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

Vorkosigan series

Duv Galeni

Select other characters via the dropdown menu, or return to the Vorkosigan series characters index

From the Old to the New by Avanti 90

'A thousand things set you apart: the pallor of your skin, the inflection of your voice, the principle ingrained in your mind that all men and women are born free and equal; these things and many more will forever distinguish you, and so you can never and will never be one of them.' An intelligent AU that casts Galen(i) as Gandhi and goes on to unpick many of Bujold's – and her readers' – assumptions about the Barrayaran Empire. The documentfic approach works perfectly, and a surprising array of characters, from Fletchir Giaja to Enrique Borgos, get to play their parts

[Added 21/05/2015; Drama; 6000-20,000; Vorkosigan series; Characters: David Galen, Laisa Toscane, Gregor Vorbarra, Aral Vorkosigan, Mark Vorkosigan, Miles Vorkosigan, Simon Illyan, Delia Koudelka, Fletchir Giaja, Guy Allegre, Ser Galen, Enrique Borgos, Cordelia Vorkosigan, Helen Vorthys, Dr Riva, OCs]

Guerrilla by Glishara

'Galeni started to speak, then caught himself. He took a long moment, examining Ivan. "No," he said at last, his voice even. "I want an Emperor. I will accept a figurehead, if that's all you will offer."' This slow-building novel follows the resistance movement in an AU to Diplomatic Immunity where Miles fails & Cetaganda invades Barrayar. It's a wonderful premise, and Glishara successfully juggles a large cast including believable OCs

[Added 14/02/2011; Drama; >50,000; Vorkosigan series; Characters: Ivan Vorpatril, Duv Galeni, Simon Illyan, Delia Koudelka, Martya Koudelka, Enrique Borgos, Byerly Vorrutyer, Alys Vorpatril, Aral Vorkosigan, Cordelia Vorkosigan, Original characters]

Tour Guide by Philomytha

'Her accent was the highest of high Vor, a level sharper and crisper even than Ivan's. The immediate resonance for Duv was with the cruel Vor ladies from the subversive holodramas his father had given him to watch as a boy, the wicked witches of his childhood...' Duv gets a history lesson from Aral in this thoughtful one off. Like many of Philomytha's stories, it feels like a missing corner from canon

[Added 15/10/2017; Drama; 2500-6000; Vorkosigan series; Characters: Duv Galeni, Aral Vorkosigan, Ivan Vorpatril, Alys Vorpatril]

Vorkosigan's Day by Philomytha

'"My father...had all the pictures from the Massacre, flat, holo and vid footage, up on display in his study. So that he would never forget, so that we all would never forget. I saw them every day since I was four."' An intense gapfiller, both intelligent & moving, displaying Philomytha's excellent understanding of what makes the Vorkosiganverse characters tick

[Added 07/02/2011; Drama; 2500-6000; Vorkosigan series; Characters: Duv Galeni, Aral Vorkosigan]