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

Chalion series

Bergon dy Ibra

A clear glass window, at a sea dawn by Lionpyh

'It is a perpetual irritation to divines of the Bastard that it is not possible to blaspheme against him. He has already thought of all the rude things one might instruct him to do. He would cheerfully do them. He minces one's oaths before one has got to them. He reduces one to the depths of decency.' Luscious prose & deliciously detailed world-building characterise this satisfying Umegat-centric novelette. Lovely!

[Added 10/01/2014; Drama; 6000-20,000; Chalion series; Characters: Umegat, Ista dy Chalion, Bergon dy Ibra, Lupe dy Cazaril, OCs]

Communion of Saints by Rthstewart

'There were the usual disdainful looks at her rustic table manners but Clara was too hungry to pretend to be ascetic and she wolfed down several hard biscuits softened with goat cheese and honey.' In this triptych, Rthstewart creates rounded & engaging characters from minors & OCs to illustrate the travails & joys of being a saint

[Added 13/08/2015; Drama; 6000-20,000; Chalion series; Characters: Clara, Umegat, Lupe dy Cazaril, Paginine, Bergon dy Ibra, Ista dy Chalion, Ser dy Ferrej, OCs]


Desdemona

The Saint, the Scholar, and the Whale by Neotoma

'Learned Bavo was pacing in a side courtyard, with his Islander guards like lazy cats around him. They were enormously tall, as if tree trunks had decided to put on clothes and walk like men, and their bushy beards made them even more like moving shrubbery.' This enjoyable & inventive tale, set in Jokona, succeeds in melding not just Penric–Desdemona canon but also The Hallowed Hunt with the Chalion sequence. The thoughtful world-building is supported by strong OCs

[Added 23/12/2017; Drama; 6000-20,000; Chalion series; Characters: Desdemona, Ista dy Chalion, Illvin dy Arbanos, Liss, OCs]


Five Gods

all the words that ever were or ever will be by Tequila Mockingbird

'He had the makings of a saint, carved into the hollowness of him, and that was no mean thing. She had been precious low on saints, in the last century or so, and although his poetry was very bad, he had written some poetry.' A Daughter's eye view on Curse of Chalion which does a good job of pulling off the god's viewpoint, and uses deft touches of humour to lighten the melodrama. The ending is perfect

[Added 23/12/2017; Drama; 2500-6000; Chalion series; Characters: The Daughter, Lupe dy Cazaril, The Bastard, The Son, Iselle dy Chalion, OCs]

First Choices by Rsadelle

'Annual Pride parades heavily feature celebrants dressed in the Bastard's white and signs with slogans referencing the Bastard's favor. "The Bastard Loves You" is a favorite slogan of Pride t-shirts.' Clever fusion, pastiching a New Yorker article, that explores how Quintarian & Quadrene religions might play out in modern America -- complete with statistics from the Pew Research Center. Funny & moving by turns

[Added 23/12/2017; Drama; 1000-2500; Chalion series; Characters: The Bastard, OCs]


Ista dy Chalion

A clear glass window, at a sea dawn by Lionpyh

'It is a perpetual irritation to divines of the Bastard that it is not possible to blaspheme against him. He has already thought of all the rude things one might instruct him to do. He would cheerfully do them. He minces one's oaths before one has got to them. He reduces one to the depths of decency.' Luscious prose & deliciously detailed world-building characterise this satisfying Umegat-centric novelette. Lovely!

[Added 10/01/2014; Drama; 6000-20,000; Chalion series; Characters: Umegat, Ista dy Chalion, Bergon dy Ibra, Lupe dy Cazaril, OCs]

Communion of Saints by Rthstewart

'There were the usual disdainful looks at her rustic table manners but Clara was too hungry to pretend to be ascetic and she wolfed down several hard biscuits softened with goat cheese and honey.' In this triptych, Rthstewart creates rounded & engaging characters from minors & OCs to illustrate the travails & joys of being a saint

[Added 13/08/2015; Drama; 6000-20,000; Chalion series; Characters: Clara, Umegat, Lupe dy Cazaril, Paginine, Bergon dy Ibra, Ista dy Chalion, Ser dy Ferrej, OCs]

The Saint, the Scholar, and the Whale by Neotoma

'Learned Bavo was pacing in a side courtyard, with his Islander guards like lazy cats around him. They were enormously tall, as if tree trunks had decided to put on clothes and walk like men, and their bushy beards made them even more like moving shrubbery.' This enjoyable & inventive tale, set in Jokona, succeeds in melding not just Penric–Desdemona canon but also The Hallowed Hunt with the Chalion sequence. The thoughtful world-building is supported by strong OCs

[Added 23/12/2017; Drama; 6000-20,000; Chalion series; Characters: Desdemona, Ista dy Chalion, Illvin dy Arbanos, Liss, OCs]


Lupe dy Cazaril

all the words that ever were or ever will be by Tequila Mockingbird

'He had the makings of a saint, carved into the hollowness of him, and that was no mean thing. She had been precious low on saints, in the last century or so, and although his poetry was very bad, he had written some poetry.' A Daughter's eye view on Curse of Chalion which does a good job of pulling off the god's viewpoint, and uses deft touches of humour to lighten the melodrama. The ending is perfect

[Added 23/12/2017; Drama; 2500-6000; Chalion series; Characters: The Daughter, Lupe dy Cazaril, The Bastard, The Son, Iselle dy Chalion, OCs]

Communion of Saints by Rthstewart

'There were the usual disdainful looks at her rustic table manners but Clara was too hungry to pretend to be ascetic and she wolfed down several hard biscuits softened with goat cheese and honey.' In this triptych, Rthstewart creates rounded & engaging characters from minors & OCs to illustrate the travails & joys of being a saint

[Added 13/08/2015; Drama; 6000-20,000; Chalion series; Characters: Clara, Umegat, Lupe dy Cazaril, Paginine, Bergon dy Ibra, Ista dy Chalion, Ser dy Ferrej, OCs]

Life, stripped of all luxuries by Keerawa

'Moved by some obscure impulse, Cazaril rummaged through his saddle bags and pulled out the volume of classic Brajarn verse he'd carried with him for the past two decades. Its well-thumbed pages held many fond memories. And the potential for scores of fire arrows.' The careful structure of this vignette counterpoints the increasing chaos of life during the siege of Gotorget, and Keerawa's affection for the characters helps to keep the grimness at bay

[Added 06/08/2015; Character Piece; 2500-6000; Chalion series; Characters: Lupe dy Cazaril, March dy Palliar, OCs]


Umegat

A clear glass window, at a sea dawn by Lionpyh

'It is a perpetual irritation to divines of the Bastard that it is not possible to blaspheme against him. He has already thought of all the rude things one might instruct him to do. He would cheerfully do them. He minces one's oaths before one has got to them. He reduces one to the depths of decency.' Luscious prose & deliciously detailed world-building characterise this satisfying Umegat-centric novelette. Lovely!

[Added 10/01/2014; Drama; 6000-20,000; Chalion series; Characters: Umegat, Ista dy Chalion, Bergon dy Ibra, Lupe dy Cazaril, OCs]

Communion of Saints by Rthstewart

'There were the usual disdainful looks at her rustic table manners but Clara was too hungry to pretend to be ascetic and she wolfed down several hard biscuits softened with goat cheese and honey.' In this triptych, Rthstewart creates rounded & engaging characters from minors & OCs to illustrate the travails & joys of being a saint

[Added 13/08/2015; Drama; 6000-20,000; Chalion series; Characters: Clara, Umegat, Lupe dy Cazaril, Paginine, Bergon dy Ibra, Ista dy Chalion, Ser dy Ferrej, OCs]


Miscellaneous

Communion of Saints by Rthstewart

'There were the usual disdainful looks at her rustic table manners but Clara was too hungry to pretend to be ascetic and she wolfed down several hard biscuits softened with goat cheese and honey.' In this triptych, Rthstewart creates rounded & engaging characters from minors & OCs to illustrate the travails & joys of being a saint

[Added 13/08/2015; Drama; 6000-20,000; Chalion series; Characters: Clara, Umegat, Lupe dy Cazaril, Paginine, Bergon dy Ibra, Ista dy Chalion, Ser dy Ferrej, OCs]

First Choices by Rsadelle

'Annual Pride parades heavily feature celebrants dressed in the Bastard's white and signs with slogans referencing the Bastard's favor. "The Bastard Loves You" is a favorite slogan of Pride t-shirts.' Clever fusion, pastiching a New Yorker article, that explores how Quintarian & Quadrene religions might play out in modern America -- complete with statistics from the Pew Research Center. Funny & moving by turns

[Added 23/12/2017; Drama; 1000-2500; Chalion series; Characters: The Bastard, OCs]

Life, stripped of all luxuries by Keerawa

'Moved by some obscure impulse, Cazaril rummaged through his saddle bags and pulled out the volume of classic Brajarn verse he'd carried with him for the past two decades. Its well-thumbed pages held many fond memories. And the potential for scores of fire arrows.' The careful structure of this vignette counterpoints the increasing chaos of life during the siege of Gotorget, and Keerawa's affection for the characters helps to keep the grimness at bay

[Added 06/08/2015; Character Piece; 2500-6000; Chalion series; Characters: Lupe dy Cazaril, March dy Palliar, OCs]

The Saint, the Scholar, and the Whale by Neotoma

'Learned Bavo was pacing in a side courtyard, with his Islander guards like lazy cats around him. They were enormously tall, as if tree trunks had decided to put on clothes and walk like men, and their bushy beards made them even more like moving shrubbery.' This enjoyable & inventive tale, set in Jokona, succeeds in melding not just Penric–Desdemona canon but also The Hallowed Hunt with the Chalion sequence. The thoughtful world-building is supported by strong OCs

[Added 23/12/2017; Drama; 6000-20,000; Chalion series; Characters: Desdemona, Ista dy Chalion, Illvin dy Arbanos, Liss, OCs]