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

Harry Potter

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Professor C. Binns: A Personal History by PurpleFluffyCat

'...History can be learned through rhythm and chronology and rises and falls – intricate patterns. People, however, have no patterns. That is one reason why they are so difficult.' This novelette develops an interesting voice for Binns, with a poignant explanation for why he clings to teaching as a ghost

[Added 13/08/2012; Character Piece; 6000-20,000; Harry Potter; Characters: Cuthbert Binns, Walburga Black, Albus Dumbledore, Filius Flitwick, Horace Slughorn, Orion Black, original characters]

Romance of the Age by Livesandlies

'The wizard ... was not by any means a small man. He had, however, a collection of very miniscule attributes – small eyes, a small nose, thin little lips, and a thin little chin – that seemed to suggest he had been sketched out on parchment by a child only just learning to use a quill, who'd had very grand ideas to begin with, and who, discovering for the first time the very disagreeable runniness of ink, had splashed on a few dots for the features and then given up.' The first war, à la Vile Bodies. The Waugh pastiche provides the perfect lens to view the terrible events as they inexorably unfold, and the novella overflows with sparkling wit at the expense of almost all of its enormous cast. A wonderful achievement

[Added 15/01/2014; Drama; 20,000-50,000; Harry Potter; Characters: Severus Snape, Lily Evans, Narcissa Malfoy, Regulus Black, James Potter, Albus Dumbledore, Sirius Black, Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Barty Crouch Jr, Walburga Black, Eileen Prince, Tobias Snape, Death Eaters, Marauders & Order; Crossover]

Two Lockets by Sinick & Acid

'The candles ... waddled after Harry in a row like ducklings, short and fluffy and dripping wax all over in their excitement at being alight and having company at last.' Worth a try for the world-building alone, with a fantastic evocation of Grimmauld Place and its secrets

[Added 10/07/2008; Drama; >50,000; Harry Potter; Characters: Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Regulus Black, Walburga Black, Orion Black, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Bellatrix Lestrange, Ollivander]