JRR Tolkien – The Hobbit]

King under the Mountain by Zara Hemla

A dark tale of obsession and race conflict, with an unusual AU premise that unravels slowly as protagonist and reader penetrate deeper

[Added 20/02/2003; Drama; 2500-6000; JRR Tolkien – The Hobbit]

The Thrush Who Saved Laketown by Jen Littlebottom

An engaging addition to the woefully small canon of The Hobbit fanfiction

[Added 09/09/2003; Drama; 1000-2500; JRR Tolkien – The Hobbit]