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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

Discworld

Sam Vimes

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The Brain Thief by Hollimichele

'Policemen have their own walk. It's called "proceeding," and it is the gentle, rolling gait of every law enforcement officer in the history of the multiverse. It is a constant, like the deliberate dimness of sergeants or the missing three dollars in the tea kitty.' A meaty casefile for Sam Vimes, Jr. The style slips a bit in places, but there's plenty of world-building detail to hold the interest

[Added 15/07/2012; Drama; 20,000-50,000; Discworld; Characters: Sam Vimes, Jr, Esmerelda Margaret Note Spelling, Sam Vimes, Sybil Vimes, Havelock Vetinari, Igor, Death, original characters]

The Case of the Vanishing Vampire by Adaptation Decay

'Visit shot a sideways look at Reg Shoe which said "Yeah? Well look at the evidence. The children of Om ascend to heaven when they die and you're still here."' A novella-length casefile in which Reg Shoe & Visit-The-Ungodly-With-Explanatory-Pamphlets form an unlikely investigative duo. A little rough around the edges, perhaps, but well worth a try for the solid mystery laced with a broad streak of humour

[Added 25/11/2011; Drama; 6000-20,000; Discworld; Characters: Reg Shoe, Visit-The-Ungodly-With-Explanatory-Pamphlets, Sam Vimes, Havelock Vetinari, Carrot Ironfoundersson, Otto von Chriek, Cheery Littlebottom, original characters]

The Importance of Being Mostly Human by Gogollescent

'Time stopped. Not in the literal and unromantic sense common to Susan's life, which if mapped chronologically would have looked like one of those graphs that tells you absolutely nothing about anything except the psychology of the grapher, and had none of the organizational advantages of people who really did have to live in the moment. Rather, Susan looked at Sam and felt the world slow.' Gogollescent weaves together threads from various novels to create a satisfying story that could easily have been written by Pratchett. Superb

[Added 04/10/2013; Drama; 6000-20,000; Discworld; Characters: Susan Sto Helit, Sybil Vimes, Sam Vimes Jr, Sam Vimes, Lobsang Ludd, Lu-Tze, Death, Angua von Uberwald, Willikins, Dorfl, Madam Frout]

Mister Vimes'd Go Spare! by Lunik

'The bad news that was travelling tonight damn near outstripped the people carrying it. It felt to Lance-Constable Mangas as though everyone knew this news before it was spoken. By the time it came through the door of the Peristeri Street Watch House, it was already olds.' An interesting idea for a possible future for the Disc. One of those stories that just sets straight into canon

[Added 21/09/2012; Drama; 2500-6000; Discworld; Characters: Original characters, Sam Vimes, Anoia, Dorfl]

On Being Female by Nomad

'Carrot's personal slant on reality had a way of tilting everything in the immediate vicinity, leaving you wondering if you were the one who'd been standing at a funny angle all along.' A perfect little slice of canon, with a slightly different [cough] slant on the dwarf gender debate

[Added 04/10/2013; Humour; 1000-2500; Discworld; Characters: Carrot Ironfoundersson, Sam Vimes]

A Shot In The Dark Aimed Right At My Throat by gyzym

'Lady Sybil Ramkin is seventeen and unmarried the day she meets Havelock Vetinari. This is, unfortunately, the way Sybil is defined by most of the people she knows and wishes she didn't; it's always Lady Ramkin: unmarried, as opposed to Lady Ramkin: friendly or Lady Ramkin: kind to animals or Lady Ramkin: actually considerably more intelligent than you, Lord Rust, but thank you for your attention.' Strong characterisations all round in this tale of Lady Sybil & her two favourite men

[Added 25/01/2019; Character Piece; 2500-6000; Discworld; Characters: Havelock Vetinari, Sybil Ramkin, Sam Vimes]